Besides his star turn in the 1988’s original Child’s Play movie, Gale also worked in the 1990 sequel. But his big break in Hollywood came with the 1986 Universal comedy adventure film Howard the Duck, where he was cast as a Howard suit performer, while Chip Zien voiced the character. “I was very excited to get the role, but I had no idea who Howard the Duck was or that he was a Marvel comic book character. Yes, I was in the suit every day for nearly 10 months. I was the only actor who played the role of Howard the Duck,” Gale recalled in a 2018 interview with Rediscover the 80s. Gale also appeared in Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs and Chopper Chicks in Zombietown.

Ed Gale, who made his film debut wearing the “Howard the Duck” suit and went on to play Chuckie in “Child’s Play” and two other films in the series, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 61. His niece Kayse Gale wrote on Facebook, “It is with a heavy heart and a surprisingly light coffin (see what I did there?) that we announce the sudden passing of our uncle, Ed Gale. Ed Gale has taken his final bow and is now headlining in the afterlife. Ed hitched a ride to California when he was twenty years old, with $41 and a dream, and he never looked back. He lit up the silver screens in cult classic films like Howard the Duck and Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town, earning himself some serious street cred at every con he attended. Which he never stopped bragging about. Ever.

In 1986, he made his film debut as the title role in the film “Howard the Duck.” Two years later, Gale played Chucky in 1988’s “Child’s Play,” the very first film in the popular horror franchise. The movie was directed by Tom Holland and also starred Chris Sarandon, Catherine Hicks, Alex Vincent, Dinah Manoff and Tommy Swerdlow. He played the serial killer doll again in 1990’s “Child’s Play 2” and 1998’s “Bride of Chucky.” He was also in the films “Spaceballs,” “The Jungle Book” and “Tiptoes.”