10 Secrets Of Neil Gaiman’s Death Of The Endless
9. Designed From A Creator’s Friend, But Not The One You Think
There was immediate speculation about who was the inspiration for the various characters in “Sandman” when it was revealed that the character of Lucifer was modeled after singer and actor David Bowie. Many people falsely attributed Death’s look to creator Neil Gaiman’s long-time friend, singer Tori Amos.
Gaiman stated “Death is the only major character whose visuals didn’t spring from me. That credit goes to Mike Dringenberg.” Gaiman had chosen the rock star Nico with her “perfect cheekbones and her perfect face” on her Chelsea Girl album as his inspiration, among others, but artist Dringenberg had other ideas.
Dringenberg sent Gaiman a drawing of death based on a woman he knew named Cinamon Hadley. Gaiman was wowed by the image and that became the official look for Death. In a moment of cosmic serendipity, the waitress at the restaurant where Gaiman and McKean were dining that night was wearing an outfit that was almost an exact copy of Death's outfit in the picture. Hadley sadly died of colon cancer in 2018. British cover artist Dave McKean has used a variety of unnamed English models to create images of Death for various Sandman covers.