William Glenn Shadix (April 15, 1952 – September 7, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his roles as Otho Fenlock in

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'' and the Mayor of Halloween Town in ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

''.

Early life

Shadix was born on April 15, 1952, in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and a southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is within the Bi ...

, the eldest child in the family. His surname was legally changed to "Scott" when his mother, Annie Ruth (née Livingston), remarried a few years after his birth, although he would use his original surname when working as an actor. He attended Birmingham–Southern College for two years, studying with absurdist playwright-director Arnold Powell.

Career

He lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, prior to moving to Hollywood in 1977. He got his breakthrough film role in ''

'' as interior decorator Otho Fenlock, while appearing in The Groundlings comedy troupe and performing in the stage play ''Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights'', portraying

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

. ''Beetlejuice'' filmmaker

went on to cast Shadix in 1993's ''

'' and the 2001 remake of ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

''. Throughout the 1990s he had small roles on iconic television shows, including ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'', ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...

'', '' The Fresh Prince '', and ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

''. In 1995, Shadix was cast as Ray Cathode in the Space Mountain queue advertisements when the ride was sponsored by FedEx. In 2005, Shadix was cast as the voices of the

Brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

and Monsieur Mallah in season five of the ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' animated series. His other voice work includes the aforementioned ''Nightmare'', and episodes of '' Jackie Chan Adventures'' and ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' (where he played Steven Mandragora). He reprised his ''Nightmare Before Christmas'' role in the video game '' The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge'' and

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

's ''

Kingdom Hearts II ''Kingdom Hearts II'' is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios, Buena Vista Games for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sequel to ''Kingdom Hear ...

''. His television work included the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

drama ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate gr ...

'', the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television comedy ''

'', in which he played Jerry's landlord, and playing the roles of

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

brothers Typhoon and

Typhon Typhon (; , ), also Typhoeus (; ), Typhaon () or Typhos (), was a monstrous serpentine giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus. However, one source has Typhon as t ...

in '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''. On stage, Shadix was set to begin rehearsals for a Birmingham production of

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

's '' History Boys''.

Personal life

According to an interview with the '' Truth Wins Out'' website, Shadix came out as gay at the age of 17. His parents then enrolled him in " ex-gay therapy", which included shock treatments. When this failed to change his orientation, he attempted suicide by overdosing with Elavil. His parents rushed him to a hospital, where he survived a three-day coma. After the incident, his parents began to accept his sexuality. Shadix was known to be a long-time fan of

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, dating back to his childhood, when he had to hide her records from his family who disapproved of the folk singer. Shadix travelled cross country to attend one of her concerts and meet her in person. In 2007, after spending 30 years in Los Angeles, Shadix retired to his native Bessemer,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, where he purchased a Queen Anne-style, Victorian-era home. The house was completely destroyed in a fire on December 13, 2008. Shadix told reporters, "I have lost my dream."

Death

In 2009, Shadix underwent surgery to provide relief to an ankle which he broke while filming. Afterward, he had mobility problems and used a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. On September 7, 2010, Shadix was found dead in his home. According to his sister, Susan Gagne, he fell and hit his head in the kitchen at his

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and died of

blunt trauma A blunt trauma, also known as a blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is a physical trauma due to a forceful impact without penetration of the body's surface. Blunt trauma stands in contrast with penetrating trauma, which occurs when a ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
Shadix's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shadix, Glenn 1952 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male actors Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Alabama Actors from Jefferson County, Alabama American gay actors American LGBTQ comedians American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American wheelchair users Birmingham–Southern College alumni Comedians from Alabama Gay comedians LGBTQ people from Alabama Male actors from Alabama People from Bessemer, Alabama