Scott Spiegel, known for co-writing Evil Dead II (1987) and executive producing the Hostel franchise, has died. He was 67.
The horror legend’s death was announced by special effects makeup artist Robert Kurtzman and shared by Evil Dead star and Spiegel’s longtime friend Bruce Campbell, who lamented the death as “a big personal loss.”
“Scott Spiegel was a huge part of my formative years back in Michigan,” added Campbell on X. “From Sunday School to being stock boys together, to Evil Dead II, which Scott co-wrote, I can’t look in the rear view mirror without seeing this unique guy doing cheap gags. I’m grateful for the treasure trove of happy memories. Keep Shemping, Scott!”
A Three Stooges reference and Spiegel’s acting credit in the Evil Dead franchise, ‘Fake Shemp’ is what he, Campbell and director/pal Sam Raimi referred to as crew or cast who pretended to be another character or a deadite in a scene.
Recalling the trio’s 1977 movie It’s Murder!, Campbell said in Bill Warren’s 2000 book The Evil Dead Companion, “During that summer, we did most of the shooting of It’s Murder, but then everybody had to go back to school that fall.”
“So Scott [Spiegel] and I wound up running around grabbing shots on weekends and sending them to Sam so he could cut them in,” he explained. “I wore other guys’ outfits all the time, and did a lot of Fake Shemping.”
Spiegel made his feature writing debut in high school with It’s Murder!, also executive producing and playing a detective in the Raimi-helmed Super 8 film, also starring Campbell and Raimi.
Born Dec. 24, 1957 in Birmingham, Michigan, where he met Campbell and Raimi while attending West Maple Jr. High School, before the they made the move to Los Angeles together.
Making his feature directorial debut with 1989’s Intruder, Spiegel has also directed From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) and Hostel: Part III (2011) after executive producing the Hostel franchise alongside OG director and Raw Nerve production company co-founder Eli Roth.
Spiegel also co-wrote 1990’s The Rookie, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. As an actor, he appeared in the first two Evil Dead movies, Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Drag Me to Hell (2009), as well as a voice appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
