| Birth: | Dec. 27, 1975 | | Death: | Feb. 1, 1988 | 
Child actress, she is best remembered for her roles of Carol Anne Freeling in the three "Poltergeist" movies (1982, 1986, and 1988). Born in San Diego, California, she was discovered in 1980 by director Steven Spielberg, while eating lunch with her mother in the MGM Studio Commissary. Spielberg was looking for a six-year-old to play the part of Carol Anne in his upcoming movie, "Poltergeist" and hired her after an interview and a "scream test." Very quickly, her line "They're here…."entered the popular American vocabulary, and she became an instant star. When "Poltergeist II" (1986) was released, her tag line "They're back…" was used as part of the advertisement for the film, and again, quickly caught on to become another popular American phrase. Between films, she showed up in such television shows as Fantasy Island, Webster, Chips, Happy Days, and the New Leave It to Beaver. Although she achieved much fame and instant recognition in her Poltergeist roles, she never let it go to her head, and was always friendly to her classmates, never refusing to give her autograph. A straight-A student who studied hard, she loved to read, and liked calligraphy and drawing. She also showed an amazing ability to memorize, and often showed up on sets with all of the lines fully memorized. In later interviews, she confessed that she planned on going to UCLA to major in filmmaking, and to become a film director. During the filming of "Poltergeist III" (1988), she suffered flu-like symptoms, which caused her legs and feet to swell. Taken to Kaiser Hospital, the doctors diagnosed that it was only influenza, but when it persisted, they diagnosed her with Chron's Disease, a chronic inflammation of the intestine. Despite being on medication, she never complained during the filming and kept any pain from being noticed by any of the crew. On the evening of January 31, 1988, she was unable to eat dinner and started to vomit, which her parents thought was just a return of the flu. By the next morning, she was still unable to eat, and her parents noticed that her hands were cold and blue. They were getting ready to take her to the hospital when she passed out on the kitchen floor. The paramedics were called, and she was taken immediately to the hospital, but while being transported, she suffered cardiac arrest, and died on the operating table at the age of 12, the result of congenital intestinal stenosis (intestinal blockage), which had led to septic shock and infection. Her last words were "I love you," spoken to her mother. Of her many achievements, Heather stated that she was proudest of being elected student body president of her 5th grade class in 1985. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
Cause of death: Cardiopulminary arrest due to intestinal stenosis
Search Amazon for Heather O'Rourke | | | Burial:
Westwood Memorial Park
Los Angeles
Los Angeles County
California, USA
GPS (lat/lon): 34.05849, -118.44177 |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Jan 01, 2001
Find A Grave Memorial# 1173 |
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