Heather O'Rourke

Template:Pp-blp Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She had her breakthrough starring as Carol Anne Freeling in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist (1982), which received critical acclaim and established her as an influential figure in the genre.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She went on to reprise the role in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988), the last of which was released posthumously.

O'Rourke also worked in television, appearing in the recurring roles of Heather Pfister on the comedy series Happy Days (1982–1983) and Melanie in the sitcom Webster (1983), as well as starring as Sarah Brogan in the television-film Surviving: A Family in Crisis (1985).

Throughout her career, O'Rourke was nominated for six Young Artist Awards, winning once for her role in Webster. On February 1, 1988, O'Rourke died following two cardiac arrests, her cause of death later being ruled as congenital stenosis of the intestine complicated by septic shock.

Early life

Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975, in San Diego,<ref name="DeathCertificate">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn to Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her mother worked as a seamstress and her father was a carpenter. She had an older sister, Tammy O'Rourke, also an actress. Her parents divorced in 1981, and O'Rourke's mother married part-time truck driver Jim Peele in 1984, while they were living in a trailer park in Anaheim, California.<ref name="grieving">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="johnson">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her success later allowed the family to purchase a home in Big Bear Lake, California.<ref name="johnson"/> Between acting jobs, O'Rourke attended Big Bear Elementary School, where she was president of her fifth grade class.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of her death, the family was living in Lakeside, California, a suburb of San Diego.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Acting career

In a contemporary interview with American Premiere magazine, producer Steven Spielberg explained that he was looking for a "beatific four-year-old child...every mother's dream" for the lead in his horror film Poltergeist (1982).Template:Sfn While eating in the MGM commissary,<ref name="1988-02-03NYT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Spielberg saw five-year-old O'Rourke having lunch with her motherTemplate:Sfn while older sister Tammy O'Rourke was shooting Pennies from Heaven.<ref name="johnson"/><ref name="ACF1988">Template:YouTube (A Current Affair)</ref> After his lunch, Spielberg approached the family and offered O'Rourke the Poltergeist role; she was signed the next day over Drew Barrymore, who instead received the role of Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

{{#invoke:Listen|main}} In Poltergeist, O'Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling, a young suburban girl who becomes the conduit and target for supernatural entities. During production, Spielberg twice accommodated the child actress when she was frightened; when she was scared by performing a particular stunt, Spielberg replaced O'Rourke with a stunt double wearing a blonde wig, and when she was disturbed by the portrayal of child abuse, Spielberg did not require her to perform the take again.Template:Sfn For her work on the film, O'Rourke earned between $35,000 and $100,000.<ref name="MONEY">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Poltergeist would go on to receive a cult following and critical acclaim, garnering three Academy Award nominations<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a Young Artist Award nomination for O'Rourke. She was lauded for her performance, with The New York Times noting that she played a key role, writing that "With her wide eyes, long blonde hair and soft voice, she was so striking that the sequel played off her presence."<ref name="1988-02-03NYT"/> Her delivery of the lines "They're here!" in the first film, and "They're baa-aack!" in the second (that film's tagline), placed her in the collective pop culture consciousness of the United States.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> "They're here!" is ranked No. 69 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Movie Quotes,<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and PopSugar included the line on their list of "100 Greatest Movie Quotes".<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

After her work in Poltergeist (1982), O'Rourke secured several television and TV movie roles. In April 1983, she starred as herself alongside Morey Amsterdam and well-known Walt Disney animated characters in the hour-long television special, Believe You Can...and You Can!Template:Sfn<ref name="19830319IG">Template:Cite news</ref> She also appeared in CHiPs, Webster, The New Leave It to Beaver, Our House, and had a recurring role on Happy Days as Heather Pfister.<ref name="1988-02-03NYT"/> For Webster, O'Rourke won her first Young Artist Award. She also appeared in the television movies Massarati and the Brain and Surviving: A Family in Crisis.<ref name="NYTfilmo">Template:Cite news</ref> O'Rourke went on to reprise the role of Carol Anne Freeling in the second and third installments, Poltergeist II: The Other Side in 1986 and Poltergeist III in 1988 respectively; unlike its predecessor, the films garnered mixed reviews,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> although O'Rourke's performances were praised. Poltergeist III was her final feature, released in June 1988, four months after her death.

Illness and death

In early 1987, O'Rourke became ill with giardiasis, which she contracted from well water at her family's home in Big Bear Lake.<ref name="siegel"/> She was subsequently diagnosed as having Crohn's disease. She was prescribed cortisone injections to treat the disease during the time she was filming Poltergeist III.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The steroidal injections resulted in facial swelling of the cheeks, which O'Rourke's mother said she was very self-conscious about.<ref name="grieving"/>

File:Heather O'Rourke crypt 2.jpg

Inscription at O'Rourke's crypt

On January 31, 1988, O'Rourke began exhibiting flu-like symptoms. The following morning, she collapsed in her home, and was rushed to Community Hospital in El Cajon.<ref name=phil/> En route, she suffered cardiac arrest, but paramedics were able to restart her heart at 9:25Template:Nbspa.m.<ref name=phil/> She was subsequently flown to the Children's Hospital of San Diego,<ref name=phil/> where it was discovered she had intestinal stenosis and went into emergency surgery. She survived the surgery, but suffered another cardiac arrest while in the recovery room. Doctors performed CPR for over 30 minutes, but O'Rourke was pronounced dead at 2:43 that afternoon.<ref name=siegel>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=phil>Template:Cite news</ref> O'Rourke's cause of death was ruled congenital stenosis of the intestine<ref name="1988-05-26LAT">Template:Cite news</ref> complicated by septic shock.<ref name="1988-02-03NYT"/><ref name="1988-02-03LAT">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Daniel Hollander, the head of gastroenterology at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center stated that O'Rourke's death was "distinctly unusual" as she lacked prior symptoms of the bowel defect: "I would have expected a lot of [digestive] difficulties throughout her life and not just to have developed a problem all of a sudden."<ref name=siegel/> However, Dr. Hollander further stated that it was possible for congenital bowel narrowing to cause sudden death without symptoms if an infection caused the bowel to rupture.<ref name=siegel/> A private funeral was held for O'Rourke on February 5 in Los Angeles,<ref name="siegel"/> and she was entombed at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.<ref name="DeathCertificate"/>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1982	Poltergeist	Carol Anne Freeling		<ref name=amg>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1986	Poltergeist II: The Other Side
1988	Poltergeist III		Posthumous release

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1981	Fantasy Island	Young Liza Blake	Episode: "Elizabeth's Baby / The Artist and the Lady"	Template:Sfn
1982–1983	Happy Days	Heather Pfister	Recurring role; 12 episodes	<ref name=tvg/>
1982	Massarati and the Brain	Skye Henry	Television film	<ref name=amg/>
1983	CHiPs	Lindsey	Episode: "Fun House"	Template:Sfn
1983	Matt Houston	Sunny Kimball	Episode: "The Woman in White"	Template:Sfn
1983	Webster	Melanie	Recurring role; 3 episodes	Template:Sfn
1984	Finder of Lost Loves	Jillian Marsh	Episode: "Yesterday's Child"	Template:Sfn
1985	Surviving: A Family in Crisis	Sarah Brogan	Television film	<ref name=amg/>
1986–1987	The New Leave It to Beaver	Heather	Episodes: "Material Girl", "Bad Poetry"	Template:Sfn
1986	Around the Bend	The Daughter	Television film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1987	Our House	Dana	Episode: "A Point of View"	<ref name=tvg>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1987	Rocky Road	Russian Girl	Episode: "Moscow on the Boardwalk"	Template:Sfn

Accolades

Awards and nominations

O'Rourke was nominated for a collective six Young Artist Awards, one of which was won for her performance on the series Webster in 1985.

Heather was nominated for a collective six Young Artist Awards, one of which was won for her performance on the series Webster in 1985.

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1983	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series	Happy Days	Template:Nominated
1983		Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Poltergeist	Template:Nominated
1984		Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Series	Webster	Template:Nominated
1985				Template:Won
1986		Best Young Actress in a Television Special or Mini-Series	Surviving	Template:Nominated
1987		Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	Template:Nominated

Honors

• On the American Film Institute's 2005 list of "100 Movie Quotes", O'Rourke's delivery of "They're here!" in Poltergeist is ranked No. 69.<ref name=":0"/>
• On PopSugar's 2021 list of "100 Greatest Movie Quotes", O'Rourke's delivery of "They're here!" in Poltergeist is listed.<ref name=":1"/>

Sources

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External links

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