Peter Jason

Peter Jason
File:Peter Jason, DOD.jpg Jason in November 2006
Born	(1944-07-22)July 22, 1944 Hollywood, California, U.S.
Died
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–2025

Peter Jason (July 22, 1944 – February 2025) was an American character actor. He appeared in over eighty films and a hundred television series. He often played military personnel and authority figures in a career that ran for nearly sixty years.

Career

Jason had an extensive career, amassing over 250 credited roles in film, television and video games. His first credited role was as an unnamed duty officer in the 1967 TV movie A Bell for Adano, an adaptation of the 1944 novel by John Hersey. From there, he appeared in Here Come the Brides and three different roles on Gunsmoke. He also had a memorable turn in the 1970 Howard Hawks western film Rio Lobo as the doomed Lieutenant Forsythe, whose death spurred on John Wayne's Colonel Cord McNally to a mission of vengeance. He later played a Civil War soldier in the acclaimed miniseries The Blue and the Gray, appearing as Sergeant Ogilvie.

Roles across the 1980s included a soccer coach in The Karate Kid (1984), and two roles in the Pierce Brosnan series Remington Steele. In 1982, Jason would go on to enjoy a rare leading role as Malcolm O'Keefe, a deranged killer who terrorizes a young boy and his teenaged babysitter in the independent horror-slasher flick Trick or Treats. Nearing the end of this decade would mark the beginning of a fruitful working partnership with iconic horror director John Carpenter, of which he would star in seven of his films over the course of three decades. He first appeared in 1987's Prince of Darkness, followed by 1988's They Live, and later the likes of In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Village of the Damned (1995), and Escape from L.A. (1996).

Additionally, Jason worked with Walter Hill eight times across his career, including playing the racist bartender in 48 Hrs. and appearances in Red Heat and the first episode of the television series Deadwood. In the latter, he played the dim-witted Con Stapleton over the course of twenty-six episodes from 2004 to 2006 and the 2019 reunion film. Stapleton, based in part on a real person of the same name, was the one and only City Marshal of the titular town, though he only held the role a year.

Jason's other work during this time included a fan favorite appearance as Drill Sergeant Arch Dornan in the 1998 video game Fallout 2, a commander on the USS Reuben James in John McTiernan's 1990 adaptation of The Hunt for Red October and a recurring role as Daniel Wilford in the Wing Commander franchise. He also appeared in the 1990 cult film Arachnophobia, the 1995 adaptation of Mortal Kombat and in one of Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell II music videos directed by Michael Bay.

Jason continued to work steadily through the turn of the century, working across film, television and video games as well as appearing in various commercials. He had a small role in the 2003 Gary Ross film Seabiscuit and lent his voice to the animated spoof Hair High, written and directed by Bill Plympton.

In 2009, Jason made his first appearance on NCIS as Sergeant Major Robert King, a retired soldier with links to espionage who exploits the knowledge of Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) to sell on the black market, though Sciuto thwarted him at the last moment. Jason would play the role again nearly a decade later in 2018, with King seeking revenge against Sciuto, leading to her retirement from the agency; the episode was Perrette's last as a series regular.

Jason played Orson Welles in a 2014 short film as a tribute to the director; the two had previously worked together on Welles' last project, The Other Side of the Wind, which was eventually completed and released in 2018. He also played a director in the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar! and appeared in 1600 Penn, Justified and two roles in Arrested Development. Additionally, he provided his voice to a number of video games, narrating Darkwatch: Curse of the West and playing Dizzy Wallin in Gears of War 2 and its sequel.

In 2022, Jason appeared in We Are Gathered Here Today, a movie filmed remotely over video calling services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which it incorporated into its narrative. His last credited role before his passing in February of 2025 was in A Tale of 2 Fathers, a short film directed by Douglas Spain.

Personal life

Born in Hollywood, Jason grew up in Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach. He attended Newport Beach Elementary School, Horace Ensign Junior High and Newport Harbor High School. After graduating, he attended Orange Coast College and studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University.

Jason died in February 2025 at the age of 80. John Carpenter posted on social media that Jason was "one of the great character actors in cinema" and that he would "miss him dearly."

Filmography

Main article: Peter Jason filmography

Further reading

• Voisin, Scott, Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59393-342-5

External links

• Peter Jason at the Internet Movie Database
• Industrycentral.net