Ed Gale, best known for portraying horror icon Chucky in the 1988 horror film Child’s Play, has died at age 61.
His niece, Kayse Gale, confirmed the passing of her ‘fun uncle’ in a heartfelt Facebook post.
‘Ed Gale has taken his final bow and is now headlining in the afterlife,’ she wrote. ‘Ed hitched a ride to California when he was twenty years old, with $41 and a dream, and he never looked back. He lit up the silver screens in cult classic films like Howard the Duck and Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town, earning himself some serious street cred at every con he attended. Which he never stopped bragging about. Ever.’
She continued: ‘Over the course of his career he appeared in over 130 movies, TV shows, and commercials. With this wide ranging body of work, he leaves behind legacy full of questionable lighting and amazing one-liners.’
Kayse went on to reminisce on how his ‘love language was sharing his love of the entertainment industry and the magic of Hollywood with his nieces.’
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Ed Gale, best known for portraying horror icon Chucky in the 1988 horror film Child’s Play, has died at age 61; seen in 2012
‘Ed loved 7 eleven hotdogs with disgusting amounts of ketchup. He enjoyed reminiscing about his glory days DJing at the Plainwell roller rink. He hated Bill Maher for no good reason. He delighted in the slow build up of telling a good story, and cheating at cribbage. He had one hell of a laugh, and he will be missed,’ she concluded. ‘Rest in love you cranky b**tard.’
A source also confirmed to TMZ that the actor passed away in hospice on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
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EXCLUSIVE: Chucky actor Ed Gale, 59, is under investigation after being caught on camera admitting he wanted 'oral, hand, and possibly anal' sex with '14-year-old boy' who was really part of 'Creep Catcher' sting operation
His cause of death has not been revealed.
In addition to bringing Chucky to life in the original Child’s Play, he reprised his legendary role as a killer doll in two additional installments.
Over his career, Ed also starred in cult classics like Howard the Duck and Chopper Chicks in Zombietown.
The performer had a prolific career in Hollywood, which spanned 130 movies, TV shows, and commercials.
Ed’s death comes two years after he was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department for admitting on camera to allegedly sexting with up to 10 minors.
A group calling themselves ‘Creep Catcher Unit’ posed as a 14-year-old boy online and allegedly received lewd texts from the actor, before confronting him on camera at his Hollywood apartment.
In 1988, Gale (left) played Chucky in the horror film Child’s Play
His niece, Kayse Gale, confirmed the passing of her ‘fun uncle’ in a heartfelt Facebook post
At the time, police told DailyMail.com they were investigating, but had not made an arrest and no charges were filed.
In videos filmed by Creep Catcher Unit (CC Unit), Ed confessed there were several minors he had ‘talked to sexually online’, that they were ‘all under 18’ and there were ‘Definitely no more than 10’ of them.
He told the CC Unit frontman, who goes by the alias Ghost, that he planned to have ‘Oral, hand, and possibly anal’ sex with the person he was texting, who he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
In the shocking video, the Howard the Duck, Spaceballs and Chucky actor was asked by Ghost: ‘Did you talk sexually to a minor online, yes or no?’ ‘Yes,’ the actor replied. ‘That’s a felony,’ Ghost said. ‘Yes,’ Gale replied.
Screenshots of the alleged text conversation between Gale and the decoy account show the actor telling the supposed child ‘I want hold yours while u go pee… your little winky,’ and asking them ‘Do u like the taste of come?’
The texts show Gale allegedly writing ‘I want to taste your tongue in my mouth’ and ‘I want to be inside of you’.
In addition to bringing Chucky to life in the original Child’s Play, he reprised his role as a killer doll in two additional installments
Ed’s death comes two years after he was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department for admitting on camera to allegedly sexting with up to 10 minors (pictured in 2021)
The decoy asked Gale in the alleged conversation: ‘do u want to use condom all the time or do it raw for a little bit’ and Gale replied ‘Raw with lube’.
In the videotaped two-hour confrontation, Ghost showed Gale printouts of the text messages, and Gale admitted he sent them.
A neighbor in the apartment building, Maggie Mayor-Oats, told DailyMail.com she found Gale ‘creepy.’
‘It’s not surprising. I always see random men coming in and out of his apartment,’ the jewelry store worker said.
Criminal records show Gale worked with a pedophile actor on the movie that made his Hollywood break, Howard the Duck.
Jeffrey Jones, who starred alongside Gale in the movie as well as playing prominent roles in Beetlejuice and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, was arrested in 2002 for child pornography possession, and was convicted of soliciting a minor.
He has since been arrested twice for failing to update his sex offender registry status.
In a 2014 interview, Gale described his past closeness with Jones, hosting him for Thanksgiving dinner in Palm Springs after filming Howard the Duck in the 1980s, before Jones’ conviction.