'Beetlejuice' Interior Designer Glenn Shadix Dead at 58

The comedic actor Glenn Shadix (born: William G. Scott) died Tuesday morning in his Alabama home. He's best known for his portrayal of the interior designer Otho in Beetlejuice, a role that also awarded him his own action figure as the arch-nemesis of the ghosts haunting the country home. Throughout his life, he continued his work with Beetlejuice director Tim Burton as well as appearing in several television shows. He even opened the Burton-themed exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2009.

But this isn't the first mention of his death. On July 24, 2010, Shadix blogged about how there had been reports of his death and notified fans that he was alive and well. In 2008, a fire burnt down his house on Dartmouth Avenue, which led some locals to believe of his demise. In 2009, he traveled for a film and the aforementioned exhibit, which left neighbors questioning of his whereabouts in his new house on 2250 South Highland Avenue. But when Jacqueline Pearson of the Bessemer Police Department emailed Shadix, he responded, "To quote Mark Twain, 'Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated!'"

We wish we could say the same today, but his sister, Susan Gagne, said the cause of death was accidental.

"He was having mobility problems, and he was in a wheelchair," Gagne told the Birmingham News. "It looks like he fell and hit his head in the kitchen, and that's the cause of death."

Shadix had grand plans to better those around him. He blogged about his involvement with the Wounded Warrior Project and the United Service Organization: "In late 2011 or early in 2012 will be visiting active duty troops both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Alabama's young men and women have always been among the quickest in America to step up and serve our great country during times of threat. This is not about politics. This is about answering the call when our country needs our brave young men and women. I am so very proud of all our armed services and in particular the courageous people of my great home state of Alabama."

A memorial service will be held at Birmingham, Ala.'s Lakeside Baptist Church on Saturday. Family members are requesting in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made in Shadix's name to the Theatre Department of the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Photo by Getty Images.