James Winburn has left for the heavenly abode. The Hollywood actor and stuntman passed away at the age of 85. He was best known for playing the role of stunt double of the Michael Myers character in the original 1978 horror flick Halloween.
According to a report by TMZ, James died on November 19, 2022, Saturday. Continue reading further to find out the cause behind the death of the Hollywood stuntman James Winburn.
What was the cause behind the death of James Winburn?
James’ manager Peter DeLorme, told the media outlet TMZ, that the iconic actor passed away at a hospital in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 19, 2022, after battling with an unknown illness. As of this moment, the cause of Winburn’s death has not been revealed publicly.
Winburn had hundreds of stunt credits to his name and they go back to the classic 1970s and 1980s TV series including McLoud, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Bionic Woman, and films like The Poseidon Adventure, The Fog, The Stunt Man, Escape From New York and TRON.
Despite all his stunt credits, James was popularly known for his stint in the 1978 film Halloween. During his scenes in the horror movie, he was seen wearing the Michael Myers mask.
Winburn played the stunt double for actor Tony Moran in a climatic sequence, in the movie when the character, was repeatedly shot by Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Samuel Loomis and fell to his (seeming) death from a balcony.
James Winburn played the stunt double for many stars
Throughout his career, James Winburn played the stunt double for many top celebs from Hollywood such as Peter O’Toole, Barry Bostwick, Stan Lee, Chevy Chase, George Hamilton, David Hasselhoff, and many more.
In addition to this, James also donned the director’s cap for a few films like Miami Beach Cops (1993), The Death Merchant (1991), and Evil Altar (1988).
Tributes pour in for James Winburn
Winburn used to attend fan conventions all over the world. Last month, he marked his presence at the U.K.’s For the Love of Horror fan convention. A tweet shared by the Monopoly events, organizer of the event, read that Winburn “was an absolute pleasure” to work with.
Monopoly Events also paid a heartfelt tribute to the stuntman on the social media platform Twitter. They tweeted, “We are extremely sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn, who joined us for @ftlohorror last month. James was an absolute pleasure to work and shared some amazing stories with everyone over the weekend. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans. #RIP.”
We are extremely sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn, who joined us for @ftlohorror last month
James was an absolute pleasure to work and shared some amazing stories with everyone over the weekend.Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans#RIP pic.twitter.com/K74XvFbLQp
— Monopoly Events (@monopolyevents1) November 21, 2022
Another convention organization, named Monster-Mania Con wrote, “Sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn today. James was an absolute pleasure to work with and we had hoped to see him again for our show in Oaks, PA but sadly a health issue prevented that.”
They added, “James was always appreciative of the Halloween fans and truly enjoyed meeting everyone. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans.”
We send our deepest condolences to the friends and family members of James Winburn during this difficult time. May the departed soul rest in peace. Don’t forget to stay tuned with us for the latest updates from the world of showbiz.
