‘Tis a sad day in the horror world, because we have lost the great Sid Haig at the age of 80. I won’t bother getting into his long career in both television and movies (that’s what IMDB is for), but instead will tell a quick story of when I was lucky to meet and talk to him for the first time.
If you have gone to or frequent horror conventions, then there is a high probability that you saw Sid there. Usually with his friend Bill Moseley in tow nearby, Sid would have his booth set up with glossy 8X10 pics from his acting career laid out for fans to choose from to be signed (Captain Spaulding being the most popular, of course). His fee would always remain the same ($20 for a signed photo or poster – $10 to sign anything of your own that you brought), which is rare in the convention circuit. Oh – and pictures/selfies were always free. That day I had brought my DVD for The Devil’s Rejects to be signed, and I had actually just started this blog and had some stickers to pass around the convention.
I met Sid and he put his signature on the DVD cover and shook my hand. Honestly couldn’t have been nicer. He asked if I wanted a picture and I politely declined, and while I was leaving I gave him one of my Dirty Horror stickers. As I was walking away, he yelled out “Tony, come here!” So I went back and he said “You’re gonna do great with the blog – take a pic and I’ll hold up the sticker”. I honestly kinda froze. But he held the sticker up, and I took the picture……
And that pretty much was who Sid seemed to be. Judging from all of the posts on social media today from not just fans, but other acting colleagues, it’s obvious he touched a lot of people.
Now, the end of this story will only further prove my point of the greatness of Sid. Being that I had brought my own DVD to get signed, the charge was $10. Unbeknownst to me, I had given Sid a $20 bill. As I’m walking away again (after getting my picture), I hear “Tony! Tony!!!“. I start my walk back to the booth and Sid yells over to me “You gave me a 20, I owe you $10!“. I just kind of laughed (being that this was the second time I was walking away that Sid yelled out to me), and it made me realize even more that Sid was a pretty amazing guy. Rest in peace, Sid.
