Danny Hicks, ‘Evil Dead II’ Star, Dies at 68

Danny Hicks, a beloved character actor and one of the stars of Evil Dead II, has died at the age of 68. According to Bloody Disgusting, Hicks’ convention management team, Full Empire Productions, confirmed the news on Monday, writing in a Facebook post, “Danny passed away at his home in CA. We love you, Danny, rest easy my friend.”

Hicks is most recognizable form his role in Evil Dead II but has appeared in a number of other beloved horror and sci-fi projects, such as Maniac Cop, Darkman, and Wishmaster. Hicks wound up appearing in a number of projects by Sam Raimi, who made the Evil Dead franchise, as well as Darkman. Spider-Man 2 and Oz the Great and Powerful are two Raimi movies that Hicks had small parts in. He also appeared in 1989s Intruder, which Raimi produced, and in 2007s My Name is Bruce, which stars Evil Dead lead — and horror icon — Bruce Campbell. Hicks also appeared in other films, like The Demolitionist and 2001 Maniacs.

Hicks’ death comes less than a month after he revealed to his fans that he’d been diagnosed with cancer. “To all of the people that I never got to meet, and the 6,018 die-hard fans that enjoyed my work. I have some bad news. I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I have approximately 1 to 3 years to live,” he wrote on June 3.

Hicks continued, “But I gotta tell ya, I sure as hell packed a whole bunch of living into my 68 years. I got no change coming back that’s for sure. And not too many regrets. Ok, gotta go. I’m gunna find out just what in the hell is going on down in that fruit cellar.” At this time, it does not appear that an official cause of death report has been issued.

In the wake, if his death, Ted Raimi — Sam Raimi’s brother — took to Twitter to memorialize his late friend. “Sad that one of my oldest pals and greatest character actors of our time left us today: Dan Hicks. You star. Modern day Bill McKinney, he was,” Ted wrote. “Wild, charming but with a ferocity that translated to raw entertainment in those movies. See you on the other side of the screen, Danny.”