Ted White (stuntman)

Ted White
File:Ted White at horror convention in nashville tn april 2012.jpg Ted White at a horror Convention in Nashville on April 8, 2012.
Born	(1926-01-25) January 25, 1926 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor, Stuntman
Years active	1949–present

Ted White (born January 25, 1926) is an American stuntman and actor who is best known for playing Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. He is also notable for having doubled for John Wayne, Fess Parker, Clark Gable, and Richard Boone.

Career

White played football for the University of Oklahoma. He then pursued a stuntman/acting career. In Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), White was approached because of his Marine Corps background when they needed a consultant for the layout of the island. That was when White met John Wayne and began doubling for him in 1952.

White has had minor roles in several western films and in such television series as Daniel Boone, The Andy Griffith Show, Hunter, Magnum, P.I. and The Rockford Files, usually in tough-guy roles such as police officers or hired thugs. He has also worked in Gone in 60 Seconds, Silverado, Major League, Starman, and Tron.

In 1984, White played hockey masked murderer Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, after the director needed a large man for the part. White reluctantly accepted because he needed the money. Uneasy about playing one of the most infamous murderers in screen history, White asked not to be credited on screen for his part. He was later credited for the archive footage of him as Jason that was used in the seventh Friday film.

White became infuriated with director Joseph Zito for being insensitive to the pain actress Judie Aronson was experiencing when she was out on the raft filming her nude death scene, where she developed hypothermia and started crying from the pain brought on by the cold. This angered White to the point that he threatened to quit. Zito complied because he did not have the time or resources to find another stuntman White's size. Despite his initial distaste for the role, he is considered by many fans to have been one of the best Jasons.

White was offered the role of Jason for Friday the 13th: A New Beginning and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, but turned them down. The roles ultimately went to stuntmen Tom Morga and C. J. Graham, respectively.

Partial filmography

Actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1949	Sands of Iwo Jima	Marine	Uncredited
1954	Creature from the Black Lagoon	Gill man stunt double	Uncredited
1958	The Perfect Furlough	Soldier	Uncredited
1958	Born Reckless	Cowboy	Uncredited
1960	The Alamo	Tennessean	Uncredited
1965	Cat Ballou	Gunslinger	Uncredited
1967	Point Blank	Football player
1986	Quiet Cool	Ellis
1974	Dirty Mary Crazy Larry	Trooper
1980	Going Ape!	Goon 1
1980	Oh, God! Book II	Motorcycle Policeman
1980	Used Cars	Police Deputy
1982	Tron	Guard
1984	Starman	Deer Hunter
1984	Romancing the Stone	Grogan
1984	Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter	Jason Voorhees	Uncredited
1984	Against All Odds	Security guard with dog
1984	The Wild Life	Redneck Drunk #2
1985	Silverado	Hoyt
1987	Hot Pursuit	Tommy Ray
1987	The Hidden	Agent Fowler
1988	Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood	Jason Voorhees	Archive footage
1990	Downtown	Goon
2001	Double Take	Trooper
2009	His Name was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th	Himself
2013	Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th	Himself

Stuntman

Year	Film	Notes
1962	Hatari!	John Wayne's stunt double Uncredited
1968	Planet of the Apes	Uncredited
1972	Prime Cut	Uncredited
1973	Soylent Green
1979	1941	Uncredited
1980	Bronco Billy	Uncredited
1981	Escape from New York
1984	Cloak & Dagger
1986	Short Circuit
1989	Major League
1989	Road House
1999	Wild Wild West
2000	Gone in 60 Seconds

External links

• Ted White at the Internet Movie Database