| |
|
Heather O'Rourke was discovered in 1980 by Steven Spielberg while she was eating lunch at the MGM studios commissary. Spielberg was looking for someone to play the part of 5 year old "Carol Anne" in his upcoming production of Poltergeist . He originally thought that she was too young for the part (she was four at the time) but after an interview and a "scream test", cast her in the role.
Poltergeist was released in June1982, and Heather's line: "They're he-eere!" entered American pop culture.
In 1986, Poltergeist II was released, and once again, O'Rourke coined another pop-culture phrase, when she said "They're ba-aaack!"
O'Rourke began filming Poltergeist III in 1987, and the movie was set to be released in 1988.
Unfortunately, O'Rourke never got to complete Poltergeist III. In February of 1988, a few weeks before the scheduled final filming, Heather died of complications after surgery for an acute bowel obstruction. She was just twelve years old.