We’ve learned the sad news this week that actor Whitney Rydbeck, who played a brief but memorable role in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, has passed away at the age of 79.
Jason Lives director Tom McLoughlin said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “I’m heartbroken to share this past Monday night we lost the wonderfully talented physical comedian/actor Whitney Rydbeck. He played Roy the nerdy businessman/paintball player. His comic performance is still making audiences and fans laugh almost 40 years later.”
“I have worked with Whitney for over 53 years,” McLoughlin’s statement continues. “We’ve collaborated on so many projects together. Some as comic partners on stage and film, others on projects I wrote and directed. I specifically wrote the Roy part in Jason Lives for him knowing his unique talent. We also became close friends over these past decades.
“He’s truly the kindest, heartfelt, and lovable person I have known. Seeing him struggling with cancer this past year and a half has been beyond heartbreaking. A year ago he appeared on stage (with almost all the Jason Lives cast) at a sold out screening for the American Cinematique. Despite his condition, he made the fans laugh with his stories and antics.”
Outside of the horror genre, Whitney Rydbeck appeared in over 50 movies and television shows from 1970 through 2007, including “The Brady Bunch,” “Lassie,” “Monster Squad” (1976), Rocky II, “M*A*S*H,” Battle Beyond the Stars, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “7th Heaven,” “Party of Five,” and “Scrubs.”
Tom McLoughlin tells us this week, “I’m going to miss Whitney in so many ways. He truly knew how to make people happy. That was his gift. Our loss is Heavens’s Gain.”