The Rim Of Hell

Talented young actor Andy Hallett has died of congestive heart failure at the age of 33.  Hallett is most famous for his recurring role as Lorne on the series ‘Angel’, where he played a demon running a karaoke bar named ‘Caritas’ who possessed the ability to tell a person’s future after they sang for him once onstage.

On a more personal note, I met Andy at the Midohiocon a few years back & had the pleasure of hearing him relate hilarious tales from behind the scenes of ‘Angel’, alongside fellow actors James Charles Leary (Clem from ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’) and the obnoxious Mark Lutz (The Groosalugg on ‘Angel’).  Even when an accidental fire alarm went off and we were evacuated from the building, Hallett kept his cool. . . and his sense of humor.  He stood outside with the rest of us in the snow and freezing wind, snapping pictures for his blog and laughing with us as we made fun of the stormtrooper & his “invisible” gun who’d asked us all to leave the building in the first place.  Tears were freezing to my face, but I couldn’t stop laughing!

Later that night, Andy hosted the Con’s own version of ‘Caritas’ at the hotel bar.  James, Mark Lutz and even the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld (Larry Thomas) sat with my wife and I, drinking heavily and taking turns joining Andy onstage to sing a few tunes.   Well, the wife and I didn’t actually sing anything but we DID join Andy to dance the ‘Timewarp’ from Rocky Horror.  I can honestly tell you it’s a memory I will forever cherish – looking over as I made a damn fool of myself onstage, twirling and flopping around only to notice that Andy had joined right in.

Somewhere tonight, a smoky lounge in the afterlife picked up a charismatic new host.   And the rest of us. . . well, we just lost a tremendous talent & genuinely nice guy.

Rest in peace Andy.  And thanks for the memory of an incredibly fun night of singing and dancing.