Charles Cyphers, Actor in Three ‘Halloween’ Films, Dies at 85

Charles Cyphers, who played Sheriff Leigh Brackett opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in three Halloween movies, performances that spanned a remarkable 43 years, has died. He was 85.

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Cyphers died Sunday in Tucson, Arizona, after a brief illness, his manager, Chris Roe, announced.

“Charles was an incredibly lovable and sensitive man,” Roe said in a statement. “He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you them. He was a close friend and client for over 20 years.”

In addition to Halloween (1978), Cyphers appeared in five other projects from writer-director John Carpenter: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976); the 1978 and 1979 telefilms Somebody’s Watching Me! and Elvis ; The Fog (1980) and Escape From New York (1981).

“He was an early and frequent collaborator with me on my early movies,” Carpenter wrote on Twitter. “A kind man, he was a friend. I shall miss him.”

Cyphers returned to play Brackett in Halloween II (1981), directed by Rick Rosenthal, and Halloween Kills (2021), directed by David Gordon Green.

In the franchise’s first installment, Brackett’s daughter, Annie (Nancy Kyes), is among Michael Myers’ many victims.

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“So sorry to hear about dear Chuck,” Kyes, who also was in Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog , said in a statement. “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.”

Charles George Cyphers was born on July 28, 1939, in Niagara Falls, New York. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College, Cal State Los Angeles and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

In the 1970s, he appeared in such films as Cool Breeze (1972), Truck Turner (1974), Coming Home (1978) and The Onion Field (1979) and on episodes of shows including The F.B.I. , Cannon , The Six Million Dollar Man , Phyllis , Charlie’s Angels and Wonder Woman .

He also played Fred Drake on the landmark 1977 miniseries Roots and, from 1996-98, the shop teacher Al Yaroker on The WB sitcom Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher .

Survivors include his sister, Patricia.

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