Rubinstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended the University of California and the University of Pittsburgh. She stood just 4 feet 3 inches (130 cm) due to a deficiency of the anterior pituitary gland, which produces growth hormone. Commenting in 2002 on the challenges of being a very short statured person, Rubinstein said, "Little People are societally handicapped. They have about two minutes to present themselves as equals—and if they don’t take advantage of that chance, then people fall back on the common assumption that 'less' is less."

Zelda Rubinstein will probably never essay a "normal" characterization. She was appropriately cast as one of the Little People in her first film, Under the Rainbow (1981). Her best-remembered screen role was Tangina, the disastrously self-assured exorcist in the first two Poltergeist films. Zelda's declaration that "This house is clean" has to be the most famous speaking-too-soon miscalculations in movie history. She was later seen in oddball minor roles as domineering mamas, witches, snoops and gamblers. TV fans know Zelda Rubinstein best as Ginny Weedon on the weekly cult favorite Picket Fences (1992-95).

Rubinstein became active in the fight against AIDS/HIV in 1984, long before it became popular or acceptable for famous people to do so. She appeared in a series of advertisements, directed towards gay men specifically, promoting safe sex and AIDS awareness. Rubinstein did so at risk to her own career, especially so shortly after her rise to fame, and admitted later that she did "pay a price, career-wise". She attended the first AIDS Project Los Angeles AIDS Walk.

 76-year-old Zelda Rubinstein has only a short time left to live after being taken off life support at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. It seems she has been in the hospital for over a month, and has now been taken off life support after the failure of two major organs. Their source, said to be a friend of the actress, says: "Her lungs and kidneys have failed and she's in and out of consciousness. It's only a matter of time now -- she doesn't have long to live."

While she's had a number of roles over the years -- Dr. Katarina Kuntzler in Southland Tales, the Organist in Sixteen Candles -- Rubinstein is best known for her role as psychic medium Tangina Barrons in Poltergeist and its subsequent sequels. (Standing only four-feet tall [the result of a pituitary deficiency], Rubinstein most often played the psychic, eclectic older woman.) When the Freeling's house spirits continue to torment them, they bring in Tangina, who sorts out the other-worldly inhabitants of the house and helps coax them aaway (watch a clip after the jump).

Our thoughts are with you, Zelda.

Films

Year    Role

1981     Under the Rainbow
1982     Poltergeist
1983     A Chip of Glass Ruby
1984     Sixteen Candles
1986     Poltergeist II: The Other Side
1987     Anguish
1988     Poltergeist III
1989     Teen Witch
1991     Guilty as Charged
1994     National Lampoon's Last Resort
1995     Timemaster
1996     Lover's Knot
1997     Critics and Other Freaks
1998     Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights
1999     Frank in Five
2005     Cages
2006     Unbeatable Harold

1980     The Flintstone Comedy Hour
1983     Jennifer Slept Here
1984     Whiz Kids
1986     ABC Weekend Special
1987     The Tortellis
1990     Mr. Belvedere
1991     Darkwing Duck
1992     Stormy Weathers
1992-1994     Picket Fences
1993     Acting on Impulse
1996     Poltergeist: The Legacy
1997     Martin
1998     Caroline in the City
1999     Hey Arnold!
2000     The Pretender
2000-2006     Scariest Places on Earth
2001     The Flintstones: On the Rocks