Outside the Beltway

Halloween Producer Moustapha Akkad Dies in Jordan Bombings

James Joyner · Friday, November 11, 2005 · 3 comments

Moustapha Akkad, the producer of the “Halloween” movies, died Friday from wounds suffered from the terrorists attacks Wednesday in Jordan. His daughter, Rima, was also killed.

‘Halloween’ Producer Dies in Jordan (AP)

Moustapha Akkad, the Syrian-born producer of the “Halloween” horror films, died Friday from wounds sustained in the triple hotel bombings, a hospital official said. Akkad died at 7:30 a.m. in a Jordanian hospital where he was being treated, said surgeon Dr. Yousef Qisous. He lived in Los Angeles and was reportedly in his 70s. “He had bleeding in the lungs, his ribs were fractured and he died of his wounds and a severe heart attack this morning,” Qisous told The Associated Press.

Akkad’s daughter, Rima Akkad Monla, 34, also died in one of Wednesday’s three explosions, said her mother, Patricia Akkad, Thursday.

[…]

Moustapha Akkad, best known for producing all eight films in the “Halloween” franchise, also produced and directed “The Message” (1977) and “Lion of the Desert” (1981). Both latter films starred Anthony Quinn.

His daughter, Rima, grew up in Los Angeles an avid polo player who graduated from the University of Southern California in 1995 with a degree in international relations. She pursued a master’s degree in Middle East studies at the American University in Beirut, where she met her husband Ziad Monla, 35.

Their deaths are no more tragic that those of the other innocent victims. Sometimes, though, the loss of someone with celebrity personalizes events and makes them seem more real.