Rob Zombie has paid tribute to his friend Sid Haig after news of the actor’s death came to light.
Haig’s wife Susan L Oberg confirmed earlier today that he had died at the age of 80, with the actor best known for playing the psychopathic clown Captain Spaulding in Zombie’s Firefly film series
Zombie says he was told the news in a phone call with actor Bill Moseley, and adds: “It was shocking but unfortunately not unexpected. I’ve know for a long time how sick Sid was and what he was battling.
“Over the past year as I saw pictures of him still attending conventions I thought perhaps he had beat it, but last week when he returned to the hospital I feared the worst.
“Sid and I had a long talk on the day that he told me of his condition and he knew 3 From Hell would most likely be his last appearance on screen. Sadly it was. I knew it was very important to Sid that Captain Spaulding make one more round and he did. Sid's time in the film is brief. He was in rough shape that day, but he gave it his all and made his scene very memorable.”
Zombie continues: “I was fan of his as a kid watching Jason of Star Command all the way through our 20 years of working together. I can still clearly remember the first time we met. It was at the Edith Head Costume building at Universal. Sid came out of the dressing room wearing a clown suit which was a few sizes too small.
“We said hello then we both started laughing at how ridiculous he looked in his ill-fitting suit. We would find him a much better suit.
“As we were making House Of 1000 Corpses, neither of us knew he was creating a character that would live on and grow in popularity every year. Sid told me many times how thankful he was for the Captain and how that character changed his life.
“He had completely given up on acting and now suddenly had found a whole new audience at the age of 60. I know he was thrilled and blown away by that fact.”
Zombie concludes: The Captain is gone... but he will never be forgotten. Rest in peace Sid.”
Alongside his Facebook post, Zombie uploaded a picture of himself and Haig together from March 2018, saying it was the last time they were all together.
Zombie's latest horror movie, 3 From Hell, which sees Haig starring along side Moseley, Danny Trejo, Sheri Moon Zombie, Richard Brake and Dee Wallace, is out now in theatres across the US.
The film is set to arrive on October 14 on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download through Lionsgate UK and will come with a 95-minute making-of documentary titled To Hell And Back and audio commentary from Zombie himself.
