Early life and education
Shadix was born in Bessemer, Alabama, and added the surname "Scott" when his mother remarried a few years after his birth. He attended Birmingham-Southern College for two years, studying with absurdist playwright-director Arnold Powell.[2]Career
He lived in New York City prior to moving to Hollywood in the late 1970s. He got his breakthrough film role in Beetlejuice while doing a stage play, portraying Gertrude Stein.[citation needed] Beetlejuice filmmaker Tim Burton went on to cast Shadix in 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes.In 2005, Shadix was cast as the voices of the Brain and Monsieur Mallah in season five of the Teen Titans animated series. His other voice work includes the aforementioned Nightmare, and episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures and Justice League Unlimited. He reprised his Nightmare Before Christmas role in the video game The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, and the Square-Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II.
His television work included the HBO drama Carnivàle, the NBC television comedy Seinfeld, in which he played Jerry's landlord, and playing the roles of giant brothers Typhoon and Typhon in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
On stage, Shadix was set to begin rehearsals for a Birmingham production of Alan Bennett's History Boys.[citation needed]
Personal life
He was openly gay, and wrote that, as a teenager, he underwent electroconvulsive aversion therapy in an unsuccessful attempt to become straight.[3]In 2007, after spending 30 years in Los Angeles, he returned to his native Bessemer, Alabama, where he purchased a Queen Anne style Victorian era home. The house was completely destroyed in a fire on December 13, 2008; Shadix told reporters that "I have lost my dream."[4]
Death
On September 7, 2010, Shadix accidentally fell at his condominium in Birmingham, Alabama, and died of blunt trauma to his head. Shadix had mobility problems and was in a wheelchair.[5]Filmography
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) as Twin Oaks Customer
- Beetlejuice (1988) as Otho Fenlock
- Sunset (1988) as Roscoe Arbuckle
- Heathers (1989) as Father Ripper
- Meet the Applegates (1991) as Greg Samson
- Sleepwalkers (1992) as Mr. Fallows
- Demolition Man (1993) as Associate Bob
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) as Mayor of Halloween Town
- Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills (1994) as the Voice of "Nimbar"
- My Summer Story (1994) as Leonard Doppler, Manager of Orpheum Theater
- Love Affair (1994) as Anthony Rotundo
- Dunston Checks In (1996) as Lionel Spalding
- Multiplicity (1996) as Building Inspector
- The Empty Mirror (1996) as Hermann Goering
- Planet of the Apes (2001) as Senator Nado
- Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005, short film) as Claudius
- The Final Curtain (2007) as Jack Strong
Television
- The Golden Girls (1987) 1 episode; "Diamond in the Rough"
- Night Court (1992) 1 episode; "The 1992 Boat Show"
- Cheers (1992) 1 episode; "The Beer Is Always Greener"
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993) 1 episode; "Hex and the Single Guy"
- Carnivàle (2003) 1 episode; "Tipton"