A supporting Native American actor of the Creek Tribe, Sampson was first known and most remembered for his role in the Oscar-winning film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest opposite Jack Nicholson. He was also known for his portrayal of an Indian chief co-starring with Clint Eastwood in the western The Outlaw Josey Wales. His other supportive roles included Orca, The White Buffalo and Fish Hawk. In 1986, he co-starred in Poltergeist II: The Other Side - he played a Native American witch doctor and during the filming of the movie, he would frequently say the set was haunted and he blessed it, much like how the original Poltergeist was. Will Sampson became what was part of a "Poltergeist Curse" when he died after its release during a strange incident during open heart surgery.


Father of Tim Sampson. Founder of the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts. He is said to be the third victim of the legendary "Poltergeist Curse". Sampson starred in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and during filming he allegedly claimed that the production was haunted. He supposedly used Native American rituals to bless sets and locations to stave off the curse. Regardless, the legend holds that he became another victim of the curse, dying of complications during heart and lung surgery a year after the film's release. Other supposed victims of the curse include Dominique Dunne, who was murdered shortly after the release of Poltergeist (1982), Julian Beck who died of stomach cancer during filming of Poltergeist II, and Heather O'Rourke, who died of complications from Crohn's Disease before Poltergeist III (1988) was released. In 1977, appeared in two movies that set man against beast, both very reminiscent of Jaws (1975): Orca (1977) and The White Buffalo (1977).