Lgbtq+ ally and HIV/AIDS activist Zelda Rubinstein as "spiritual medium" Tangina Barrons, Craig T. Nelson as Steve Freeling, JoBeth Williams as Diane Freeling, Beatrice Straight as parapsychologist Dr. Martha Lesh and Richard Lawson as Dr. Ryan Mitchell in the MGM-UA/Amblin Entertainment/Tobe Hooper supernatural horror classic Poltergeist, which was released in theaters in June of 1982. After tiring of her career as a medical laboratory technician at blood banks, Zelda decided to pursue acting late in life at the age of 45 in 1978. With only two previous small film roles to her credit and virtually unknown to the public, Zelda's stand-out performance as Tangina immediately made a splash and she became an overnight star after unwittingly stealing her screen time in Poltergeist right from under the noses of the film's better known cast members.
