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Zelda Rubinstein, the actress best known for her portrayal of Tangina Barrons Poltergeist has passed away at the age of 76.

Rubinstein was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center about two months ago after suffering a mild heart attack, and taken off of life support just prior to New Years.

Zelda worked as a medical lab technician before launching her acting career in her 40s, and made her film debut in the 1981 Chevy Chase comedy Under the Rainbow. The prolific actress accumulated a huge list of film credits which included Frances, Sixteen Candles, Teen Witch, Anguish and most recently Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon and Southland Tales.

She was also involved in plenty of activist work, such as forming the nonprofit Michael Dunn Memorial Repertory Theater Company in Los Angeles to help little actors book quality roles, as well as an AIDS activist having played the mother in L.A. CARES (Los Angeles Cooperative AIDS Risk-Reduction Education Service) campaign for AIDS awareness.

Genre fans will of course always remember her for her unforgettable performance as Tangina in the Poltergeist trilogy.

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