These days Glenn Shadix calls himself semi-retired.
Some of it was by choice, a desire to leave Los Angeles and move back to Alabama, where he grew up and still has family. But not all of it was.
''One reason I left Los Angeles a couple years ago is reality TV shows had killed the quality television comedy shows that I thrived on,'' Shadix said during a telephone interview. ''Things have changed dramatically for actors, and not for the better.''
If Shadix's name doesn't sound familiar, his voice would.
The character actor has 75 film and television credits on his Internet Movie Database bio, and he said there are many things missing.
He was the interior designer Otho in ''Beetlejuice''; Father Ripper in ''Heathers,'' delivering the eulogies for the dead teens; Associate Bob in ''Demolition Man''; and monkey politician Senator Nado in Tim Burton's remake of "Planet of the Apes.''
Fact Box
WHAT: Screaming Tiki Comic,
Toy & Pop Culture Con
WHEN: 2 to 8 p.m. Friday,
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Eastwood Expo Center, 5555 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles:
HOW MUCH: $10 each day or $20 for a weekend pass for adults and free for children ages 10 and younger.
GUEST APPEARANCES: In addition to Glenn Shadix, guests scheduled to appear at Screaming Tiki include:
l John Wesley Shipp, who played the title character in the television series ''The Flash'' and also played Dawson Leary's father on ''Dawson's Creek'' and Dr. Kelly Nelson on the CBS soap opera ''The Guiding Light.''
l Aaron Smolinski, who played Superman as a toddler in 1978's ''Superman: The Movie.''
l Tom Kane, who provides the voice for Yoda on the animated series ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars.'' Other voice credits include the animated movies ''Shrek the Third'' and ''9'' and such television series as ''Robot Chicken,'' ''Wolverine and the X-Men,'' ''Kim Possible'' and ''The Powerpuff Girls.''
l Michael Bell, a voice actor who has worked on such animated series as ''G.I. Joe,'' ''Transformers,'' ''Superfriends'' and ''Star Trek.''
l Kevin L. Williams, creator of ''Muley the Mule and Friends.''
l Martheus Wade, creator of the comic book ''Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa,'' which is being made into a movie. Appearing with him is Janet Stone Wade, who creates characters, helps write storylines and inks the books.
l Artist / illustrator Mark McHaley, whose work has been featured in Topps card series for ''Star Wars,'' ''X-Men,'' ''Indiana Jones'' and ''Heroes.''
l Artist / illustrator Steve Stanley, whose clients include Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Malibu Comics and World Championship Wrestling.
l Artist / illustrator Cat Staggs, whose work has been featured on Topps Artist Sketch Cards for ''Star Wars.''
Actor David Prowse, the actor inside the Darth Vader mask, was one of the guests originally announced, but he is unable to attend due to health and work visa issues.
On television, he's had guest spots on ''Cheers,'' ''Seinfeld,'' ''Roseanne,'' ''The Golden Girls'' and many others.
Sometimes audiences only heard that distinctive voice, most notably as the Mayor in ''The Nightmare Before Christmas.'' But he's also provided voices for ''Teen Titans,'' ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series,'' ''Jackie Chan Adventures'' and ''Duckman.''
At his peak, Shadix said he was earning $15,000 a week for a film role.
''Now, unless you're George Clooney, you work for scale plus 10 (about $800 a day plus an additional 10 percent to cover agents' commissions),'' Shadix said. ''They don't need to pay you. There are so many out there willing to make fools of themselves, undress and show their rolls of fat, whatever, for practically nothing (on reality TV) I find it pretty repugnant. It's certainly not what I wanted to do.''
Shadix still auditions for film and television work - he has role in the upcoming film ''Finding Gauguin'' that he shot last year in Maui, Hawaii - and he's looking for a juicy theater role. But he's also doing things like appearing this weekend at the Screaming Tiki Comics, Toys & Pop Culture Con at Eastwood Expo Center in Niles.
Shadix made a few convention appearances after doing ''Planet of the Apes,'' but he hasn't done one in awhile.
''It's always fun to meet the people who saw my movies and enjoyed them,'' he said. ''If I did three or four a year, it would get really old, but at this point I really enjoy it Being a character actor, I do all sorts of things. You never know what people are going to know you from.''
Shadix knows he has Burton to thank for the reason so many people know who he is. The director came to see him in a play, and he didn't know it until six months later when he was invited to a meeting for ''Beetlejuice'' and did his screen test for Geffen Films.
''Tim really taught me how to work in front of a camera,'' he said. ''My goal was to be in film, and Tim really opened the door.
''A lot of things have to fall in place to have any career in Hollywood So many extraordinarily talented people never work at all. You don't break into show business; you get invited in I have no delusion that I'm more talented than other people. I know exactly how lucky I was.''
When all of the residuals are counted, ''Nightmare Before Christmas'' probably was the most lucrative project Shadix ever worked on.
''Heathers,'' one of the other films he's most associated with, may have been the least lucrative. He filmed his role as Father Ripper in about three hours as a favor to director Michael Lehman, who was a friend.
''I literally did it for about 340 bucks,'' he said.
However, he did get one residual check from the movie for 45 cents.
He and Burton have talked about working again, but Burton now lives in London and used a predominantly English cast for ''Alice in Wonderland.''
But whether it's with Burton or not, Shadix said he'll never retire completely. ''I'll be an actor till the day I die.''