It has been 40 years since the film version of “The Twilight Zone” was released, but the controversy surrounding the death of three actors has left a legacy.
On June 24th, 1983, the film, Twilight Zone: The Movie opened in theaters for the public to watch. The film didn’t do very well financially, and the reviews were mixed. The New York Times’s Vincent Canby criticized the film, calling it “a flabby, mini-minded behemoth.” Years later, people would have completely forgotten about the movie if it wasn’t for the death of three actors on the set.
On Friday, July 23, 1982, at 2:20 a.m. three actors died filming a scene for the movie. They were filming a scene about a man (Vic Marrow) saving two children from a Vietnamese village. The man was supposed to save the children by crossing a river while the village behind them explodes. However, this segment was very badly rehearsed and badly calculated. A helicopter was damaged by the explosion and the pilot lost control. The helicopter fell into the river while the Marrow and the two children, Myca Dinh Le, age 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6 were still crossing. This inevitably led to the death of all three.
Later, when investigators evaluated the crash they realized that it was completely illegal for children to be on set. Especially when dealing with explosives. No child welfare worker would approve of children on a set with explosives. So, they concluded, director John Landis must have broken the law. They kept the children’s names out of the official paperwork and paid with some petty money.
All these mistakes made sense considering John Landis’s personality. John Landis himself was described to be a “screamer.” He would often go into temper tantrums if the quality of a scene wasn’t up to his standards. Once, when working on one of the scenes he ordered the use of live ammunition, which is incredibly dangerous, on a film set.
That fateful night, many said that the communication between the pilot, special effects crew, and the director was nonexistent. The timing was not right. This is what caused the chopper to crush the actors.
The man who set off the explosives, James Camomile, testified, “My attention was focused on Vic and the children because of the possibility the children might break free and run back to the village where my explosives were.” Of course, James was referring to Marrow, Myca, and Renee. They were still crossing the river when they were crushed by the plummeting helicopter placed 40 feet above them.
Although Landis faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, he was not the only one. George Folsey Jr.; the associate producer, Dan Allingham; the production manager, Paul Stewart; the special effects coordinator, and Dorcey Wingo, the helicopter pilot, all faced the same charges.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/24/obituaries/copter-falls-killing-actor-and-2-children-on-set.html
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-24-me-12944-story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/04/us/safety-of-actors-cited-by-witness.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/04/magazine/danger-on-the-film-set.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/14/us/film-trial-witness-tells-of-worries.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/24/obituaries/copter-falls-killing-actor-and-2-children-on-set.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/24/movies/twilight-zone-is-adapted-to-the-big-screen.html
On June 24th, 1983, the film, Twilight Zone: The Movie opened in theaters for the public to watch. The film didn’t do very well financially, and the reviews were mixed. The New York Times’s Vincent Canby criticized the film, calling it “a flabby, mini-minded behemoth.” Years later, people would have completely forgotten about the movie if it wasn’t for the death of three actors on the set.
On Friday, July 23, 1982, at 2:20 a.m. three actors died filming a scene for the movie. They were filming a scene about a man (Vic Marrow) saving two children from a Vietnamese village. The man was supposed to save the children by crossing a river while the village behind them explodes. However, this segment was very badly rehearsed and badly calculated. A helicopter was damaged by the explosion and the pilot lost control. The helicopter fell into the river while the Marrow and the two children, Myca Dinh Le, age 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6 were still crossing. This inevitably led to the death of all three.
Later, when investigators evaluated the crash they realized that it was completely illegal for children to be on set. Especially when dealing with explosives. No child welfare worker would approve of children on a set with explosives. So, they concluded, director John Landis must have broken the law. They kept the children’s names out of the official paperwork and paid with some petty money.
All these mistakes made sense considering John Landis’s personality. John Landis himself was described to be a “screamer.” He would often go into temper tantrums if the quality of a scene wasn’t up to his standards. Once, when working on one of the scenes he ordered the use of live ammunition, which is incredibly dangerous, on a film set.
That fateful night, many said that the communication between the pilot, special effects crew, and the director was nonexistent. The timing was not right. This is what caused the chopper to crush the actors.
The man who set off the explosives, James Camomile, testified, “My attention was focused on Vic and the children because of the possibility the children might break free and run back to the village where my explosives were.” Of course, James was referring to Marrow, Myca, and Renee. They were still crossing the river when they were crushed by the plummeting helicopter placed 40 feet above them.
Although Landis faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, he was not the only one. George Folsey Jr.; the associate producer, Dan Allingham; the production manager, Paul Stewart; the special effects coordinator, and Dorcey Wingo, the helicopter pilot, all faced the same charges.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/24/obituaries/copter-falls-killing-actor-and-2-children-on-set.html
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-24-me-12944-story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/04/us/safety-of-actors-cited-by-witness.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/04/magazine/danger-on-the-film-set.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/14/us/film-trial-witness-tells-of-worries.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/24/obituaries/copter-falls-killing-actor-and-2-children-on-set.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/24/movies/twilight-zone-is-adapted-to-the-big-screen.html
