Karate Kid and Deadwood actor Peter Jason dies aged 80
DEADWOOD star Peter Jason has died at the age of 80.
The TV and film veteran racked up more than 270 acting credits in his life including roles in the Karate Kid, Mortal Kombat, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Fans and colleagues of the actor have paid tribute.
Legendary horror movie director John Carpenter wrote on X: “Peter Jason, one of the great character actors in cinema, has died. His first movie was Howard Hawks’ RIO LOBO. He was a dear friend and I’ll miss him terribly.”
Jason’s friend Matt Anser wrote: “I am heartbroken.
“My dear friend and my father’s best friend, Peter Jason, passed away today. What a loss He was truly one of the sweetest people on the planet. My heart goes out to his wife and daughter.
“Peter, I hope you and my dad are up there laughing your a***s off.” A fan added: “ah damn, RIP Peter Jason. loved him everytime he showed up in one of Carpenter’s films, especially Prince of Darkness and They Live.”
American star Jason began his acting career in the late 1960s in minor TV roles before making his mark in the John Wayne western Rio Lobo as Lieutenant Forsythe.
Other notable turns came in the 1980s when he played a soccer coach in the kung fu classic The Karate Kid and alongside Pierce Brosnan in the espionage series Remington Steele.
By the end of the decade he made a name for himself in horror flicks and had a successful partnership with director Carpenter beginning with Prince of Darkness in 1987.
The pair worked on a trio of scary films in the 1990s: Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned, and Escape from L.A.
Another frequent collaborator of Jason’s was director Walter Hill, with whom he worked with eight times.
In the early 2000s Jason landed the recurring role of dimwitted Con Stapleton in the western TV series Deadwood, for which he is best known.
The critically acclaimed programme that documented the trials and tribulations of the growth of Deadwood in South Dakota in the 1870s won eight Emmys.
Jason reprised his role in 2019 for a reunion film.
He also lent his vocal talents to numerous hit videogames including Gears of War 2 and Fallout 2.
Music fans may also recognise him from an appearance in Meat Loaf‘s Bat Out of Hell II music video.