According to an urban legend, John Reynolds was wearing the prosthetics incorrectly, which caused him great discomfort and led to him becoming addicted to painkillers. However, both
Tom Neyman (The Master in
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)) and his daughter
Jackey Neyman Jones dispute this claim, stating that the shoot was only eight days, not long enough for a painkiller-addiction to develop. The Neymans have pointed out that Reynolds suffered from depression, as was known to many of his friends and family, and blame that for his subsequent suicide. Later, actress Jackie Neyman (daughter of the director, Tom Neyman) stated in her online blog that John was never addicted to, or even took painkillers and that this was just a myth. The leg-braces were designed by Tom Neyman, and although they were uncomfortable, they were worn correctly and did not cause any pain. John Reynolds, however, was high most (if not all) of the time he was on set, and did suffer tremendously from depression, which did ultimately lead to him taking his own life.
