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Halloween actor Gwen Van Dam passes away at 96

With over 140 titles to her credit, Van Dam stayed active throughout her career, featuring in some recent productions

Sreejith Mullappilly

Veteran actor Gwen Van Dam passed away on December 19 at her West Los Angeles home. She was 96. The actor, whose prolific seven-decade-long career spanned film, theatre, and television, succumbed to a cancer recurrence, her son Dirk Smillie confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

With over 140 titles to her credit, as per IMDb, Van Dam stayed active throughout her career, featuring in recent productions such as Homecoming, Grace and Frankie, and Interior Chinatown. Recently, she completed a stage play as well. She is best known for her work in Halloween, True Confessions, Coming Home, The Trip to Bountiful, and Stir Crazy.

Her extensive television credits include The Brady Bunch, Maude, Mannix, House Calls, Moonlighting, Days of Our Lives, 227, Star Trek: Generations, Knots Landing, Gilmore Girls, ER, Charmed, Criminal Minds, New Girl, Modern Family, and Angie Tribeca.

Interestingly, Van Dam also found herself in demand for music videos, appearing in visuals for artists ranging from U2 and Smashing Pumpkins to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Panic! at the Disco, Mastodon, and Lil Wayne.

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