Friday The 13th Blog

Jeff Cramer attended last month’s Monster-Mania convention and had the priviledge to sit down quickly with numerous stars from the Friday the 13th series and ask them some questions about their acting history and experiences filming their respective films. He received some great answers, but pay close attention to his his interview with Marta Kober as her answers  followed along the same lines as our Interview with her.

Below is a short interview he conducted with Tom Fridley (Cort, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part 6). Enjoy his responses, especially about Friday the 13th: The Series! For all other great interviews that Jeff conducted, including Amy Steele, David Kagen, Marta Kober, Bill Randolph and Tiffany Helm, visit his From Dusk Till Con entry.

Jeff Cramer: Okay, so how did you get started in the industry?

Tom Fridley: Here’s the deal, my godfather was an agent, and what happened was I went from a pilot from Fantasy Island in 1978, and I went in, and the casting agent asked me, “Why do you want to be an actor?” I was laughing, and I said, “I don’t want to be an actor, I want to buy a BMX Bicycle so I can race”. So he thought that was funny, and then he asked me to read, and I said, “I’m not gonna read.” Then he went around and says, “You got the part. We have an assistant part that’s gonna read with you.” So, basically, he tricked me into reading it. So, I read it, and I did it. And the next film I did was called Max Dugan Returns. I went into that one, and the casting agent asked, “Why do you want to be an actor?” And I said, “I don’t want to be an actor, I want to be a rock star. I’m waiting for a PA System.” So, basically, it was this wanting to do different things and finally getting into that, and then they all fell into place. And it was — my own family’s been in this industry for my whole life. So that’s the bottom line. So, that’s kind of how I fell into it.

JC: How did the part of Friday VI come about?

TF: It was just your typical interview, read it to Tom McLaughlin (who is probably one of the funnest directors you’ll ever work with) and then, when it went to the producers, I think that was like a “done deal,” which — it was interesting that nobody asked my history of my previous work. After this was done, I was asked to do Friday the 13^th TV series, the pilot for the series. Frank Mancuso Jr. gave it to me, and I went and did that, and then I never saw it. All I remember is a sound stage with — it was all these green stones and smoke, and stuff, and that’s pretty much all I remember about it.

JC: So what have you been up to, I guess, after Friday VI?

 TF: Oh, gosh. After that, let’s see I did a lot of stuff after that. I did Karate Kid, did Vietnam War Story, did Hard Vice — I’ve done like 50-some films. I just did a new film — it’s a comedy called Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay! I did that up in Spokane, Washington; I live up there now. So, I’ve been out of the business, but this movie is being shot up here, so I do whatever there. And I’m working on a new thing for the Travel Network called Dream Trips. A partner of mine and I are gonna host that. That should happen in about six months.

JC: What’s your reaction to now to the Friday the 13^th fans here at Monstermania?

TF: Oh my God, this is my reaction! These are the best fans anybody could ever dream of. These people are unbelievable. I’m having the nicest time. These people, they’re like the friends you never had — just wonderful people. They are all great. That’s the truth.