Tom Atkins appeared in a substantial share of the horror and action films of the late 1970s and 1980s, including The Fog, Escape from New York, Halloween III, Creepshow, Lethal Weapon and Night of the Creeps.
Night of the Creeps gives him the lead and the line about thrill me, and the film is largely remembered because of him.
He worked repeatedly for John Carpenter, and the moustache and worn-out delivery made him the default older cop of the period.
He came from theatre in Pittsburgh, where he still works, and has been generous about the genre audience that sustained the career.
