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Biography: We recieved this e-mail, telling us of the sad parting of Walt Gorney.
"Walt Gorney, the actor who appeared in a number of films including Friday the 13th, died last Friday, March 5, in St.Vincents hospital in NYC. Although he had numerous physical problems, I believe he died of natural causes - my wife and I both visited him in the hospital earlier in the week he died. Your site had originally listed Mr. Gorney as dying from cancer in 1989. I do not know who this might be, but I can testify that the man I knew is the same person as appeared in the movie and is pictured on your site.
Mr. Gorney never talked about himself - but he had me gather some of his papers for tax and other purposes, so I ran across some background information. When he died, Mr. Gorney was almost 92 - born in Austria in April of 1912. He came to the US as a child - he was ten and the family lived in Massachusetts when his father became a naturalized citizen - and had at least three younger sisters. He moved into his apartment in the Village in 1946 (or thereabouts), and never moved. He listed himself as an actor on his 1960 passport.
I consider Walter Gorney a friend, and while he was alive I would not risk his well-guarded privacy by updating your site. Now that he has died, I think it appropriate to recognize the real person - a friendly, unfailingly courteous, but fiercely independent and private man. Over the span of five years we knew him - we are volunteers who delievered meals to him on the weekends and ran errands for him. He was always careful not to impose on us, but was always interested in what our family was doing and what was happening in the neighborhood. I always enjoyed visiting him, and only wish he had been more open talking about his own life."
Update: He was an accomplished stage actor with the Provincetown Players in the village in the early 1950s, and opened in a World premiere of Lorca's play, If Five Years Pass on McDougal St. Walter, playing 'Juan'. He also appeared in another play called The Male Animal as the character 'Allen'. This was a show put on by the Greenwood Players at Peaks Island Playhouse. In the 1970s, he is mentioned as having appeared in two broadway performances, Trelawny of the 'Wells' and Scratch. There are numerous other plays that he was a part of, and we will find out more of his rich life history soon!
Filmography
Seize the Day (1986)
Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)
Easy Money (1983)
Trading Places (1983)
Endless Love (1981)
Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981)
Friday the 13th (1980)
Nunzio (1978)
Day of the Animals (1977)
King Kong (1976)
Cops and Robbers (1973)
Heavy Traffic (1973)
Where Is He Now?: Walt Gorney passed away March 5th, 2024, from natural causes in New York.
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