At least seven people are known to have portrayed Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween. Will Sandin played young Michael, but the hand shown stabbing his sister, Judith, at the beginning belongs to co-writer Debra Hill. Nick Castle then played adult Michael for most of the film. However, an animal trainer stepped in for the scene in which Michael strangles a dog, editor Tommy Lee Wallace appeared as Michael during the closet sequence, and stuntman James Winburn stood in for Castle when Michael falls off the balcony at the end.

As for the face you see when Michael gets unmasked by Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), that was an actor named Tony Moran. According to Castle, Carpenter and Hill chose Moran for that brief segment because he had an “angelic” look that contrasted well with the character’s evil behavior. Moran was sleeping on a friend’s couch at the time and had landed very few acting gigs leading up to that. His iconic turn as one of cinema’s greatest horror villains earned the up-and-coming performer a whopping $250.

The Actor Behind Michael Myers’ Unmasked Face in ‘Halloween’ Was a Sitcom Star’s Brother

And it was through Moran’s agent, whom he shared with his sister, Erin, that he got the opportunity to interview for the part. If the name Erin Moran isn’t ringing any bells, it might help to know she played Joanie Cunningham on the hit 1970s sitcom Happy Days. That’s right, the sassy but lovable younger sister of Richie Cunningham, sometimes referred to as “Shortcake,” was the real-life sibling of Carpenter’s personification of evil:

Tony and Erin’s brother, John, is also an actor, and had an uncredited role on Happy Days in the Season 3 episode “Football Frolics.” Neither Tony nor John went on to have the kind of success that Erin did, though. In fact, Tony didn’t get cast in another movie until 30 years after Halloween. He’s since popped up in a few horror films, including 2018’s Death House, written by Texas Chain Saw Massacre star Gunnar Hansen.

Following Erin’s death in 2017, Tony told The Sun on Sunday that Erin, who’d gotten less work in her later years, was “a tortured soul,” and that Hollywood “chewed her up and spat her out.”

The post The Surprising Connection Between ‘Halloween’s Michael Myers and ‘Happy Days’ appeared first on VICE.