Reggie Bannister

Reginald Horace Bannister^[1] (born September 29, 1945) is an American musician, actor, producer, writer, and activist. He is known for his role as Reggie in the Phantasm film series.

Reggie Bannister
Bannister in 2015
Born	Reginald Horace Bannister (1945-09-29) September 29, 1945 (age 79) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, musician, screenwriter, activist, film producer, make-up artist, composer
Spouses	Susan McDonald Akalski ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1987)​ Gayle Bannister ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1997)​ Gigi Fast Elk Porter ​ ​ (m. 2001)​
Website	reggiebannister.com

Career

Bannister is known for playing the gun-toting, ex-ice cream man Reggie in the Phantasm film series. Bannister starred in the films, which were directed by Don Coscarelli, alongside A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, and Angus Scrimm.^[2][3]

Bannister has appeared in several films and worked with such notables as Ossie Davis, Bruce Campbell, Ella Joyce, Daniel Roebuck, Andy Griffith, Joe Estevez and Andrew Divoff, and many others. Bannister has played many roles from Reggie in the Phantasm series to Herb Tooklander in the latest Stephen King adaption of One for the Road.

Along with co-producer Tim Sullivan and writer/director Paul Ward, he has also co-produced and starred in the short sequel to Salem's Lot, entitled, One for the Road. This film stars Bannister as well as Adam Robitel as Booth and Audrey Walters as Janey Lumley.

In 2012, Bannister and his wife, Gigi, have collaborated with co-writer Shelby McIntyre and co-writer/director Vito Trabucco on the comedy horror film Bloody Bloody Bible Camp. After having worked with Sullivan on One for the Road, Bannister had even asked Sullivan to co-produce and star in the film as the main villain, Sister Mary Chopper, which Sullivan accepted.

Bannister composed the song "Have You Seen It" (used in Phantasm IV: Oblivion) and arranged "Sittin' Here at Midnight" with Bill Thornbury (used in Phantasm).

Personal life

Reggie Bannister is a U.S. military veteran who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. In an article, Bannister stated: "Getting back to the Vietnam thing. I was not for that war, I was against it, but there was this thing called the draft. I had friends who were going to Canada and I wasn't going to do that, I stand up to what's in front of me, and so just like anything else, I just thought, 'Soldier? Really? You're gonna be a soldier? Okay, well then you're going to be the baddest-ass soldier that ever put on a uniform.' So I just took that attitude, Landon, and just went for it. I was a head radio operator for an automatic weapons specialty group." He was often around .40 and .50 caliber weapons, ultimately resulting in some hearing loss. Because of this, he is a service-connected disabled veteran, on top of which he was exposed to Agent Orange. Bannister took his GI bill from the military and used it to study acting.

Bannister currently resides in Crestline, California, where he lives with his wife. In 2016 he was diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson's disease.

On February 21, 2025, it was announced that his health was deteriorating and that he was going to begin receiving hospice care at his home in Crestline.^[4]

Filmography

• Kenny & Company (1976) – Donovan
• Jim the World's Greatest (1976) – O.D. Silengsly
• Phantasm (1979) – Reggie
• Phantasm II (1988) – Reggie
• Survival Quest (1989) – Pilot
• Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) – Eli
• That Little Monster (1994) – Twelvetrees
• Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1993) – Reggie
• The Demolitionist (1995) - Warden Thomas
• Wishmaster (1997) – Pharmacist
• Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998) – Reggie
• Up Against Amanda (2000) – Lead Guitar Ted
• Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) – Care Home Administrator
• Cemetery Gates (2004) – Belmont
• Journeyman (2005) – McFearson
• The Mangler Reborn (2005) – Rick
• Last Rites (2006) – Mitchell
• Fallen Angels (2006) – Radar
• The Final Curtain (2007) – Gus^[5]
• The Rage (2007) – Uncle Ben
• Text (2008) – Reggie
• Metal Man (2008) - Dr. Arthur Blake
• The Quiet Ones (2008) – Mr. Martino
• Small Town Saturday Night (2008) – Victor
• Satan Hates You (2009) – Mickey
• Walking Distance (2009) – Webber
• Carnies (2009) – Detective Conrad Ellison
• Sawblade (2010)
• One for the Road (2011) – Herb Tooklander
• Primitive (2011) – Dr. Stein
• Not Another B Movie (2011) – Umpire
• The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (2012) – King Clayton
• Bloody Bloody Bible Camp (2012) – Father Richard Cummings
• Phantasm: Ravager (2016) – Reggie
• The Obsidian Curse (2016) – Professor Reginald M. Sydow
• Bonejangles (2017) – Edgar Sr.

Other work

• Making of 'Bubba Ho-tep' (2004)
• Phantasmagoria (2005) Documentary on Phantasm (V)
• Phantasmagorical Mystery Tour (2005) (V)
• Working with a Master: Don Coscarelli (2006)
• POV: An Actor's Insight (2009)