It’s been reported that actor Andy Hallett passed away after a five-year battle with heart disease. Hallett, who was just 33 years old was most known for his role as Lorne (aka “The Host”) in the TV series Angel (the spin-off to Buffy the Vampire Slayer). This is truly sad news as Hallett was an extremely talented man.
E! Online posted the news of Hallett’s death.
Hallett’s character Lorne provided a fair amount of comic (and musical) relief in Angel. Lorne was a demon from the dimension of Pylea who had the ability to see people’s futures by listening to them sing. He was introduced to the show as a side-character who served as host and owner of Caritas, a karaoke bar and known demon hang-out in Los Angeles. Lorne was eventually brought into the show more and more as the series went on and inevitably became the heart of the series. Despite all of the darkness that surrounded the soul-having vampire Angel and his friends as they worked to solve various demon-related crimes and mysteries, Lorne was almost always upbeat and regularly offered advice to the other characters. Lorne wore his heart on his sleeve, though if I recall correctly, his actual heart was located in his left butt cheek.
Hallett brought so much kindness and compassion to the role, making Lorne a truly beloved character. It’s impossible for me to imagine what Angel would have been like without him. In fact, it was a Lorne-centered episode of Angel that got me to cave and finally get around to watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the first place. It was five or six years ago and I was in London at the time, resting in my hotel room after a long day of touristy business when I put the TV on and found an episode of Angel (my other options were Big Brother and a Looney Tunes marathon, if I recall). The episode I watched was from season four, titled “The House Always Wins” in which Angel and his friends go to Vegas to visit Lorne where he was working (against his will as it turned out) at a casino. I watched the episode and found I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. I had been resisting the hype surrounding the Buffy and Angel series but I had to admit, Angel looked like a pretty good show, based on that episode. Later that year I purchased the first season of Buffy and I’ve been a huge fan of both series ever since.
Below is a clip from “The House Always Wins,” that showcases Hallett’s fantastic singing abilities. Our thoughts go out to Hallett’s family and friends:
