Peter Jason, “Karate Kid” and “Deadwood” Actor, Dies at 80

Peter Jason, “Karate Kid” and “Deadwood” Actor, Dies at 80

Tommy McArdle

February 21, 2025 at 6:15 PM

Peter Jason, a beloved character actor who acted in film and television for over 50 years, has died. He was 80.

Multiple outlets reported news of Jason’s death on Friday, Feb. 21. The actor’s death was first announced by a number of his colleagues and collaborators on Thursday, Feb. 20; a cause of death was not immediately available.

“Peter Jason, one of the great character actors in cinema, has died,” horror filmmaker John Carpenter, who cast Jason in a number of his movies, wrote on X on Feb. 20. “His first movie was Howard Hawks’ RIO LOBO. He was a dear friend and I’ll miss him terribly.”

Billy Zane similarly took to Instagram to mourn Jason’s death late on Feb. 20. He shared a number of photos of Jason, including one of the actor posing on a golf course.

“If there are no words then there certainly is no music.. My dear, dear friend, the brightest light, most generous soul and gregarious of men, the supremely talented and kind Peter Jason has left the set,” Zane, 58, wrote in a caption. “Survived by his lovely wife Eileen and his children, the vacuum felt by his passing gut punched me as I saw it coming. It had me spending the last two hours deciding between pieces of music to underscore this tribute that would either confuse, tickle or bore 1/2 of the viewers.”

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“They ranged from Spike Jones to Morricone. I couldn’t pick one so I chose none. All I know is his wake will be widely attended by and teeter somewhere between a Friar’s Roast to a burial at sea befitting an admiral,” Zane added in the caption. “See you on the back 9 my friend! RIP PJ 🙏🏼”

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Jason amassed 267 acting credits on IMDb over the course of his career, which began with 1967’s A Bell for Adano. He appeared in seven different movies made by director Carpenter over the years, including 1987’s Prince of Darkness, 1988’s They Live, 1993’s Body Bags, 1994’s In the Mouth of Madness, 1995’s Village of the Damned, 1996’s Escape from L.A. and 2001’s Ghost of Mars.

Other notable films Jason appeared in included 1984’s original Karate Kid, 1990’s The Hunt for Red October, 1995’s Mortal Kombat and 2002’s Adaptation, among others. He held a supporting role in HBO’s mid-200s Western series Deadwood as Con Stapleton, which he reprised in 2019’s Deadwood: The Movie. Video game fans will also recognize Jason as a voice actor in the Gears of War series.

Jason is survived by his wife Eileen and daughter Robin Goldwasser.

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