HEATHER O'ROURKE: 

A TRIBUTE

From Script Supervisor Mary Carlson:

"I was so sad about Heather. She was such a cool person. She was the most mature actor we had on the set(except the older lady who said “into the light..” I forget her name now. She was cool too). Every morning she’d ask Gary “How were the dailies?”. She’d be there on set, on time, paying attention, knowing all her lines…very cool person to work with."

 

For wonderful video tributes to Heather O'Rourke created by fans at the Heather O'Rourke.net Web site, click here:

http://media.putfile.com/Before-The-Dawn-A-Tribute-to-Heather-ORourke

http://videos.heatherorourke.net/charmed124.wmv

 

HEATHER IN HER OWN WORDS

My sister was working on the [1981] movie  "Pennies from Heaven." I was having lunch in the commissary, and Steven Spielberg came over and asked me if I did any acting. I didn't know who he was or anything. I went to his office and he wanted me to be afraid of this pink fish and this purple pig and all that and I left. And he told me to come back the next day. I had to scream and cry and all that and I told him I couldn't handle much more, and he thought I was too young. It was a part for a 6 year old and I was only 5. But then he said later that I got the part. Just being lucky, I guess. Because I don't know what it was he saw in me.

The first one I saw 12 times. The second one I only saw twice because I didn't think it was too great. It was a very disorganized movie. The director, Brian Gibson, was English. We would only get one scene done per day. I just thought it was too boring. You could fall asleep. It didn't excite me, it didn't even scare me. I don't think it would scare anyone. Steven Spielberg and Gary Sherman are really great directors. This one is much more like the first one. I think it's the best.

The first one really kept you going. It was exciting. Well, after you see it a lot of times, it isn't so much. But the first time you see it, it really jumps you. Scares you.

[On whether the scary stuff in the films had any lasting effect]

No, that doesn't happen.

[On whether she believed in any of the supernatural events depicted]

Well, you see, I've never had any experience with that, so it's kind of hard to say.

[Was she afraid of the dark or the thing under her bed?]

I've kind of outgrown that.

[Commenting on her recent day off]

We went shopping. At the Water Tower. I got some electronic games. We took videos.

I want to continue acting. But I want to be a director. I'd been thinking about it for a while. A couple of years ago, I decided it would be a different experience to work behind the camera. And I'd be able to work on scripts. But I like acting a lot. It's fun. You meet a lot of people.

[On the grueling experience of filming P3, including the SFX makeups]

It was awful. I'm kind of glad it's over with. I couldn't even stand looking at myself in the mirror. It seems like it's gone by so quickly. It's been a great crew. So it's kind of disappointing that it's ending. But I do hope to do a different character some day. I'm tired of this one, kind of.

If there is a sequel, a "Poltergeist IV," I hope it's the last.

 

(The above statements are quotes from the June, 1988 "Chicago Tribune" article "O'Rourke remains the image of innocence," written by Peter Keough. The rest of the article can be read below)

(above, Heather and P3 director Gary Sherman)

 

Here are two video links from the Heather O'Rourke Memorial Site on Heather's passing. The first is a summary of the CBS, NBC, and ABC reports on her death. The second is the "Current Affair" report on her passing: 

http://media.heatherorourke.net/files.php?cat=33

http://media.heatherorourke.net/files.php?cat=36

 

O'Rourke remains the image of innocence

Chicago Sun-Times

June 12, 1988

Edition: FIVE STAR SPORTS FINAL
Section: SHOW
Page: 3

Index Terms:
profiles

O'Rourke remains the image of innocence
Author: Peter Keough

Article Text:

Three days before she would finish shooting on "Poltergeist III," seven and a half months before she would die from a mysterious intestinal ailment on Feb. 1, 1988, Heather O'Rourke sat before a mirror and watched herself be transformed into a visitation from hell.

It was not an easy process. Oscar-winning special-effects artist Stephen Dupuis already had been working on Heather for a few hours. The 90-degree Chicago heat penetrated the struggling air conditioning of the converted warehouse studio. But O'Rourke sat patiently without complaint. Depuis had changed her into the semblance of a hideously evil old man, but the cherubic 12-year-old's blue eyes beamed good humor, and her voice sounded with a startling treble sweetness.

"I can talk," she said through the disguise. "It's made so I can move the mouth without disturbing the rest."

She had had a curious career, which would end prematurely "Poltergeist III." (The film, shot on location in Chicago last spring, is now playing at local theaters.) For seven years, she had made Hollywood millions of dollars as the victim of an inescapable evil from beyond the grave. ("There's nothing better than putting a family or a little girl in jeopardy," "Poltergeist III" producer Barry Bernardi had pointed out in an earlier interview. "It's a terrific formula.") Though she had done a lot of other work in TV series and commercials, the image that lingered was of her poised before a TV screen, murmuring half in horror, half in fascination, "They're heeere."

On that day last June, O'Rourke reflected on her career's beginning. "My sister was working on the (1981) movie `Pennies From Heaven,' " she said. "I was having lunch in the commissary, and Steven Spielberg came over and asked me if I did any acting. I didn't know who he was or anything. I went to his office and he wanted me to be afraid of this pink fish and this purple pig and all that and I left. And he told me to come back the next day. I had to scream and cry and all that and I told him I couldn't handle much more, and he thought I was too young. It was a part for a 6-year-old and I was only 5. But then he said later that I got the part.

"Just being lucky, I guess," O'Rourke said, and laughed. "Because I don't know what it was he saw in me."

"He thought you were cute," said Dupuis, refining the contour of O'Rourke's demonic leer. "And talented."

Besides O'Rourke's talent and cuteness, Spielberg probably saw something else much more marketable: innocence. O'Rourke had, palpable even through the grotesque special effects layering her face that day, a beaming purity with which audiences identified and wished to cherish. Her attraction to and horror at evil reminds us of our own; her deliverance reassures us that we too will be saved, if we are good and innocent like her.

And, of course, Spielberg's shrewdness paid off. "Poltergeist" was the surprise hit of 1982 and plans were made for sequels. O'Rourke herself was a big fan of the original movie, "The first one I saw 12 times," she said eagerly. "The second one I only saw twice because I didn't think it was too great. I just thought it was too boring. You could fall asleep. It didn't excite me, it didn't even scare me. I don't think it would scare anyone.

"The first one really kept you going. It was exciting. Well, after you see it a lot of times, it isn't so much. But the first time you see it, it really jumps you."

O'Rourke laughed again, a bright peal that reminded one with a start that this bankable star, wearing a monster disguise, was in fact a little girl.

Did she believe in any of the supernatural phenomena in the movie?

"Well, you see," she said, "I've never had any experience with that, so it's kind of hard to say."

Was she afraid of the dark or the thump under her bed?

O'Rourke laughed. "I've kind of outgrown that."

Though the "Poltergeist" movies had not made O'Rourke more anxious about the unknown, they did make it a little more difficult to live as a normal 12-year-old. At school, she found herself sought by classmates for autographs. Her mother and the filmmakers tried hard to allow her the time just to be a 12-year-old girl. The next day, for example, was a day off.

Two days later, O'Rourke sat before the same mirror. Her makeup that day was much lighter, just the touches needed for the lights and camera. Although it was her day off, she seemed a bit wan and quiet.

"We went shopping," she said. "At the Water Tower. I got some electronic games." She pointed to a video camera on the makeup counter. "We took videos."

Did O'Rourke plan to expand her career someday, perhaps, into filmmaking?

"I want to continue acting," she said. "But I want to be a director. I'd been thinking about it for a while. A couple of years ago, I decided it would be a different experience to work behind the camera. And I'd be able to work on scripts. But I like acting a lot. It's fun. You meet a lot of people."

Perhaps one reason O'Rourke pondered the other side of the camera was the grueling regime of acting. Unlike the previous two films, "Poltergeist III" was shot with live special effects, with few post-production opticals. When the cameras rolled for the first two movies, the actors responded to a blue screen, but for "Poltergeist III," they actually beheld the special-effects horrors while filming.

"In this," the film's director, Chicagoan Gary Sherman, had noted about the scene two days before, "Heather turns to a mirror and sees this horrid face in the mirror on her body. We shot this scene live on the stage. You see Heather, and herself looking horrible, in the same shot. Heather was really able to evoke an incredible amount of emotion. She talked about the fact that when she looked into the mirror and saw someone else's face on her - and it was her eyes looking back at her - it sent a chill through her. It really made her feel like Carol Anne would feel like when this was happening for real.

"And yet," added Sherman, "I think with this process the actors actually have more fun. I know Heather certainly is. She said she's enjoying this more than she's enjoyed doing anything else."

"It was awful," said Heather later, looking at the grim 12-year-old's face that stared back at her from the glass. "I'm kind of glad it's over with. I couldn't even stand looking at myself in the mirror."

The filming was almost over, and she had mixed feelings about leaving the set. "It seems like it's gone by so quickly," she said. "It's been a great crew. So it's kind of disappointing that it's ending.

"But I hope to do a different character some day. I'm tired of this one, kind of. If there is a sequel, a `Poltergeist IV,' I hope it's the last."

The final days of production passed without difficulty, and O'Rourke and her family went on a long-awaited vacation to Florida. O'Rourke was not the only one a bit relieved that the filming was over; so was director Gary Sherman.

Rumors had circulated, even before O'Rourke's death, that the "Poltergeist" series was jinxed. After each production, a major cast member had died suddenly. After "Poltergeist," Dominique Dunne, who played O'Rourke's teenage sister, was murdered by an ex-boyfriend. After completing "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" (1986), Julian Beck, who played the demon Kane, died of a heart attack.

The "Poltergeist III" production seemed to support the rumors. There was a fire on a set, the threat of a directors' strike and more.

"We've had problems," Sherman said. "We've had problems with everything you could have problems with. We've had weather problems. We've had deaths - not because of the movie, but people related to folks working on the movie. We've had some tragic things happen off the set, not related to the film. We've had all kinds of dealings with people's emotional problems, off the set."

But as filming closed, Sherman said he felt satisfaction.

"I think my favorite part of the movie is working with Heather. She really is the central part of the film."

"She's great. She's just really fun to work with. Sometimes it's hard to regard her as a child. She's so bright, so intuitive. She's amazing. As an actor, she's very special. And I think she'll continue to grow and be special as an actress. I think this experience has had a very good effect and will be very good for her. She's come through it very well. I think she has the room and ability to do films other than the `Poltergeist' films."

Sherman's words of praise and expectation ironically have become a eulogy.

For some, the death of Heather O'Rourke will confirm the "Poltergeist" jinx; but for most, especially those who worked with her, the arbitrary tragedy that took her life darkly highlights her simplicity, talent and good nature. She remains the image of innocence imperiled, which, if only in the movies, is always saved in the end.

Caption:
In "Poltergeist III" (now playing at local theaters), forces from beyond follow Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) to Chicago. ABOVE: Carol Anne (O'Rourke) screams for her parents when supernatural forces try to suck her into a television set; in "Poltergeist" (1982). RIGHT: The evil Rev. Kane (Julian Beck) pursues Carol Anne in "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" (1986).

Copyright 1988, 1996 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.