By Savas Abadsidis
Zelda Rubinstein came into all of our lives as the savior of Carol Anne and the Freeling family in the 1982 horror movie Poltergeist which left an indelible mark on pop culture and for many of us, our childhoods.
As the medium Tangina Barrons, she saved Carol Anne from malevolent spirits who had taken over the family’s home. The remarkable thing about Zelda’s screen persona was her ability to make that little voice and presence emanate something palpable. You could sense from her screen presence that on the earthly plane you were thankful she was that small because of all that potent heartfelt energy, emanating beyond Tobe Hooper’s direction and Spielberg special effects, even at that size, could blow you and everyone off the set.
She had that gift of simple presence on screen that didn’t need much artifice. You could reach out to touch the screen and feel what she felt. Diminutive and strong at the same time, she was an outspoken activist for little people and for HIV/AIDS at the height of the crisis when it wasn’t fashionable. Rubinstein became active in the fight against AIDS/HIV in 1984. She appeared in a series of advertisements directed towards gay men specifically, promoting safer sex and AIDS awareness. Rubinstein did so at risk to her own career, especially so shortly after her rise to fame, and admitted later that she did “pay a price, career-wise”. She attended the first AIDS Project Los Angeles AIDS Walk.