The Halloween world was rocked this morning, with the news that our Sheriff Brackett, Charles Cyphers passed away on 4 August 2024 at the age of 85.
Arguably, the Ying to Donald Pleasance’s Yang, Cyphers was a solid character actor who struck up a successful run of hits with John Carpenter, starting with 1976’s Assault on Precinct 13.
His Sheriff in Halloween, is played perfectly as the small-town cop who never expects evil to infect his town, never mind threaten the life of his care-free daughter Annie. It’s all the more tragic that Annie is adult Michael’s first human victim, and he is still questioning Loomis’ motives for spooking the local police force.
Cyphers’ warmth when interacting with Laurie Strode, just shows he is a father first, and a cop second. Even after delivering his iconic line about ‘one good scare’, he smiles as Laurie walks away, neither knowing the horrors that lay ahead.
He would go on to appear in The Fog and Escape From New York, before returning to his most famous role in Halloween II, this time with Rick Rosenthal in the director’s chair.
Arguably, this is where Cyphers gives his most nuanced performance, albeit brief, as he grapples with the loss of his daughter at the hands of the still-at-large Michael Myers.
His quivering delivery about telling his wife before someone else does, is a stunning piece of acting, really capturing the raw emotion and shock of the moment for Brackett.
For years, especially as Halloween was dragged through off-kilter sequels in the late 80s and 90s, there was a hope amongst a pocket of fans – the return of Brackett, so he could get his revenge.
Eventually, in 2021 we would get our wish, as Brackett, now as a hospital security guard, would return for David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills, and get to face The Shape one last time. While his role feels at odds, with the bonkers nature of Kills, it was a moment of pure nostalgia for many, which we wished may have come sooner.
Outside of his horror roles, Cyphers was a solid television actor, as well as dabbling in genre cinema with Death Wish 2 plus action parody Loaded Weapon 1.
During Horror Con UK 2022, Cyphers, alongside Nancy Kyes visited the popular horror convention, and I was lucky enough to get to ask him a question,
“Why was your character not in Halloween II more?”
He simply answered, that the script was the script and he came in to do the job and follow instruction.
Ever the consummate professional, acting was his job, and Cyphers was always a safe pair of hands to deliver the performance needed.
While we will all mourn his passing, we should also thank him for these roles that he gave us; much like Michael Myers – they will never die.
Forever our Sheriff Brackett, rest easy Charles Cyphers.
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