Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he assures fans
The Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new feature, ‘Ernie & Emma,’ this summer will be delayed due to treatment.
Bruce Campbell, a cult figure from Royal Oak, disclosed on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed with a type of cancer that is “treatable” but not “curable.” The “Evil Dead” star, 67, apologized for the news, which came as a shock to him as well.
He went on to say, “I’m not going to go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He explained that the public revelation was due to a reduction in his performance schedule, which included tour dates for his current feature, “Ernie & Emma.”
Campbell had planned to premiere the film on June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date was still on the Redford schedule; nevertheless, Campbell stated in his statement that he plans to “work as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”
Campbell wrote, directed, and acted in the film about a man embarking on a journey following his wife’s death. Campbell produced the film with his wife, Ida Gearon, and shot it in Oregon, where he now resides.
Campbell told The News in January that he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood filmmaking friends, notably Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.
“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the fuck we wanted to do,” Campbell explained in reference to “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this project,’ so they are all included in the film.”
Campbell began making movies in Metro Detroit with his childhood friend, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has subsequently been in the majority of Raimi’s films; Campbell appears briefly in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s most recent film, “Send Help.”
In his social media statement, Campbell thanked followers and stated that he was not looking for sympathy.