Today’s horror scene that I love features an actor appreciated by horror fans everywhere, the great Tom Atkins.

The son of a Pennsylvania steel mill worker who originally planned to follow in his father’s footsteps, Tom Atkins served in the U.S. Navy and noticed that officers seemed to have all the fun.  He also noticed that the officers all had college degrees so, upon getting out of the service, he enrolled in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne College.  It was while at Duquesne that Atkins met a girl who was involved with a local theater group and he discovered that he actually enjoyed acting.  Atkins made his film debut in 1968’s The Detective and he’s been working steadily ever since.  A favorite of both John Carpenter and George Romero, Atkins has been a reliable horror fixture since the early 80s.

In this scene, from 1982’s Halloween III, Tom Atkins plays a doctor who desperately tries to stop the cruelest Halloween prank of all.  One reason why this scene is so effective is because, if Tom Atkins can’t stop the broadcast, then that means nobody can.

Thrill us, Tom.