Director Don Coscarelli took to Twitter last night to report the passing of Ken Jones, an actor who appeared in what Coscarelli refers to as “the most impactful scene” in Phantasm.
Jones is credited as “Caretaker” in the 1979 horror classic, and it was Jones’s character who was famously drilled through the head by the Tall Man’s sinister silver sphere. A torrent of blood shooting out of the wound, it’s one of the more memorable horror movie kills.
Coscarelli pays tribute, “Everyone who came in contact with Ken loved him. He was warm, talented, and a devoted family man. The fans loved meeting him in recent years at the conventions with his loving daughter Jennifer and grandson EJ by his side.
“Rest in peace, my friend.”
Prior to Phantasm, Jones appeared in Don Coscarelli’s 1976 comedy Kenny & Company, and he later appeared in the 1993 thriller Hidden Fears, starring Meg Foster and Frederic Forrest.