Zelda Rubinstein, the 4-foot-3-inch character actress best known for playing Tangina the clairvoyant in the Poltergeist movies, died on Wednesday January 27 in Los Angeles. She was 76.

Rubinstein suffered a heart attack two months ago. It was reported at the time that she had been taken off life support and was not expected to live much longer. No immediate family members survive.

The New York Times says Rubinstein was a medical lab technician until she opted for a career change in her late forties. She made her film debut in 1981 in Under the Rainbow. In 1982 she appeared in Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist as Tangina Barrons, a psychic attempting to purge a violent ghost from a house bought by the Freeling family. Tangina failed repeatedly to rid the family of its tormenters (despite pronouncing the famous line, “This house is clean!”) and returned for both the second and third films — Poltergeist II (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988) — to try again. Rubinstein was awarded a Best Supporting Actress Saturn Award for her performance in the first film and the Washington Post called it one of the best by a film actress that year.

Rubinstein’s other films include Frances (1982), Sixteen Candles (1984) and Teen Witch (1989). She also had a recurring role on televisions ‘Picket Fences.’

Rubinstein was also known for her public advocacy of AIDS education and the rights of little people.