12 Things You Didn't Know About The Evil Dead Movies
8. Most Of Sam Raimi's Family Make Appearances In The Series
The original Evil Dead films would never have got made without a great deal of ingenuity, scrimping and saving on the part of Sam Raimi. The writer/director relied on the collaboration of several members of his family to get them made; his older brother Ivan co-wrote the script to Army Of Darkness with him (they both wrote Spider-Man 3 as well...)
Most consistent of the put-upon Raimis, however, was younger brother Ted. He's since become a legitimate actor with roles in seaQuest DSV and Xena: Warrior Princess, but before all that it was Ted Raimi that was called upon to fill in for just about any role in the Evil Dead films. In the original, he was one of the hardest-working “Fake Shemps”.
Which means he stood in for missing actors during reshoots, including donning a wig to play a possessed Cheryl. He got a promotion for Evil Dead II, playing the demonic Henrietta in heavy make up and a fat suit; apparently he sweated so much he could pour water out of his mask when shooting was over. He still turned up in Army Of Darkness.