Charles Cyphers, who played Sheriff Leigh Brackett in the “Halloween” movies, dies at 85

The actor also worked with John Carpenter on "The Fog" and "Escape from New York," and regularly appeared on "The Betty White Show" and "Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher."

Charles Cyphers, the character actor best known for playing Sheriff Leigh Brackett in the Halloween movie series, died Sunday in Tucson, Ariz., after a brief illness. He was 85.

His manager Chris Roe confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly and said Cyphers passed away comfortably. He added that the actor's family "asks for privacy at this time," and that "details on a celebration of life ceremony will happen at a date and location to be determined."

Frequent collaborator John Carpenter paid tribute to Cyphers on social media, writing, "Charles Cyphers has passed away. He was an early and frequent collaborator with me on my early movies. A kind man, he was a friend. I shall miss him."

Nancy Kyes, who costarred with Cyphers in three Carpenter films, including Halloween, said in a statement provided to EW, "So sorry to hear about dear Chuck. My friend of many years, he could always be relied on for a kind word, a good laugh and a great story. How he will be missed."

Roe added, "Charles was an incredibly lovable and sensitive man. He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you. He was a close friend and client for over 20 years who will be dearly missed."

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Born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in 1939, Cyphers studied acting at CSU Los Angeles and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first movie appearances were in uncredited performances in the 1972 blaxploitation crime movie Cool Breeze and the 1973 Jim Brown vehicle The Slams, and his first credited work was in a 1972 episode of Cannon. His first credited film role came in the 1974 action movie Truck Turner. In the mid-1970s, he appeared in episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff The Bionic Woman as Faler, as well as assorted episodes of shows like Charlie’s Angels, Roots, and Wonder Woman.

1977’s The Betty White Show proved to be Cyphers' longest stint on a single TV project in his early career. He played Hugo Muncy, the male stunt double of Betty White's Joyce Whitman, on all 14 episodes of the comedy series.

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During the first decade of his screen career, Cyphers played a number of small supporting roles in films with major stars, including Gregory Peck (MacArthur), Clint Eastwood (Honkytonk Man), Jane Fonda and Jon Voight (Coming Home), Charlton Heston (Gray Lady Down), Kris Kristofferson (Vigilante Force), Charles Bronson (Borderline and Death Wish II), and Chuck Norris (A Force of One).

Many of Cyphers' most enduring projects came in collaboration with horror filmmaker John Carpenter. The duo first worked together on the gripping 1976 thriller Assault on Precinct 13, in which Cyphers portrayed a police officer who is shot dead by a bloodthirsty gang.

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Two years later Cyphers played another law enforcement figure, who turned out to be his most iconic character: Halloween's Leigh Brackett, the sheriff in Haddonfield who accompanies Donald Pleasence's Dr. Samuel Loomis in his quest to take down Michael Myers (Nick Castle). Leigh is also the father of Annie (Kyes), a good friend of Laurie Strode's (Jamie Lee Curtis) who ultimately becomes Michael's first teen victim after breaking out of a sanitarium.

Sheriff Brackett is one of the few characters who survives to the end of Halloween, and Cyphers reprised the role in 1981's Halloween II. He returned to play the role again in 2021's Halloween Kills, in which Brackett ultimately perishes at Michael's hand.

Outside of the Halloween movies, Cyphers collaborated with Carpenter in 1980's chilling horror film The Fog and 1981's classic action-thriller Escape from New York, as well as the TV movies Someone's Watching Me! and Elvis.

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After his collaborations with Carpenter, Cyphers primarily focused on TV for the remainder of his career, appearing in 41 episodes of Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher as Al Yaroker. He also performed in episodes of massive shows like Seinfeld, 21 Jump Street, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dragnet, Matlock, ER, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and made occasional appearances in movies like Major League and Loaded Weapon 1.

Cyphers never officially retired from acting, but opportunities slowed down in the 2000s as he moved away from Los Angeles. Halloween Kills was his final screen performance, which Roe described as "a 'no brainer' to return to a franchise that he was so closely connected to."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.