Heather O'Rourke

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Heather O'Rourke

Heather O'Rourke
Born Heather Michele O'Rourke
December 27, 1975(1975-12-27)
San Diego, California
Died February 1, 1988 (aged 12)
San Diego, California

Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress, best known for her role in the Poltergeist film trilogy.

[edit] Biography

O'Rourke was born in San Diego, California, the daughter of Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke. She was discovered at the age of five by Steven Spielberg while having lunch at the MGM Studios Commissary with her mother and older sister Tammy O'Rourke, a dancer in the film Pennies From Heaven. Spielberg, who was preparing to film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, was also looking for a child to play the role of Carol-Anne Freeling in his upcoming production of Poltergeist and when he approached Heather inquiring if she had any acting experience, she advised him that she was not allowed to talk to strangers. Despite her initial shyness, an interview soon followed and she was cast in the part.

Poltergeist was released in June 1982, and Heather's line, "They're he-eere!" entered American pop culture. Her success in Poltergeist immediately led to television work, and in 1982–83 she was a regular on the sitcom Happy Days, playing the daughter of Fonzie's girlfriend.

In between Heather's numerous television appearances, Poltergeist II was filmed and released in 1986 and once again, she delivered another phrase, "They're ba-aaack!".

[edit] Poltergeist III and death

When production of Poltergeist III began in early 1987, Heather had been ill for several months with what was eventually diagnosed as Crohn's disease, and subsequently underwent medical treatment during parts of the filming, which took place in Chicago, Illinois. Principal photography lasted between April and June of that year, with June 1988 as its scheduled release date, and by all accounts Heather finished her work on the film. After a family vacation, she returned home to California, her illness apparently in remission.

Heather remained healthy and symptom-free until January 31, 1988, when she again began to show signs of illness. The following morning her condition worsened and while being taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, Heather suffered cardiac-arrest. She was successfully resuscitated and immediately airlifted by air ambulance helicopter to the PICU at Children's Hospital in San Diego where it was discovered that she had developed an acute bowel obstruction. Despite surviving emergency surgery, she died of complications caused primarily by septic shock resulting from the obstruction and ensuing infection. She had only recently turned 12.

MGM decided to re-shoot the ending of Poltergeist III in March 1988 using a body double stand-in. The director of the film, Gary Sherman, claims the ending was not a re-shoot, and that Heather died "before they could film the original ending." However, his claim is unsubstantiated, as the finished film was rated "PG" by the MPAA in November 1987, before Heather died.[1]

Heather was interred in a niche on the outer wall of the "Sanctuary Of Tenderness" mausoleum at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Her tomb is close to that of the late Dominique Dunne, who played her sister in Poltergeist.


[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME O'Rourke, Heather
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Rourke, Heather Michele
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH 1975-12-27
PLACE OF BIRTH San Diego, California
DATE OF DEATH 1988-2-1
PLACE OF DEATH San Diego, California
v • d • e
The Poltergeist Trilogy