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}}</ref> Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman Janice Seib responded "We have reviewed the case extensively, and we believe that the diagnosis and the course of action taken by our physicians was entirely appropriate. It's a very complex case, complicated by a number of factors, and not given to any simple answers."<ref name="ACF1988" /> |
}}</ref> Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman Janice Seib responded "We have reviewed the case extensively, and we believe that the diagnosis and the course of action taken by our physicians was entirely appropriate. It's a very complex case, complicated by a number of factors, and not given to any simple answers."<ref name="ACF1988" /> The case went to arbitration and was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.<ref>[http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3887180/Battling-over-culpability-calculating-the.html Battling over culpability, calculating the price of a life.]</ref> |
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=== Lasting ramifications === |
=== Lasting ramifications === |
Revision as of 09:40, 27 October 2009
Heather O'Rourke | |
---|---|
File:Heather O'Rourke as Carol Anne.png O'Rourke in her last production, Poltergeist III | |
Other names | Heather Michelle O'Rourke[1][2] |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1982–1988 |
Website | http://www.heatherorourke.net/ |
Heather O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988)[3] was an American child actress who played Carol Anne Freeling in the Poltergeist film trilogy and made several television guest appearances.
Personal life
O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975 in San Diego, California, the second daughter of Kathleen O'Rourke.[3][4] Before O'Rourke's death in 1988, her mother married James "Jim" A. Peele.[5] The family, including O'Rourke's older sister Tammy, lived in Lakeside, California at the time of her death.[6]
Career
Tammy O'Rourke was cast in the MGM film Pennies from Heaven, when Heather O'Rourke was discovered by filmmaker Steven Spielberg; Spielberg found the five-year-old having lunch with her mother in the MGM commissary. Within months, O'Rourke was cast in the 1982 horror film written and produced by Spielberg, Poltergeist.[3][4][6]
The Poltergeist films
In the Poltergeist trilogy, O'Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling, a young suburban girl who becomes the conduit and target for supernatural entities. The New York Times noted that she had played the key role in the films and commented, "With her wide eyes, long blonde hair and soft voice, she was so striking that the sequel played off her presence."[4] With the exception of Dominique Dunne—who was murdered after the completion of the first Poltergeist film[7]—most of the original cast members reprised their roles in the sequel Poltergeist II: The Other Side. With the setting of the story changed for the third film, Poltergeist III, Carol Anne was the only original character from the Freeling family. O'Rourke played the role in all three films.[1] Template:Sound sample box align right
O'Rourke's delivery of the lines "They're here!" in the first film, and "They're baa-aack!" in the second (that film's tagline) placed her in the collective pop culture consciousness of the United States.[3]
Television work
After her work in 1982's Poltergeist, O'Rourke secured several television and TV movie roles. In April 1983 she starred alongside Morey Amsterdam and well-known Walt Disney animated characters in the hour-long television special, Believe You Can ... and You Can![8] She also appeared in CHiPs, Webster, The New Leave It to Beaver, Our House, and had a recurring role on Happy Days as Heather Pfister. In the television movies Massarati and the Brain and 1985's Surviving, she played Skye Henry and Sarah Brogan respectively.[1][4]
Death
O'Rourke became ill in early 1987 and was misdiagnosed by Kaiser Permanente Hospital as having Crohn's disease. She was prescribed medicine to treat the Crohn's, which allegedly "puffed up [her] cheeks."[6] On January 31, 1988, O'Rourke was ill again, vomiting and unable to keep anything down. The next morning she collapsed while trying to leave for the hospital and her step-father called paramedics. O'Rourke suffered a cardiac arrest en route to the hospital, and after resuscitation was airlifted by helicopter to Children's Hospital and Health Center in San Diego,[6] where she died.
Speaking to reporters, O'Rourke's manager David Wardlow initially announced that it was believed O'Rourke died of influenza.[9][10] However, hospital spokesman Vincent Bond announced that O'Rourke died during surgery to repair a congenital acute bowel obstruction (stenosis of the intestine)[11] complicated by septic shock;[4][12] this report was corroborated by the San Diego County coroner's office on February 3, two days after her death.[13] Later reports changed the specific cause of death to cardiac arrest caused by septic shock brought on by the intestinal stenosis.[11][14]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Plaque_marking_Heather_O%27Rourke%27s_grave.jpg/220px-Plaque_marking_Heather_O%27Rourke%27s_grave.jpg)
O'Rourke was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on February 5, 1988. Mourners included Henry Winkler, Linda Purl, and Rick Schroder.[15]
Lawsuit
On May 25, 1988, Sanford M. Gage, the O'Rourke family attorney, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Diego. O'Rourke had been seen by doctors at Kaiser since birth, and the suit claimed that they failed to properly diagnose her long-standing small-bowel obstruction: had they not simply treated her for Crohn's disease with prescription drugs, she could have been cured by means of a simple operation;[16][17] and this misdiagnosis caused O'Rourke's death.[18] Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman Janice Seib responded "We have reviewed the case extensively, and we believe that the diagnosis and the course of action taken by our physicians was entirely appropriate. It's a very complex case, complicated by a number of factors, and not given to any simple answers."[6] The case went to arbitration and was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[19]
Lasting ramifications
O'Rourke's death complicated MGM's marketing for her last work, Poltergeist III, out of fear of appearing to be exploiting her death.[20] Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen, O'Rourke's co-stars, were discouraged from giving interviews about the film to avoid questions about O'Rourke's death.[21]
On September 26, 2008, DirecTV began airing a national TV advertisement developed by Deutsch, directed by Erich Joiner and cinematographed by Daniel Mindel,[22] that featured O'Rourke's famous "They're here!" scene from Poltergeist blended with contemporary footage of her co-star, Craig T. Nelson, intended to mimic the film. After the advertisement drew criticism from bloggers and columnists for exploiting O'Rourke,[23] DirecTV responded in a Q&A session with readers of The New York Times. Jon Gieselman, its senior vice president for advertising and public relations, explained that O'Rourke's family "was involved in the spot from start to finish [and that] Heather’s mother not only approved, [...] she also commented that Heather’s inclusion was a wonderful tribute to her daughter."[24]
References
- ^ a b c "Heather O'Rourke". The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ "Heather O'Rourke Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Sunnyvale, California, USA: Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^ a b c d Erickson, Hal. "Heather O'Rourke". allmovie. Macrovision. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ a b c d e "Heather O'Rourke, 12; Starred in 'Poltergeist'". The New York Times. Manhattan, New York, USA: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. 1988-02-03.
- ^ "O'Rourke's Stepfather Sought In Child Support Case". San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, California, USA. 1988-02-04. p. 1B.
{{cite news}}
:|access-date=
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(help) - ^ a b c d e Maury Povich. [[A Current Affair (U.S. TV series)|A Current Affair]] (YouTube) (Television production). WNYW, New York City, USA: 20th Century Fox. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
{{cite AV media}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Dunne, Dominick (1999). The Way We Lived Then. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 216. ISBN 0-609-60388-4.
- ^ "Miss O'Rourke, Morey Amsterdam in TV special". Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA. Associated Press. 1983-03-19. p. 5.
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ignored (help) - ^ "'Poltergeist' Star Heather O'Rourke Becomes Ill, Dies". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York, USA: Stephen A. Rogers. 1988-02-03.
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(help) - ^ "Poltergeist` Actress, 12, Dies Heather O`Rourke Thought To Have Flu". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina, USA: Ann Caulkins. 1988-02-03. p. 3A.
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(help) - ^ a b Baker, Bob (1988-05-26). "Suit Blames Doctors in Death of Young Actress". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA: David Hiller. p. 35.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Folkart, Burt A. (1988-02-03). "`Poltergeist' Star Heather O'Rourke Dies at Age of 12". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA: David Hiller. p. 3.
[Heather O'Rourke], the terrified youngster sucked into a spectral vacuum by supernatural spirits in the "Poltergeist" films, has died on an operating table at a San Diego hospital, it was reported Tuesday.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Naunton, Ena (1988-02-04). "Child Actress's Death A `1-In-Million' Event". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio, USA: Andrea Houston Mathewson. p. A14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "People". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Kevin Mowbray. 1988-05-26. p. 2A.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "SERVICES HELD FOR CHILD STAR". Daily News of Los Angeles. Woodland Hills, California, USA: John McKeon. 1988-02-06.
{{cite news}}
:|access-date=
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(help) - ^ Baker, Bob (1988-05-26). "Suit Filed in `Poltergeist' Actress' Death". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA: David Hiller. p. 2.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Conconi, Chuck (1988-05-27). "PERSONALITIES". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C., USA: Katharine Weymouth.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Speers, W. (1988-05-26). "Hospital Sued Over Child Star's Death". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: Brian Tierney. p. D02.
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(help) - ^ Battling over culpability, calculating the price of a life.
- ^ "Studio Unsure How To Market Latest 'Poltergeist' Movie". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky, USA: Tim Kelly. 1988-03-27. p. J5.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Cieply, Michael (1988-03-21). "MGM Ponders Selling of `Poltergeist III'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA: David Hiller. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- ^ Stasukevich, Iain (October 2008). "Short Takes: Paying Homage to Hit Films". American Cinematographer. 89 (10). Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA: ASC Holding Corp.: 10–14. ISSN 0002-7928.
- ^ Glover, Anne (2008-10-16). "Critics cry foul over DirecTV ad featuring dead girl". ScrippsNews. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: E. W. Scripps Company. Scripps Howard News Service.
- ^ "Q & A with Stuart Elliott". The New York Times. New York City, USA: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-10-28.