Heather O'Rourke (1975-1988) Heather Michele O'Rourke (Bernie or Heath ) was born on December 27, 1975 in Santee, San Diego, California, to Kathleen, a seamstress, and Michael O'Rourke, a construction worker. O'Rourke, Heather . I'm tired of this one, kind of. Heather O'rourke Husband ,Married and Children Heather is a married woman. [on the first two Poltergeist movies]: The first one I saw 12 times. She would never be alone though. O'Rourke had an elder sister named Tammy, who was also an actress. . Along with Heathers growing success came a growing salary and so with a newly formed corporation in her name and with her earnings from Poltergeist II and her latest TV appearances, she and her family picked out a new house in Big Bear with the intention of making it their permanent home. She was on medication throughout the filming of her next project, Poltergeist III (1988), and her cheeks were puffy in some scenes. It was both Heather and Tammys love of sweets (especially chocolate) that gave them the idea to share their delicious obsession with other Big Bear residents by becoming entrepreneurs for a while. Heather was well known for her role as Carol Anne Fleming in the blockbuster 1982 Steven Spielberg film series Poltergeist. That summer, they finished filming their movies and by the Fall of 1981, their mother starting working again, the girls started at new schools, and the acting and auditioning for new parts continued. She also loved to make and eat sweets, and was the student-body president at her school. This was mainly sparked by her love of acting, but her experiences with a variety of media types and her admiration of Sylvester Stallone and Michael Landon, both of whom were long time successful actors turned directors, were further inspiration. Was an avid reader; her former 7th Grade English teacher honors this passion of hers by making all her students observe what she calls "Heather O'Rourke Love of Reading Week"; the last book she was reading was "Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl". She has black hair and brown eyes. Heather O'Rourke, familiar to moviegoers as the child swept into another world by ghosts in ''Poltergeist'' and its sequel, ''Poltergeist II,'' died at Children's Hospital and Health Center in San . They started a candy selling business in front of the Honda dealership where their stepfather was employed. In 1987, she got featured in an episode each of Our House and Rocky Road. She was misdiagnosed by the hospital and the parents later sued but settled out of court. She would only be twelve years old when the movie would be completed and released the following year, but not too young, Heather thought, to get herself an Academy Award nomination for best actress. Was in a school play two months before her final breath. It was covered up at the time, but the ending of Poltergeist 3 was reshot after she died and they had to reduce how much Carol Anne appeared in it. Seating in the commissary dining room was sometimes scarce so upon finding an unoccupied table, it was Heathers job to sit there and save it while Tammy and her mother would go and get their lunch. The ER team immediately took over the resuscitation of Heather and after several long minutes, succeeded in restoring her vital signs. Fellow cast members described Heather as having a calming influence on the set. LOS ANGELES (AP) The death of 12-year-old Poltergeist actress Heather O'Rourke was distinctly unusual because she lacked prior symptoms of the bowel defect that reportedly killed her, gastrointestinal doctors say. Heather O'Rourke Family, Parents, Siblings Attempts to establish her parents' identities were in vain since no information about them is available to the public. Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975 in Santee, San Diego, California, to Kathleen, a seamstress, and Michael O'Rourke, a construction worker. Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975 in San Diego, California, USA, to Michael and Kathleen. So, while Heather was gone filming, the house in Big Bear was sold and they began the moving process. Of the three Poltergeist films, Heather was most enthusiastic about this particular one because she made the most friends on the set, and, as her director Gary Sherman put it, Heather got to act and not just react, unlike the first two films. She had already been ill for a while with what they thought was probably the flu. Drugs were commonplace. Born in San Diego, California, she was discovered in 1980 by director Steven Spielberg, while eating lunch with her mother in the MGM Studio Commissary. She was unable to keep anything in her stomach and crawled into bed with her parents that night, saying that she didn't feel well. That miracle was finally realized when, two days after Christmas 1975, in San Diego, California, Heather Michele ORourke was born. You could fall asleep. Said that if a Poltergeist IV would to happen it would have been her last film in the series. A multitalented girl, she was skilled in drawing, calligraphy, singing, and dancing. Heather is most known for her portrayal as Carol Anne Freeling in the 1982 hit movie Poltergeist and its sequels. Heather seemed confident about being able to do this and so together, they relayed back and forth, Spielberg giving lines and direction, and Heather following along. I'd been thinking about it for a while. With the introduction of Sherman also came a source of fresh creativity and so the traditional Poltergeist formula that called for a setting that was homely, rustic, and suburban, was replaced with one that was slick, modern, and metropolitan. When the Pennies from Heaven production would break at noon everyday, Tammy would join Heather and their mother for lunch in the legendary MGM Studios Commissary which, at mealtimes, was often packed with any number of directors, actors, and hundreds of stage personnel, all of them hungry. When she told her doctor, he assured her that the condition would pass but as a precaution, suggested that she have a procedure to remedy what might be the cause. Before Heather had left for Chicago to begin the filming of Poltergeist III, the family decided to move back to the San Diego area. A top entertainment lawyer has confirmed that the child star of movie Poltergeist, Heather O'Rourke, was killed by an elite Hollywood pedophile ring. O'Rourke had an elder sister named Tammy, who was also an actress. After the success of Poltergeist, with her own agent and manager, Heather began to appear regularly on television, first landing a recurring role on Happy Days in the Fall of 1982. Heather's middle school put up a tree in her memory after she passed away, however, this was later removed due to renovations, the school does still have "Heather O'Rourke Love of Reading Week". Heather is most known for her portrayal as Carol Anne Freeling in the 1982 hit movie Poltergeist and its sequels. The little actress was a keen shopper. Producer Steven Spielberg came up to them and wanted O'Rourke for the part of Carol Anne. She had an older sister, Tammy O'Rourke, also an actress. They immediately set to the task of writing the screenplay and by the spring of 1983 (not quite a year since the release of the first Poltergeist) had completed it. Heather would continue to remain busy with her many guest spots on television shows and commercials and by the end of 1983, Tammy, who was now 12, had started junior high school and worked only occasionally. She died during surgery in 1988 after being misdiagnosed with Crohn's disease. 1 de fevereiro de 1988 (12 anos) Foi sepultada no Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. For more than half an hour, doctors tried desperately to rescuscitate her but finally, all hope was lost, and Heather died peacefully at 2:43p.m. He asked her to scream a lot. After the miscarriage she was still feeling life inside of her. It seemed that he wanted to get to know Heather better and that maybe she might be right for the part after all. At the end of January 1988, Heather started feeling slightly ill again. The unexpected death of the child star Heather O'Rourke at age 12 cemented an urban legend that was circulating for years: The movie "Poltergeist" was cursed. A prominent Hollywood entertainment lawyer claims that Poltergeist child star Heather O'Rourke was raped and murdered by Hollywood executives. Her favorite movie of all time was Disney's. They found an agent to represent Tammy and with perseverance, succeeded in getting some acting spots in television commercials but dancing always remained her focus. During the month that followed, Kathleen recovered emotionally somewhat but continued to feel all the normal symptoms, and still show some signs, of being pregnant. Kathleen called the doctor's and was getting ready to put her clothes on when Heather fainted on the kitchen floor. Being able to memorize 60 pages of script an hour, she would have already memorized the entire script. She never complained during filming and did not appear sick to fellow cast members.When filming was completed in June, Heather and her family went on a road trip from Chicago, to New Orleans, to Orlando and all the way back to Lakeside where they lived at the time. A couple of years ago, I decided it would be a different experience to work behind the camera. Heather O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She was sitting alone in the MGM Commissary waiting for her mother when a . Poltergeist II, although not as successful as the first, did reasonably well at the box-office nonetheless. Her older sister, . She instantly became a star overnight and was easily recognized at her favorite theme park, Disneyland, and everywhere in California. Heather O'rourke Husband Heather is a married woman. The shot was painstakingly setup by Spielberg himself and had all the promise of being a spectacular effect on film. O'Rourke was the student-body president in her elementary school as well. It wasn't. . To the surprise and delight of everyone, it showed that she was indeed still pregnant, though when they found out how and why, the discovery itself was not without some sadness. With plenty of relatives living close-by, the ORourkes and their extended family enjoyed a typical and comfortable suburban existence. One scene in particular was very physically demanding and could not be performed convincingly with a stunt double. Her parents divorced in 1981, and O'Rourke's mother married part-time truck . Heather O'Rourke was chosen for the film when she was eating lunch with her mother and sister at an "MGM" commissary. The second one I only saw twice because I didn't think it was too great. They had heard of Spielberg and knew that he was a film director, and so they thought that he just happened to be passing-by, until he told them that he was casting a little girl for a movie that he was making. That would make me happy because I'd be bringing others pleasure while doing something I like. Sometimes, the girls even performed onstage together. Heather entered American cinematic pop-culture before first grade. Soon, her feet were swollen, and after more tests, doctors said she had a bacteria and prescribed some medicines to kill it. Her career as a child actress enabled her to earn a decent amount of money. Adding The Tim Conway Show to her growing list of credits, within two years of her break into professional entertainment, she would be featured as a dancer in two big screen musical productions: MGMs Pennies from Heaven and Columbia Pictures Annie. Spielberg was looking for a. At the interview, he told Heather that it was a scary movie and that she would have to pretend to act scared and scream a lot even though there was nothing really there to scare her. Spielberg, who was just finishing up Raiders of the Lost Ark, was preparing to film ET but also had another film project in the works. She spent the remainder of the day resting on the sofa, while her mother periodically checked on her. After Heather was stabilized, her mother was informed of her critical condition and that she would have to be transported by LifeFlight helicopter to another hospital. In 1984, the little actress had a minor role in the TV program Finder of Lost Loves. Heather was delighted that she would be able to step out of the door of their mobile home and walk to the set at Disneyland a few blocks away. Because she was believed to have Crohn's, she wasn't tested for other issues. But the unnatural movement of the bedroom-set startled Heather and the wire-harness was very uncomfortable, not to mention the huge special effects fans, which constantly blew air in her face and ears for long periods of time, wearing away at her patience. Four days later, the ORourke family and friends gathered to greet the 1976 Bicentennial New Year, and to celebrate the homecoming of Baby Heather; the newest addition to the ORourke family. It was exciting. She appears to be tall in his pictures. When the paramedics came in, Heather insisted that she was "really okay" and was worried about missing school that day. Heather O'Rourke Husband, Is She Married? She had an older sister, Tammy O'Rourke, who was also an actress. The initial examination had determined that Heather was in shock, but they also noticed that her stomach looked swollen and other signs of what strongly indicated a bowel obstruction. . Shortly before Heather was born, her mother Kathleen had decided to work for a few hours a day but to be able to do that, she first needed to find someone to take care of Heathers older sister Tammy who, at that time, was only three. Joined Sep 11, 2013 . The only unanswered questions were, could she act, and more importantly, could she scream convincingly? This movie was released posthumously. The most well-known death that sparked and fuels the " Poltergeist curse" fire to this day was the shocking loss of Heather O' Rourke, who played Carol Ann the young, angelic face of the. Her mother worked as a seamstress and her father was a carpenter. She was diagnosed as have Crohn's disease, and they were treating her she was on steroids and I guess the only side effects were the chipmunk . class in school that day but never said why. What made her death especially unsettling was the fact that she lacked prior . Spielberg realized that this was Heathers way of telling him that the interview was over and so he called in her mother. Heather Michele O'Rourke ( San Diego, 27 de dezembro de 1975 San Diego, 1 de fevereiro de 1988) foi uma atriz mirim americana, conhecida pelo papel de Carol Anne Freeling na trilogia dos filmes . Her father was a carpenter, and her mother was a seamstress. Laboratory tests soon revealed what was causing her illness: Heathers intestinal tract had become infected with a microorganism called Giardia lamblia, which was common in mountain and other wilderness areas and usually contracted by drinking from an untreated water source. Heather Michele O'Rourke was born to parents Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke on December 27, 1975, in San Diego, California. She told Heather to get dressed but shortly after getting up from the table, Heather cried out to her mother as she slumped to the floor holding her stomach. Mala stariu sestru Tammy, ktor sa venovala tie herectvu. She was ranked at No 65 on VH1's list of '100 Greatest Kid Actors'. Heather Michele O'Rourke, fdd 27 december 1975 i San Diego, Kalifornien, dd 1 februari 1988 i San Diego, Kalifornien, var en amerikansk barnskdespelare. Spielberg promptly cast her in the horror film Poltergeist (1982) as Carol Anne Freeling, and O'Rourke earned recognition for her performance. To celebrate the end of filming, Heathers family planned to vacation the Summer of 1987 before returning to California. But in . Further encouraged by her dance instructor, Tammy finally decided that she wanted to break out of the local talent scene and try to get some serious dancing parts in bigger productions. One of those ten, was Tammy. If she had lived, it is likely that she would have gone into directing films like she said she wanted to. Heather O'Rourke's death at the age of 12 is well-documented because of a medical malpractice lawsuit her parents filed against her doctors for misdiagnosing the condition blamed for her death. Well, after you see it a lot of times, it isn't so much. The informant claims "the parents were told some crap story. After a few more featured appearances in some of Heathers shows, Tammy would retire from acting for good. Kathleen s Michael 1981-ben elvltak, s O'Rourke desanyja 1984-ben sszehzasodott Jim Peele teherautvezetvel. The same year, she did the television film Massarati and the Brain as well. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, Child Actors & Former Child Actors -- Gone Too Soon. Heather was well until January 31, 1988, Super Bowl Sunday. The agent handling Tammys career recognized this as well and offered to represent Heather, and so soon enough, the photogenic 4-year-old starting getting some exposure. Acted in her middle school Library/Literature Club's production of "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" in her nightgown with her favorite teddy bear in December of 1987. Now on the verge of panic, Heathers mother held and comforted her daughter while Heathers stepfather dialed 911 for emergency services. During the time that it took for the ambulance to get there, Heather had remained on the floor, still conscious and coherent, yet listless. When they werent acting, Heather and Tammy also kept busy with plenty of other hobbies as well. Her mother claimed a wrong diagnosis was responsible for her (Heather's) death. Tammy received this praise with enthusiasm and began dancing in small productions and entering local talent shows, often coming home with top honors. Details about O'rourke's husband are not available currently. Amused and intrigued by her precociousness, the man then asked if he could he sit and wait with her. [19] On January 31, 1988, O'Rourke suddenly became ill again, vomiting and unable to keep anything in her stomach. Still the cautious mother that she was, Kathleen took Heather back to San Diego for several more thorough follow-up examinations before leaving for Chicago in April to start filming Poltergeist III. Her mother was a seamstress while her father worked as a carpenter. Tammy was still a bit too young for pre-school (nor did she particularly like that idea) and day-care would have been an additional expense, so the answer was: dance class. Perhaps her most famous moment . Since they had already been staying there most of the week, the physical transition between old home life and new was eased somewhat, and so Tammy and Heather coped with the emotional stress by getting on with their lives and engrossing themselves in their acting. O'Rourke became ill in early 1987 and was misdiagnosed by doctors at Kaiser Permanente Hospital as having Crohn's disease. Her mother called out to her, and Heather came into their room and crawled into bed with them for a few hours. Heather has not shared any information about his family. Heather O'Rourke Parents and Siblings. Drew Barrymore had auditioned, but Spielberg felt she wasnt quite right for that particular movie (he gave her a part in ET instead though, which launched her career) and so he kept on looking. Sadly, Heather would neither complete the additional filming, nor win her academy award. She is 46 years old and is a Capricorn. During the time that she was in Chicago, Heather had written Tammy a letter expressing her homesickness for Santee and her hopes of both moving back there and of returning to her old school, but since they were now living in Lakeside, the district zoning stated that, as a resident of Lakeside, Heather had to attend a Lakeside school. On this particular day, Heather was sitting by herself waiting, as usual, for her mother and Tammy to return. Kathleens maternal instincts told her otherwise though, and she declined to have anything done and instead, waited. 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