CARNAL NATION

Zelda Rubinstein, the 4'3" actress best known for her role as the psychic Tangina Barrons in the 1982 film Poltergeist (clip after the jump), died today of natural causes at the age of 76. Ms. Rubinstein made her film debut in the 1981 Chevy Chase vehicle Under the Rainbow, in which she played one of the Munchkins on the set of the Wizard of Oz. Based on her experience in that film, the actress became energized as an activist, forming the nonprofit Michael Dunn Memorial Repertory Theater Company for little people. She also appeared in Sixteen Candles, Frances, and on the television show Picket Fences.

In 1985, Rubinstein was approached by L.A. CARES (Los Angeles Cooperative AIDS Risk-Reduction Education Service) to play the mother in a first-of-its-kind AIDS prevention campaign. In a series of television spots and print ads, she played the doting mom trying to get her gay son to "play safely." "She was one of the very first Hollywood celebrities to speak out on HIV and AIDS," said Craig E. Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles. "It was the first AIDS education and prevention campaign in Los Angeles and one of the very first in the United States," he added. Ms. Rubinstein had no immediate family. There are no plans for a funeral, but a celebration of her life will be held at a later date in Los Angeles.

Watch a video interview with Ms. Rubinstein about her AIDS activism conducted by the Advocate below.

Watch a clip of Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina Barrons in Poltergeist below.