From Fresno to stardom in Hollywood: Sid Haig, an Armenian American success story

Looking for someone to interview for my radio program (10 years ago the program was only on radio), I came across the name Sid Haig, an Armenian American actor, producer and musician who was born in Fresno. Little did I know that he had a strong following in the horror movie genre. After seeing that he had a role acting and producing in over 100 films, I decided to reach out to him via his website to see if he would chat with me on air about his life in Fresno and career in Hollywood.

To my surprise, he responded promptly and told me that he would be in town on the date and time I had an opening. Later, I learned that he visited Fresno frequently. As I did with many of my out-of-town guests, I waited for Sid in the parking lot of the radio station. He pulled up in an older model pick-up. His vehicle of choice surprised me. The stereotype of a Hollywood star is that he/she drives around in luxury automobiles. Not Sid. After greeting each other, we walked into the studio and began to chat.

In the first part of the conversation, Sid told me his house was located where the new convention center is, on Kern and M Street. His bedroom was where the ticket office sits today. It was natural that his family lived around there, considering that was an area with many Armenian-American families. He shared that he went to Lowell Elementary and Roosevelt High School. About growing up in Fresno, he said, “it was actually really good, a good way to grow up.” I smiled when he told me that “anyone who knew your parents could tell you what to do.” What a different time it was back then.

At a young age, Sid’s parents put him into dance lessons after he was running around the house “uncoordinated,” as he put it. He got so good at dance that by age 7 he and the dance studio he danced with performed at a Christmas show in the window of J.C. Penny’s on Fulton. The building, which still stands today, has large windows around the outside. What a beautiful sight it must have been for the walking public to view the inside and see a Christmas performance.

After graduating from high school, he attended Fresno City College and didn’t really know what he was going to do next with his life. A friend suggested he go to the Pasadena Playhouse. After learning more about the theater arts college, he applied and got in.

At one point, Sid gave up on Hollywood and began a different career in the private sector. When I asked him why, he said he “would never play a stupid heavy again.” He was a tall man. It was predictable that directors and producers would want him to play roles that included very few lines but that focused on his size and facial features. Since he was educated for years at the Pasadena Playhouse, Sid felt he could do more. As he put it, he was a “trained actor.”

What got him back in Hollywood? A specially written part by Quentin Tarantino for Sid to play a judge in the movie “Jackie Brown.” The story goes that Tarantino called him at his house. To that, Sid told me “I still don’t know where he got my house number.”

Perhaps the most famous role that was played by Sid was “Captain Spaulding,” a film by Rob Zombie. That role made Sid an icon in the horror film genre.

Wanting to visualize where Sid’s childhood house was, I drove down to the convention center. Looking at the ticket office, I pictured a small house on a street that once had a thriving Armenian community. Through the window, I imagined a young Sid running around as children do. Little did this one-time Fresnan know, he would capture the attention of several industry giants to the extent that they would write parts specifically for him.

Sadly, Sid passed away Sept. 21 in Los Angeles at the age of 80.

This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "From Fresno to stardom in Hollywood: Sid Haig, an Armenian American success story."