Zelda Rubinstein

Zelda Rubinstein (May 28, 1933 – January 27, 2010) was an American actress and human rights activist, best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movie Poltergeist (1982) and its sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Poltergeist III (1988). She also made guest appearances in the TV spin-off Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996), as a seer, Christina. Rubinstein was also known for her outspoken activism for little people and her early participation in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Early life
Rubinstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 28, 1933, to Polish immigrant parents. She was the youngest of three children and the only little person in her family. Rubinstein did not become comfortable with her short stature until she was an adult. In a 1992 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Rubinstein told the newspaper that she "had a rough childhood, [but] I became very verbally facile. . . . I learned to meet everyone head-on."

She stood just 4 ft due to a deficiency of the anterior pituitary gland, which produces growth hormone. Commenting in 2002 on the challenges of being a very short statured person, Rubinstein said, "Little People are societally handicapped. They have about two minutes to present themselves as equals—and if they don’t take advantage of that chance, then people fall back on the common assumption that 'less' is less."

Rubinstein won a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned her bachelor's degree in bacteriology and became a sister of the national sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. She moved to Berkeley, California, at the age of 25,, studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and worked as a medical lab techinican at blood banks.

Acting career
In 1978 Zelda decided to pursue an acting career. She studied acting at the University of California. Poltergeist was her first major film role. She remained active in film and television from thereon, frequently portraying various psychic characters, such as her appearance on the show Ann Jillian show, Jennifer Slept Here. She also narrated the horror television series, Scariest Places on Earth, which aired in the U.S. on ABC Family and in Canada on YTV.

Rubinstein's other minor/major film roles included Sixteen Candles, Cages, Teen Witch, The Wildcard, Southland Tales and National Lampoon's Last Resort. She also contributed voice-over work for TV including Hey Arnold!, and The Flintstones. She made numerous guest appearances on network TV shows, including Caroline in the City, Martin, Mr. Belvedere, and had a starring role as Ginny Weedon in the TV series Picket Fences. Her character there was killed off in typical off-beat fashion, by falling into a freezer. She also appeared in an episode of Tales From The Crypt in which she played the mother of a girl who has been dead for 40 years.

She also starred in two different roles on the same show in 1984 and in 1990: Santa Barbara.

Since 1999, she did voiceovers in television starting with the groundbreaking reality Fox Family TV Show, Scariest Places On Earth, commercials promoting movies such as Lady in the Water and products including Skittles candy. Her most recent film role came in 2007 when she made a cameo appearance in the horror film Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

Human rights and activism
Rubinstein became active in the fight against AIDS/HIV in 1984. She appeared in a series of advertisements, directed towards gay men specifically, promoting safer sex and AIDS awareness. Rubinstein did so at risk to her own career, especially so shortly after her rise to fame, and admitted later that she did "pay a price, career-wise". She attended the first AIDS Project Los Angeles AIDS Walk.

Illness and death
On December 29, 2009, it was reported that, after a month-long stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her close companion and her family made the decision to take Rubinstein off life support due to both kidney and lung failure. On January 2, 2010, friends reported she was not near death, and was well on her way to recovery. On January 27, 2010, Rubinstein died at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles. She was survived by her daughter, Nann Lutz; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.