Andy Hallett | Demon on 'Angel,' 33

Andy Hallett, 33, a singer who gained fame portraying a green-skinned demon on the vampire TV series Angel, has died of congestive heart disease.

Mr. Hallett was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after having problems breathing and died there Sunday, following a five-year battle with the heart condition, his agent Pat Brady said yesterday.

His father, Dave Hallett, was by his side.

"Andy was the all-American boy from Massachusetts," Brady said. "He was a hoot. He was comfortable wherever he went. Girls loved him. He was a very gregarious, happy young man."

Mr. Hallett was born in Osterville, Mass., part of the town of Barnstable, on Cape Cod. He attended Barnstable High School and then Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., according to his biography on IMDB.

Mr. Hallett told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a 2003 interview that he loved singing while growing up on Cape Cod, but his friends threw cold water on his efforts. Then, Patti LaBelle invited him onstage to sing "Lady Marmalade" with her. When he received applause and requests for photographs, "it was really a life-changing experience."

Mr. Hallett traveled up the Hollywood ladder to success, moving to Los Angeles, where he worked as a runner for an agency, property manager, then personal assistant.

He was singing in a blues revue when he met Joss Whedon, creator of the universe that included Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff Angel.

It was Whedon who asked Mr. Hallett to audition for a role. The character was the consummate greeter at a karaoke bar named Caritas, where he was able to read people by how they sang.

Mr. Hallett was in 76 episodes and sang in six. In one episode, he sang "Lady Marmalade."

- Los Angeles Times