Heather O'Rourke
Year Title Role Notes
1981 Fantasy Island Liza Blake ( age 5 ) Episode : Elizabeth 's Baby / The Artist and the Lady
1982-1983 Happy Days Heather Pfister Recurring role , 12 episodes
1983 CHiPs Lindsey Episode : Fun House
1983 Matt Houston Sunny Kimball Episode : The Woman in White
1983 Webster Melanie 3 episodes
1984 Finder of Lost Loves Jillian Marsh Episode : Yesterday 's Child
1986-1987 The New Leave It to Beaver Heather Episodes : Material Girl , Bad Poetry
1987 Our House Dana Episode : A Point of View
1987 Rocky Road Russian Girl Episode : Moscow on the Boardwalk
Filmography -- Television
Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She made her debut after being discovered by director Steven Spielberg while visiting MGM studios. Spielberg promptly casted her in the horror film Poltergeist (1982) as Carol Anne Freeling, and O'Rourke earned recognition for her performance. She then reprised the role in the second and third installments. O'Rourke was also recognized for her work in television, and appeared in recurring roles on Happy Days from 1982 to 1983, on Webster in 1983, as well as appearing in the television-film Surviving in 1985. Throughout her career, O'Rourke had been nominated for six Young Artist Awards, winning one for her role in Webster, and appeared in a total of three films (all of which are from the Poltergeist franchise) and twelve television series, before her death at the age of 12 from cardiac arrest and septic shock caused by a misdiagnosed intestinal stenosis.