Mary Miles Minter

Mary Miles Minter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 1724 Vine St. She was only 12 years old. She died from heart failure in Santa Monica, California. In February of 1988, a few weeks before the scheduled final filming, Heather died of complications after emergency surgery for an acute bowel obstruction. She commented that she had never been happy with her Hollywood career and was content to live without it. O'Rourke began filming Poltergeist III in 1987, and the movie was set to be released in 1988. She left Hollywood and lived the rest of her life in obscurity. Her success in these films led to television work, and she was briefly a regular on the sitcom Happy Days playing the daughter of Fonzie's girlfriend.

The studio terminated her contract as soon as it became clear that her reputation had been destroyed. In 1986, Poltergeist II was released, and once again, O'Rourke coined another pop-culture phrase, when she said "They're ba-aaack!". She made two more films after this, but her public had rejected her. Poltergeist was released in June 1982, and Heather's line: "They're he-eere!" entered American pop culture. Minter was at the height of her success, having starred in more than 50 films and the revelation of her association with Taylor caused a sensation. He originally thought that she was too young for the part (she was four at the time) but after an interview and a "scream test", cast her in the role. The ensuing scandal was the subject of widespread media speculation, and as allegations about Taylor's questionable past began to circulate, it was revealed that several intimate letters written by Minter had been found in his house after his death. Spielberg was looking for someone to play the part of 5 year old "Carol Anne" in his upcoming production of Poltergeist.

In 1922 Taylor was murdered in his home. Heather O'Rourke was discovered in 1980 by Steven Spielberg while she was eating lunch at the MGM studios commissary. A close relationship developed between them and Minter began to distance herself from her mother. Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988) was an American child actress who starred in the Poltergeist movie trilogy. Her first film for director William Desmond Taylor was Anne of Green Gables in 1919, and Taylor actively promoted Minter as a star of great potential. Minter specialised in playing demure and innocent young girls, and with her gentle features and curly hair, both emulated and rivalled Mary Pickford.

Changing her name to Mary Miles Minter, she made her first film in 1915 and over the next few years steadily built her career. Until the age of 15, she was rarely unemployed and was greatly admired for both her talent and her beauty. Her mother pushed her towards a stage career, and by the age of 5 she had appeared in her first play. Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana, she was the daughter of an ambitious but unsuccessful actress named Charlotte Shelby.

Mary Miles Minter (April 1, 1902 - August 4, 1984) was a US film actress in silent films.