“This house has many hearts.”
You may not know her name, but you know her voice. She may not have recited Shakespeare to the masses, but her monologue in Poltergeist (1982) was powerful enough to cement her place in horror herstory.
Zelda Rubinstein was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1933. Her beginnings were not exceptional. She went to college, earned a degree in bacteriology, and worked as a lab technician in blood banks. It was not until 1979, when she was in her mid-40s, that Rubinstein decided that she needed to do “something creative” and began to pursue acting.
It was that signature, raspy, high voice that won her the role of Atrocia Frankenstone on The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980). The Frankenstones were sort of a fusion between The Flintstones (1960) and The Munsters (1964). This role would foreshadow her career as a spooky character actress. Her film debut was in the Chevy Chase flop Under the Rainbow (1981), but it was not a role she would look back upon with pride. Measuring at 4’3” Rubinstein was determined to become an advocate for dwarves and others of short stature. In fact, she used her fame to form the Michael Dunn Memorial Repertory Theater, named for the 3’11” Oscar-nominated actor and dedicated to fight the demeaning stereotypes of little people in acting.
Of course, it was with Poltergeist (1982) that Rubinstein found fame and was able to showcase her talents as an actress, not a height. Rubinstein played the role of “house cleaner” Tangina who is called upon to help the Freelings save their youngest daughter, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) who has been kidnapped by ghosts that have been terrorizing their family and “have been attracted to little Carol Anne’s life force, a reminder of the worldly pleasures they left behind.”
From the moment that Tangina enters the Freeling’s home in Cuesta Verde, she demands respect and to be treated as the powerful medium she is. Steven (Craig T. Nelson) gets in a few cheap shots about her height and clairvoyance as a whole, but Tangina is nonplussed, just as she reacts to The Beast that has taken Carol Anne.
What makes Rubinstein’s character stand out in this film, other than her size, is the complete respect that producer (possibly director) Steven Spielberg and director Tobe Hooper give Tangina. Instead of making her a joke because of her size or belief in the paranormal, Tangina reacts with confidence and exudes power. She is the person who knows how to conquer evil. She is the strong one. She is the steadfast, strong woman who can support Diane (JoBeth Williams) through the hellish vortex to save her daughter. Tangina is stern when it needed, forcing Steven and Diane to lie and threaten Carol Anne with a spanking, but also kind and nurturing as Diane wonders if she will ever see her daughter again.
Rubinstein would return as Tangina in both Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988), but, perhaps as what can be viewed better as a reflection of two poor sequels to a gripping film first installment, Tangina’s character was not utilized. In the second Poltergeist film, Tangina’s role as mentor and spiritual leader has been reassigned to her friend and medicine man, Taylor (Will Sampson) who Tangina views as a stronger spiritual guide than she. While the Freelings have moved in with Diane’s mother, Gramma Jess (Geraldine Fitzgerald), Tangina has been working at the site of the remains of their former home.
In Poltergeist III, Tangina’s role is much like that of Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) in The Shining (1980). Both speak on the telephone to warn the characters of danger and both serve as guides that reveal the clairvoyant nature of children being threatened by spirits and evil. Rubinstein’s role in the third film may have been shortened due to her mother’s death during filming. It is ironic, though, that, in the first film, Tangina planned on going into the other dimension to save Carol Anne, but changed her mind somewhat comedic way, but does venture into the mirror world to save her in this film. Not only was the third film plagued by poor writing and a low budget, but feeding into the Poltergeist film series curse, Heather O’Rourke died shortly after filming. Not wanting to be accused of capitalizing on the death of a child, there was little campaigning for the film. Rubinstein, once again, was the highlight of the movie, but she was not given good enough material. It was like giving Chef Gordon Ramsey a cheap cut of meat to work with.
Rubinstein would hit the big screen again as Madame Serena in Teen Witch (1989). This film, along with The Worst Witch (1986) had me convinced that I would discover magical powers when I entered adolescence. This belief subsequently fueled and even more angst-filled teenage existence for yours truly.
This time, Rubinstein plays a medium, mentor, and fellow witch Modesty Miller who has been reincarnated as Louise Miller (Robyn Lively). Madame Serena helps Louise harness her powers and understand them as they return to her when she becomes a teenager. This time, Rubinstein gets to showcase her delivery in a teen comedy. Like Tangina, Madame Serena helped guide and brought a knowing, motherly love to the film, but with several snarky and fun comments. The role of medium/mother/mentor is one that Rubinstein will continually play for the rest of her career ranging from Tales from the Crypt (1989) to Bigas Luna’s cult film Angustia (1987).
It would be easy to be angry at Hollywood for typecasting her as medium or spooky mother, if she did not play the roles so damn well! In fact, Rubinstein sacrificed her up and coming career early on when she became the face of one of the first HIV/AIDS Awareness campaigns targeting gay men to practice safer sex. Rubinstein’s motherly image was posted on billboards and magazine ads reminding her gay sons to “play safe.” She was also one of the few celebrities to attend the first AIDS Project Los Angeles Aids Walk at a time that any association with HIV/AIDS was considered taboo.
In the early 90s, she played a recurring character on the first few seasons of Picket Fences (1992), but, otherwise, her on screen work was mainly cameos in forgettable films likes the cringe worthy Timemaster (1995) and National Lampoon’s Last Resort (1994). She had a cameo in Little Witches (1996), which was her most promising film of the decade, but the script could not compete with the resurgence of light teen horror films of the time such as The Craft (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), and Idle Hands (1999) that were stylistically the same, but overall better.
Rubinstein’s distinctive voice, not her memorable look is what would give her the most success from the mid-90s through the 2000s as she returned to voice over work in The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper (1996), in commercials for Skittles urging us all to “taste the rainbow,” and as the narrator in Scariest Places on Earth (1999).
Sadly, Zelda Rubinstein went to the light on January 27, 2010 at 76. Luckily for her, she missed Poltergeist (2015), the remake of the classic film. Sadly for us, we missed out on a possible cameo and lost a legendary trailblazer.