Anthony Hickox, the British director known for horrors such as Waxwork and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, has died aged 64.
Hickox had spent his recent years in Romania, where police found him dead last week at his house in Bucharest after friends had reported not seeing him for some time, according to close friend and InterTalent Rights Group CEO Jonathan Shalit.
Best known for his work in the comedy-horror genre, Hickox’s best known work was 1988’s Waxwork, which starred the likes of Zach Gilligan, Deborah Foreman and Michelle Johnson and was inspired by a 1920s German silent film. It is claimed Hickox wrote the script for Waxwork after driving into the back of Staffan Ahrenberg’s car and persuading the producer to let him pay for the damage by writing the script for just $3,000.
Hickox also directed a sequel and films such as Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat and Warlock: The Armageddon. He directed Steven Seagal in direct-to-DVD release Submerged and his most recent project was 2020’s Infamous 6, which shot in Hong Kong. He had begun his career as club promoter in London the early 1980s, during which time he financed his first short, Rock-a-bye-baby
In recent years, he had settled in Romania, where he was acting and directing and married to actress Madeline Anea. Hickox was also an actor in the Eastern European country. He had recently been in London planning to start of the shoot for his next film, titled Perfect Day.
The director is survived by a son, Sasha, who lives in Russia. Hickox is part of a British film dynasty. His father was English director Douglas Hickox and his mother the editor Anne V. Coates, who won an Academy Award for work on David Lean’s Lawrence in Arabia. His sister is LA-based editor Emma E. Hickox and his brother is James Hickox, a writer and director.
Shalit, who had a close personal relationship with Hickox, called him a “wonderful man and dear friend,” adding: “We had been friends for over forty years skiing in all the great Amercian ski resorts when young in our 20s.
Bruno Chatelin, who was Hickox’s festival agent for events such as Berlin, Cannes and Fantasporto, said he had been “shocked to hear the sad news” from his client and their common friend, The Merchant of Venice producer Julia Verdin. “He was so much fun; elegant, witty and a gentleman,” added Chatelin.
“I must say that I had also been extremely privileged in my Sony days in France to meet and work with his brilliant mother Anne Coates, when we pre-opened Cannes for a spectacular re-release of Lawrence of Arabia.”