THE JASON FILES pt.3 – Steve Daskawisz
Principal photography on Friday the 13th Part 2 was barely underway when the producers were forced to recast the role of Jason Voorhees, the film’s demented killer. Warrington Gillette, the actor who had been set to portray the character, had proven to be a problem for the filmmakers, due to his inability to perform the required stunts. Steve Miner, making his directorial debut after almost a decade of working in a production capacity for Wes Craven and Sean S. Cunningham, had suddenly found himself without an actor to play the role. Stunt coordinator Cliff Cudney, however, had a solution and turned to one of his friends for assistance. Steve Daskawisz was a formed cop from New York who had turned to acting in 1977 and had landed minor roles in Wolfen and The Jazz Singer. The latter led to work on the Sylvester Stallone thriller Nighthawks, where he first made the acquaintance of Cudney.
This meeting would result in Daskawisz taking a keen interest in stuntwork, something that would bring him to the attention of Miner. Although the Screen Actors Guild had announced a strike, Friday the 13th Part 2 was able to continue as they had already moved into production and so Daskawisz, desperate for work, agreed to come onboard as Gillette’s replacement. Forced to borrow $25 from his brother-in-law for fuel, Daskawisz made his way from New York to Kent, Connecticut, where shooting was already underway on what had been tentatively titled Jason. Having been led to the wardrobe department to try on his new costume, Daskawisz was horrified to learn that he would spend the duration of the movie with a sack over his head. Not being familiar with Friday the 13th, Daskawisz approached Miner for a copy of the screenplay in order to learn his lines but was informed that the only directions he would need to know where when to chase and when to kill.
Despite not having a script, Miner would advise Daskawisz prior to each scene what part it played in the story to allow him to get into character. Daskawisz would be injured on more than one occasion throughout the shoot, although these would mostly be due to mere accidents than negligence on anyone’s part. During a sequence in which Jason was to pounce on the heroine, Ginny, Daskawisz and actress Amy Steel were forced to perform the scene almost a dozen times, with Daskawisz landing in a dug out spot to avoid hurting his feet. But, during one of the takes, Daskawisz would miss his mark and landed on his pitchfork, breaking four of his ribs. The second incident was during the climax, when Ginny was to swing her machete down on Jason, only for him to block it at the last moment with his axe. But the stunt went askew and Daskawisz almost lost a finger, resulting in a further thirteen stitches.
Although he would portray Jason for the majority of the movie – with the exception of the prologue, which would see production assistant Jerry Wallace and costume designer Ellen Lutter as stand-ins – Daskawisz was informed after the shoot that Gillette, who was originally hired for the role, would be credited as Jason. The producers eventually settled on a Jason Stunt Double credit for Daskawisz, although this would not be listed along with his fellow cast members. Thus, the truth behind who really played Jason would remain a mystery for over twenty years. Daskawisz, who would later change his professional name to Steve Dash, continued to work as an actor and stuntman throughout the 1980s and remained unaware of how popular his character had become until he was contacted by author Peter Bracke for the retrospective Crystal Lake Memories. Since then, Dash has appeared at numerous horror conventions, where he has not only met his fans but also Gillette, who was also promoting his work as Jason on Friday the 13th Part 2.
this is great! good post. i loved this movie. probably my favorite one.
I exchanged a few emails with him back when I was a writer for this site. He’s really a nice guy, but he really doesn’t do interviews anymore unless it is questions that he’s never been asked before. He is indeed the most underrated person to ever portray Jason.
this was the first friday i ever saw and also the first vhs i ever bought.Fango did an article in the late 80’s where they interviewed all the jasons and they never mentioned that steve did the all the sack jason,so it came as a shock to learn years later that he did.same thing with tom morga.Love the look of jason in this movie.I always thought that miner went with the “The town that dreaded sundown” with the sack look as everyone knows,but in part 3 he looks the same as the phantom killer shoulders down.Jason’s look in,3,4, owes alot to that film as well,anyone agree.
Too bad Steve got screwed on the credits. It should say Steve Daskawisz as Jason, and Warrington Gillette as unmasked Jason.
Although it irritates me that he had to fight for credit for his part in the movie, these Jasons are what started it all for me. Whether it is the sack or the hock, Jason can continue to kill people forever as far as I am concerned. But lets show these guys equal respect, since they BOTH were in the movie, even though WG couldn’t handle the stunts. Just one Jason fans opinion.
Also is irritating that WG took credit for Dash’s work for YEARS. Always letting people know that he was the only Jason. Gillette is a jerk for this.
For the limited amount of work WG did I’m surprised he received so much credit. But that’s the nature of the movie business and I understand that. What I don’t understand is why does WG lie to fans and say he acted as Jason in the movie? If anything when WG does conventions, their should be a huge sign somewhere near his booth saying “I am not able to sign bag Jason memorabilia b/c I did not play him.” Now that would be sweet justice.
As a side, I had heard that Dash confronted WG about his signing his name to the bag Jason memorabilia. Is that true? Did that actually happen? I hope it did and I hope Dash kicked his butt. I woulda
I believe he confronted him but I don’t think it was physical. I’ve seen them both in the same photo at conventions so I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge now the truth’s come out
I would like to a piece on the two meeting, I really would like to know how that went down
And acc ording to himself on the His Name Was Jason dvd interview, Jason does.not.run.. He said so himself. “So I lumped!”
Why harsh on WG so much for this? At least hes proud of being in a Friday film (unlike say…Jennifer Cooke).
I’m sure it was easier for Warrington to sign an autograph of Jason for a fan than to explain that he didn’t really play the role. I imagine the fan would feel kinda stupid walking away without an autograph. Now the truth has come out I doubt he still does it. It’s not like he’s a con artist, just someone who has a minor connection to a legacy and is proud of it. I know if I’d played Jason in a movie I’d be milking it too.
Here is how I imagine this went down:
Dash and Gillette met in the same room at a F13 convention. They both have a signing booth but nobody knows who Steve is. Dash gets frustrated and grabs the stack of photos of Gillette as an unmasked Jason and takes them to his booth where he begins signing them to fans under his own name. When he gets down to the last one, he makes it out to “Warrington Gillette” and then slips it onto Warrington’s table and says, “How do you like it? How does this make you feel?”
At that moment, the crowd realizes who Steve Dash was. Kane Hodder jumps out of a cake in the middle of the room and calls Dash, “My man, Jason.” Its a vindicating moment for Dash. Then, all the other Jason’s (including a tired and old Ted White) burst into the room in birthday party hats and throw confetti into the air. They pick up Dash by his legs and parade him around the convention center floor. Dash waves and smiles to his fans and big party erupts around him. A mariachi band plays for everyone. When Gillette asks for the same thing, Kane Hodder puts a potato bag over Gillette’s head and all the Jason’s do it again. When the crowd asks who is under the bag, everybody says it’s Steve Dash instead of Warrington Gillette.