Biography for
Peter Jason

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Date of Birth

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Excellent, prolific and versatile character actor Peter Jason was born on July 22, 1944 in Hollywood, California and grew up in Balboa. He attended Newport Beach Elementary School, Horace Ensign Junior High, and Newport Harbor High School. He originally planned on being a football player, but fell in love with acting after playing the lead in a high school production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner." Following his high school graduation Peter attended Orange Coast Junior College and did a season of summer stock at the Peterborough Playhouse in New Hampshire. Jason then studied as a drama major at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. More stage work followed with the acting group the South Coast Repertory Company, then Peter eventually made his film debut in Howard Hawks' final picture "Rio Lobo" (this movie remains one of Jason's favorites). Peter worked with Orson Welles on the uncompleted "The Other Side of the Wind" as an actor, boom operator, prop man and even cook for the cast and crew. Jason has appeared in many films for director Walter Hill; he's especially memorable as the racist redneck bartender in "48 Hrs." Moreover, Peter has acted in several pictures for director John Carpenter: he's very engaging as the jolly Dr. Paul Leahy in "Prince of Darkness" and was terrific as underground guerrilla army leader Gilbert in "They Live." Other notable roles include a sinister government agent in "Dreamscape," the rugged Major G.F. Devin in "Heartbreak Ridge," jerky detective Fedorchuk in "Alien Nation," a newspaper reporter in "Seabiscuit," and the US president in "Alien Apocalypse." Jason recently had a recurring role as dissolute gambler Con Stapleton in the superbly gritty cable Western TV series "Deadwood." He also had a regular part as Captain Skip Gleason on "Mike Hammer, Private Eye." Among the many TV shows Peter has done guest spots on are "Desperate Housewives," "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," "Nash Bridges," "Coach," "The Golden Girls," "Murder, She Wrote," "Married With Children," "Rosanne," "Dear John," "Quantom Leap," "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "B.J. and the Bear," "The Incredible Hulk," "Gunsmoke," and "Hawaii Five-O." In addition to his substantial film and TV show credits, Jason has acted in over 150 plays and hundreds of TV commercials. An accomplished baritone vocalist, Jason has sung in such musical stage productions as "The Music Man" (this is one of his favorite plays), "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off," "The Roar of the Greasepaint," and "Threepenny Opera" (as Mack the Knife). He's been married to his wife Eileen for 33 years. In his spare Peter Jason makes his own furniture with found, recycled wood.

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Trivia

Is frequently cast by director John Carpenter. Some of his more notable appearances in Carpenter films are The Prince of Darkness, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned, Escape from L.A. and Ghosts of Mars.

He has appeared in 12 Walter Hill films.

Personal Quotes

If you want to be an auto mechanic what you do is work on as many cars as you can until you know what makes them tick. 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. You have to learn how to listen. Otherwise you will never know how to hear. And you have to have more fun than anyone else because nobody wants to watch you work.

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