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William Glenn Shadix (April 15, 1952 - September 7, 2010) was an American actor and voice actor from Bessemer, Alabama, best known for his portrayal of the scheming interior decorator Otho in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988) and as the voice of the Mayor of Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).1 He contributed to the Ghostbusters franchise as a guest voice actor on Extreme Ghostbusters, voicing the Mirror Demon in the episode "The Ghostmakers."2
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Shadix was born William Glenn Shadix-Scott on April 15, 1952, in Bessemer, Alabama. His surname became "Scott" when his mother remarried, though he used "Shadix" professionally throughout his career.1 He attended Birmingham-Southern College for two years, where he studied under absurdist playwright and director Arnold Powell.3
Shadix came out as gay at age 17, an act that led his family to subject him to conversion therapy, including electroshock treatments. He subsequently attempted suicide by overdose and survived a three-day coma. Following his recovery, his parents accepted his sexuality. He later became an open advocate regarding his experience.1
Shadix moved from New York City to Los Angeles in the late 1970s and made his feature film debut in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981).4 His breakthrough came with Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988), where he played Otho Fenlock, a flamboyant and treacherous interior decorator whose dabbling in the paranormal drives much of the film's plot. The role established him as a distinctive character actor with a gift for heightened, darkly comic performances.1
Burton returned to Shadix for The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), casting him as the voice of the Mayor of Halloween Town, a two-faced character whose rotatable head became one of the film's most memorable designs. He appeared again in Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001) as Senator Nado.1
Beyond his work with Burton, Shadix accumulated an extensive filmography. He appeared in Heathers (1988), Demolition Man (1993), and Dunston Checks In (1996), among more than forty film credits.4 On television he had recurring and guest appearances on Seinfeld, Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Roseanne, and the HBO period drama Carnivale (2003).4
His voice career extended to several animated series: he provided voices for Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, and Jackie Chan Adventures, as well as the video game Kingdom Hearts II.4 He also performed with The Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles and appeared in stage productions including Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, in which he played Gertrude Stein.3
Shadix appeared as a guest voice actor on Extreme Ghostbusters in 1997. In "The Ghostmakers," he voiced the Mirror Demon, the episode's primary antagonist, as well as a possessed man.2 The Mirror Demon is a malevolent entity whose goal is to collect human souls, using possessed bodies as vessels while tormenting the spirits within, including Garrett Miller.
Shadix shared his life with his spouse Jon Jung.1 After spending roughly thirty years in Los Angeles, he returned to his home state and purchased a Queen Anne Victorian home in Bessemer in 2007. That property was destroyed by fire on December 13, 2008. He subsequently relocated to a condominium in Birmingham.1
In 2009, Shadix sustained an ankle injury while working on a production and underwent surgery. The injury left him using a wheelchair for mobility.1
On September 7, 2010, Shadix was found dead in his Birmingham condominium. According to his sister Susan Gagne, he fell and struck his head in the kitchen, dying from blunt trauma. He was 58 years old. His death was widely reported as accidental.1
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
"Glenn Shadix," Wikipedia, accessed June 13, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Shadix ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9
IMDb, "Extreme Ghostbusters: The Ghostmakers (TV Episode 1997)," accessed June 13, 2026, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0574541/ ↩ ↩2
Wilson, Claire M. "Glenn Shadix," Encyclopedia of Alabama (published July 7, 2010; updated September 1, 2023), https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/glenn-shadix/ ↩ ↩2
"Glenn Shadix," IMDb, accessed June 13, 2026, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0787187/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
