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Charles Cyphers, Sheriff Leigh Brackett in the Halloween Franchise, Dead at 85
"Everyone's entitled to one good scare." RIP, Sheriff Brackett.
Charles Cyphers, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the actor who played Haddonfield Sheriff Leigh Brackett in director John Carpenter's seminal slasher film Halloween (1978), recently passed away in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 85 following a brief illness.
Born in Niagara Falls, New York on August 4, 1939, Cyphers enjoyed dozens of roles across the realms of film, television, and theater throughout an acting career that spanned nearly half a century. "I started studying acting at 21 and I didn't get my first paid job until I was 31," he said during a 2022 interview with Slime House.
Beyond his role in the Halloween franchise, which he revisited twice, as well as many other Carpenter films, his other genre bona fides include Freddy's Nightmares, SeaQuest 2032, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Sliders.
Halloween Actor Charles Cyphers Dead at 85
"Charles was a lovable and sensitive man," his manager, Chris Roe, said in a statement provided to Variety. "He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you. He was a close friend and client of many years who will be dearly missed."
Cyphers reprised the role of Sheriff Brackett — the first character in the franchise to utter the famous line, "Everyone's entitled to one good scare" — in Halloween II (1980) and Halloween Kills (2021). The latter film turned out to be his final screen appearance.
"To be called back again in a film, it's unheard of after 40 years. Most people are dead," a smiling Cyphers told Slime House. "Fortunately, I didn't die, so they brought me back. It was wonderful to come back and do it again and be paid. I enjoyed it."
Carpenter mourned the actor's passing on X (formerly Twitter), writing: "He was an early and frequent collaborator with me on my early movies. A kind man, he was a friend. I shall miss him." The two collaborated on several movies beyond Halloween, including Assault on Precinct 13 (now streaming on Peacock), Elvis, The Fog, and Escape from New York.
“So sorry to hear about dear Chuck,” Nancy Kyes, who played Sheriff Brackett's ill-fated daughter Annie, told Variety. "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.”
If you'd like to watch Cyphers as Sheriff Brackett, Halloween II and Halloween Kills (the sophomore installment in David Gordon Green's reboot trilogy produced by Blumhouse and Universal) is now available to own from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
