Heather O'Rourke

Infobox Actor
name = Heather O'Rourke


caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1975|12|27
birthplace = San Diego, California, USA
deathdate = death date and age|1988|02|01|1975|12|27
deathplace = San Diego, California, USA
othername = Heather Michelle O'Rourkecite web
url= http://movies.nytimes.com/person/53639/Heather-O-Rourke/filmography
title= Heather O'Rourke
accessdate= 2008-08-06
work= The New York Times
publisher= Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.]
occupation = actress
yearsactive = 1982—1988
website = http://www.heatherorourke.net/

Heather O'Rourke (December 27, 1975—February 1, 1988)cite web
url= http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:53639~T0
title= Heather O'Rourke
accessdate= 2008-08-06
last= Erickson
first= Hal
work= allmovie
publisher= Macrovision] was an American child actress who played Carol Anne Freeling in the "Poltergeist" trilogy, as well as several television guest appearances before her death in 1988 at the age of 12.

Early life

O'Rourke was born on December 27th, 1975 in San Diego, California, the daughter of Kathleen O'Rourke.cite news
title = Heather O'Rourke, 12; Starred in 'Poltergeist'
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0DD1E3AF930A35751C0A96E948260
work = The New York Times
publisher = Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.
location = Manhattan, New York, United States
date = 1988-02-03 ] Sometime before Heather O'Rourke's death in 1988, her mother married James "Jim" A. Peele, who became stepfather to the young actress.cite news
title = O'Rourke's Stepfather Sought In Child Support Case
work = San Jose Mercury News
location = San Jose, California, United States
page = 1B
date = 1988-02-04
accessdate = 2008-08-06 ]

Career

Heather O'Rourke was a chance discovery by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who found the five-year-old having lunch with her mother in the MGM commissary. Within months, O'Rourke was cast in the 1982 horror film, the Spielberg-written and -produced "Poltergeist".

The "Poltergeist" films

In the "Poltergeist" trilogy, O'Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling, the young suburban girl who winds up being the conduit and target for entities supernatural. In her debut film, the 1982 original "Poltergeist", O'Rourke's striking performance and appearance—her "wide eyes, long blonde hair and soft voice"—carried her into the sequel which played off her screen presence. O'Rourke continued the same part in both sequels, "" and "Poltergeist III".

O'Rourke's delivery of the lines "They're here!" in the first film, and "They're baa-aack!" in the second (which was that film's tagline) placed her in the collective pop culture consciousness of the United States before she was seven years old.

Television work

After her work in 1982's "Poltergeist", O'Rourke secured several television and TV movie spots. She appeared in "CHiPs", "Webster", "The New Leave It to Beaver", "Our House", and had a recurring role on "Happy Days" as Heather Pfister. In the TV movies "Massarati and the Brain" and 1985's "Surviving" she played Skye Henry and Sarah Brogan, respectively.

Death

On February 1, 1988, O'Rourke was rushed to Children's Hospital and Health Center in San Diego after complaining of chest pains. Speaking to reporters, O'Rourke's manager David Wardlow initially announced that it was believed O'Rourke died of the flu.cite news
title = 'Poltergeist' Star Heather O'Rourke Becomes Ill, Dies
work = The Post-Standard
publisher = Stephen A. Rogers
location = Syracuse, New York, United States
date = 1988-02-03
accessdate = 2008-08-06 ] cite news
title = Poltergeist` Actress, 12, Dies Heather O`Rourke Thought To Have Flu
work = The Charlotte Observer
publisher = Ann Caulkins
location = Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
page = 3A
date = 1988-02-03
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ] However, hospital spokesman Vincent Bond announced that O'Rourke died that day during a surgery attempting to repair a congenital acute bowel obstruction (stenosis of the intestine) which was complicated by septic shock;cite news
first = Burt A.
last = Folkart
title = `Poltergeist' Star Heather O'Rourke Dies at Age of 12
work = Los Angeles Times
publisher = David Hiller
location = Los Angeles, California, United States
page = 3
date = 1988-02-03
accessdate = 2008-08-07
quote = [Heather O'Rourke] , the terrified youngster sucked into a spectral vacuum by supernatural spirits in the "Poltergeist" films, has died on an operating table at a San Diego hospital, it was reported Tuesday. ] this report was corroborated by the San Diego County coroner's office on February 3rd, two days after her death.cite news
first = Ena
last = Naunton
title = Child Actress's Death A `1-In-Million' Event
work = Akron Beacon Journal
publisher = Andrea Houston Mathewson
location = Akron, Ohio, United States
page = A14
date = 1988-02-04
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ] Later reports amend the specific cause of death to cardiac arrest—a result of the septic shock brought on by the intestinal stenosis.cite news
title = People
work = St. Louis Post-Dispatch
publisher = Kevin Mowbray
location = St. Louis, Missouri, United States
page = 2A
date = 1988-05-26
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ] cite news
first = Bob
last = Baker
title = Suit Blames Doctors in Death of Young Actress
work = Los Angeles Times
publisher = David Hiller
location = Los Angeles, California, United States
page = 35
date = 1988-05-26
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ]

O'Rourke was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on February 5, 1988. Her funeral was attended to by her family and friends, to include Henry Winkler, Linda Purl, and Ricky Schroeder.cite news
title = SERVICES HELD FOR CHILD STAR
work = Daily News of Los Angeles
publisher = John McKeon
location = Woodland Hills, California, United States
date = 1988-02-06
accessdate = 2008-08-06 ]

Lawsuit

On May 25, 1988, Sanford M. Gage, the O'Rourke family attorney, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Diego. O'Rourke had been seen by doctors at Kaiser since birth, and the suit claims that they failed to properly diagnose the longstanding small-bowel obstruction and that had they not simply treated her for intestinal inflammation with prescription drugs, she could have been cured by means of a simple operation.cite news
first = Bob
last = Baker
title = Suit Filed in `Poltergeist' Actress' Death
work = Los Angeles Times
publisher = David Hiller
location = Los Angeles, California, United States
page = 2
date = 1988-05-26
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ] cite news
first = Chuck
last = Conconi
title = PERSONALITIES
work = The Washington Post
publisher = Katharine Weymouth
location = Washington, D.C., United States
date = 1988-05-27
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ] The suit further stipulated that it was this misdiagnosis that caused the 12-year-old actress' death.cite news
first = W.
last = Speers
title = Hospital Sued Over Child Star's Death
work = The Philadelphia Inquirer
publisher = Brian Tierney
location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
page = D02
date = 1988-05-26
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ]

Lasting ramifications

O'Rourke's death complicated MGM's marketing for her most recent work, "Poltergeist III", out of fear of appearing to be exploiting the actress' death.cite news
title = Studio Unsure How To Market Latest 'Poltergeist' Movie
work = Lexington Herald-Leader
publisher = Tim Kelly
location = Lexington, Kentucky, United States
page = J5
date = 1988-03-27
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ] Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen, O'Rourke's co-stars, were discouraged from giving interviews about the film, as they would inevitably lead to undesired questions about O'Rourke's premature death.cite news
first = Michael
last = Cieply
title = MGM Ponders Selling of `Poltergeist III'
url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/58859996.html?dids=58859996:58859996&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+21%2C+1988&author=MICHAEL+CIEPLY&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=MGM+Ponders+Selling+of+%60Poltergeist+III%27&pqatl=google
work = Los Angeles Times
publisher = David Hiller
location = Los Angeles, California, United States
page = 6
date = 1988-03-21
accessdate = 2008-08-07 ]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1173 Heather O'Rourke at Findagrave.com]
* [http://www.heatherorourke.net/ Heather O’Rourke: The Memorial Site]

Persondata
NAME= O'Rourke, Heather
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= O'Rourke, Heather Michelle
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1975-12-27
PLACE OF BIRTH= San Diego, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH= 1988-02-01
PLACE OF DEATH= San Diego, California, United States