Godspeed Reggie Bannister

Reggie Bannister, best known for playing Reggie in the Phantasm movies, died on August 9, 2026, at the age of 80. In 2016, he had been diagnosed with both Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease. Reggie Bannister was born on September 29, 1945 in Long Beach, California. He was only three years old when he sang "If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked a Cake" on the Los Angeles area program The Walkin’ Talkin’ Charlie Aldridge Show. He became a folk singer in the Sixties, performing with The Young Americans before joining The Greenwood County Singers. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo, and other shows, In 1965, he ws drafted into the United States Army. He served as a radio operator and suffered some hearing loss due to exposure to .30- and .50-caliber weapons. He returned to music after his service ended, and would ultimately release six albums.Reggie Bannister made his film debut in Jim, the World's Greatest in 1975. It as the first film produced, written, and…