LOS ANGELES — Reggie Bannister, the actor who devoted his decades-long career primarily to independent horror thrillers including all five films of the the cult "Phantasm" franchise, has died.

Bannister died Sunday morning at age 80 at home in Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains, his wife Gigi Bannister announced Monday on Facebook. "In the snap of fingers, my best friend, my confidant, my partner, my soul mate was transitioned to another dimension — a higher plane," she wrote in her post.

"He no longer suffers. He's no longer in pain," she continued. "That gives me solace. I will see you on the flip side, honey bunny."

Reggie Bannister died after a decade of battling dementia and Parkinson's disease and deteriorating health. Gigi Bannister told TMZ, which first reported the actor's death, that her late husband was a Vietnam War vet and was exposed to Agent Orange during his service. "Phantasm" director Don Coscarelli also shared news of his longtime collaborator's death on Facebook, celebrating Bannister's work on the horror films.

The first of Coscarelli's "Phantasm" films was released in 1979 and was a surreal and supernatural thriller set in a small Oregon town. "Phantasm" revolves around a young man named Mike (A. Michael Baldwin), his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) and Bannister's ice cream man Reggie as they seek to uncover the mysteries behind a local funeral home and its frightening mortician — the Tall Man — played by Angus Scrimm. The "Phantasm" films gained popularity with their dreamlike feel and mind-boggling narratives of "real" and "dream" worlds.

Bannister's Reggie remained a main character in the following editions, as the core crew continues to uncover and confront "the ultimate evil" and the truth behind the Tall Man and his league of lethal flying metal balls. The fifth "Phantasm" came out in 2016, 18 years after the fourth, directed by David Hartman and co-written by Coscarelli. The final "Phantasm" film featured "an energetic performance by Bannister, who through the five films has gone from comic relief to a goofy-but-gallant Bruce Campbell-type hero," critic Noel Murray wrote for The Times in 2016.

In his tribute to the actor, Coscarelli said the Long Beach native "channeled himself into that role" and described the parallels between Bannister's character and his offscreen personality.

"In real life, he embodied all the qualities of his character in Phantasm and no one questioned that Reg was that guy, the one willing to lay his body down on the fires of hell for his friends," Coscarelli said.

Bannister's career spanned from his screen debut in Coscarelli's first feature "Jim the World's Greatest" in 1975 to his final role in "Killer Waves 2" in 2020" and was primarily composed of independent productions. In addition to acting, Bannister was passionate about music. He had numerous music department credits in screen projects over his career.

According to Coscarelli, the actor is predeceased by his parents Horace and Evelyn and his brother Roland. Bannister's survivors include his wife and his daughter Ellen.

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