Cult horror favorite Reggie Bannister, the actor beloved by fans for playing the fearless ice-cream-truck driver Reggie in the “Phantasm” movies, has died. He was 80.
Bannister died Sunday following years of serious health problems, according to his wife, Gigi, who announced the heartbreaking news on Facebook Monday.
Gigi revealed that she checked on her husband at around 3:45 a.m. and found him “panting but quiet and asleep.”
When she returned a few hours later, Bannister had died.
“He no longer suffers. He’s no longer in pain. That gives me solace,” she wrote in the emotional tribute.
Gigi described Bannister as her “best friend, my confidant, my partner, my soul mate,” as fans flooded social media with tributes to the horror movie veteran.
Bannister had reportedly been battling major health issues for years and entered home hospice care in February 2025 after his condition deteriorated.
A fundraiser set up to help cover his care said the actor had been suffering from Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
For horror fans, however, Bannister will forever be tied to one of the genre’s strangest and most enduring franchises.
He first appeared as Reggie in director Don Coscarelli’s 1979 cult classic “Phantasm,” which introduced audiences to the terrifying Tall Man and his deadly flying spheres.
Bannister became such a fan favorite that he returned for four more installments — “Phantasm II,” “Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead,” “Phantasm IV: Oblivion” and the 2016 sequel “Phantasm: Ravager.”
His character evolved from a seemingly ordinary ice-cream salesman into one of the franchise’s central heroes, making Bannister a fixture at horror conventions and among generations of devoted “Phantasm” fans.
Born in Long Beach, California, in 1945, Bannister served in the military during the Vietnam War before pursuing a career in entertainment.
He later used the GI Bill to study acting and went on to build a career that stretched well beyond the “Phantasm” films.
Bannister also appeared in horror and cult titles including “Wishmaster,” “Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation” and “Not Another B Movie.”
But it was his shotgun-wielding, ice-cream-truck-driving “Phantasm” hero who made him an unforgettable figure in horror movie history.
Bannister is survived by his wife, Gigi.