Zelda Rubinstein
The diminutive, squeaky-voiced actress Zelda Rubinstein became a star overnight as the medium Tangina in "Poltergeist" (1982) and its sequels. However, she struggled to find similarly dramatic work in the two decades that followed; more often than not, she was reduced to playing eccentrics or variants on her most famous character. However, she remained active and, from all accounts, game to tackle any project until 2009, when she was hospitalized for kidney failure. But her performance in "Poltergeist" - so convincing and honest in the face of so much supernatural goings-on - would ensure her lasting remembrance among movie fans.