Ubiquitous character actor Peter Jason, 80, died on Feb. 20. Jason got his start onstage, frequently with the South Coast Repertory Company. He made numerous films for John Carpenter (including Prince of Darkness, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned, Escape from L.A., and Ghosts of Mars) and Walter Hill (48 Hrs., Red Heat, Johnny Handsome, The Long Riders). Jason acted in an astonishing number of movies and TV shows, while remaining active onstage (a few of his credits include Here Come the Brides, Land of the Giants, Hawaii Five-O, Mommie Dearest, The Karate Kid, The Golden Girls, The Hunt for Red October, Quantum Leap, The Naked Truth—I hadn’t thought of that show in ages!—Air America, Deadwood, Desperate Housewives, Baskets, and Mad Men. Jason’s IMDb bio claims that “In his spare time he makes his own furniture with found, recycled wood,” but I doubt he had enough “free time” to change a light bulb. Jason said that “If you want to be an actor, you get in as many plays as you can until you find out what makes you tick. There is a technique that must be learned—otherwise you will never be able to repeat it.”
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