Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (Enhanced Edition)

by Peter M. Bracke

  I went through about four read-throughs. I didn't meet any of the other actors until after I got cast and I never saw any of my competition, either—we didn't even have a table reading. But when I got the script, I was amazed that the description of Shelly described me perfectly—physically, emotionally, mentally. Steve Miner saw that. He said, "Don't put on a character, just be yourself." And when you want to be an actor and they say, "Here, you can have a lead part in a movie"—no reservations. I always liked horror movies, and I thought it was better than being in a movie that wasn't part of a franchise. At least I knew people would go see the movie and I could say I was in a Friday the 13th. People would know what you were talking about, as opposed to being in some horror movie that no one has ever heard of.

  DAVID KATIMS, "Chuck":

  To be honest, I thought the script was pretty poor. It didn't make any sense. All they mentioned when I went in to audition was that they were going with a Tommy Chong look and sound for my character, so I just worked on that dialect. And I didn't have a beard and I didn't have long hair. After the audition, all Steve Miner said was, "Start growing your hair and start growing your beard."

  When my agent called that I won the role, she was very excited. She said, "You've got a horror movie!" I thought, "Great, I've always wanted to do porn." Then she said it would pay $40,000, so I rolled up my morals, smoked them and said, "Yeah, I can play that."

  TRACIE SAVAGE, "Debbie":

  By the time of Friday the 13th Part 3, I was basically out of the business. I had worked as a child actress my whole life and knew all the pitfalls—that you could be a huge star today and no one tomorrow. So I was focusing on school and not really going out on interviews anymore. But my mother had started the Savage Agency, which to this day is one of the biggest kids' agencies in town. She called and said, "Hey, Tracie, there's an interview for a horror movie. It will film late in the spring, it won't interrupt your classes and it might be a fun thing to do and to get you some money to pay for college."

  So I met with Frank Mancuso, Jr. and the casting directors. They were downplaying the Friday the 13th name. It was all hush-hush, but we all knew what it was. How could I not do it? What a fun movie to do as my last acting job before I was officially out of the business. It would be something to carry with me and tell my kids about. I couldn't resist.

  PAUL KRATKA, "Rick":

  Auditions can be really impersonal. The guy interviewing you is eating a sandwich or talking on the phone while you're doing your reading. And casting directors can be pretty callous—they have to mow through 150 people in two days or whatever. But this whole experience for me was awesome. Tracie Savage's mother, Judy, was my agent, and David Katims' agent as well. We all studied together and all kind of got hooked up together. I went in to read for the part of Andy, and the casting directors said, "You're not right for that, but you're just right for the lead, Derek"—at the time, my character had a different name in the script, but they changed it to "Rick," because it's one less syllable, and therefore more scream-able. Then they said, "We'd like you to come back and meet the producer and the director. And by the way, let me tell you a little about this character. He lives up in the mountains. He's a carpenter. So dress accordingly." When I came back, I wore blue jeans and work boots and a t-shirt and this parka-type thing. And I was carrying a couple of two by fours and a skillsaw. Steve Miner and Frank Mancuso, Jr. just looked at each other—it was right on the mark for them. That sealed the deal right there.

  CATHERINE PARKS, "Vera":

  Part 3 was, I think, the second film I'd ever done. It was a tremendous boost of confidence to work on a film at all. And the idea of the make-up and prosthetics—it seemed fun, and I was excited to learn something new. Plus, everyone was telling us that Part 3 was going be the final series. I never imagined that it wouldn't be. And the script read easily for me. Though, the only thing was, Vera is supposed to be Hispanic, and I'm not. I'm Scottish, Irish and French Canadian.

  DAVID KATIMS:

  I think after the second audition they had pretty much decided on me, but they kept calling me back anyway without telling me I got the part so I could read with different actors to play my girlfriend. They also wanted to see how we all worked together as a group. There were about five or six of us late in the audition process, and they took us out to do a rough video of us pretending to get in the van. There were no real lines particularly. I remember Larry Zerner was there, and the girl that they were originally going to cast as my girlfriend. That was the big surprise—just a week or so before we shot, suddenly it wasn't her anymore, instead they cast Rachel Howard.

  "I had this vision of having a torrid romance with my leading lady—and it turns out she's Mormon!" laughs Paul Kratka. "Dana Kimmell was just the sweetest, straightest arrow possible."

  NICK SAVAGE, "Ali":

  I had never even heard of Friday the 13th before. I don't even like horror movies; they're not my cup of tea. And this was a Part 3 that I was going to be in? But my agent sent me to this audition anyway, for a gang member. And I had just bought a motorcycle, so I rode it right up to the window of where they were holding the casting sessions. Steve Miner just looked down to me on my bike and said, "Okay." But hey, at the time, I was grateful for the part. Never turn down a job. There is no small part—just small actors.

  GLORIA CHARLES, "Fox":

  This was my first film. I had just gotten out of school; I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. And in school, they told me, "Oh, it will probably be years before you start working." Then it all sort of happened very quickly—I just auditioned and got this job. So I was excited. Though, at the Academy, where we were studying Shakespeare and Chekov—you think after you graduate, "Oh, I'm going to do the classics!" And then your first job is a horror film. But I saw it as a chance to learn, and that it would be easy to learn because I grew up watching scary movies. I just thought it was going to be a lot of fun.

  STEVE SUSSKIND, "Harold":

  I always wanted to be an actor ever since I was a kid. From the age of 4 years old on, I would go to summer camp and we would do shows like South Pacific and The King and I—typical camp fare. Then when I was in my early teens, I formed a band called The Roommates, and we had a couple hit records. But I always wanted to pursue acting full time, so in September of 1981, I came to L.A. and lived in a trailer in a friend's backyard. I had actually first met Steve Miner in the late 1960s. At that time he was a film editor and working part-time at a place called Pottery Barn. We weren't great buds or anything, but when I came to L.A., a friend knew that Steve was doing Friday the 13th, and called him to say, "Hey, why don't you use Steve Susskind?" That's how I got the role.

  CHERI MAUGANS, "Edna":

  At the time, I wanted to be Meryl Streep. I was interested in challenges—when you're a female at the age I was, there's the leading parts and the character parts. And the character parts are the ones that are interesting. I read my sides for Part 3, and I thought the whole thing was very funny. So for me I had this whole idea of who Edna was. She was probably a cheerleader in high school but things just didn't work out for her the way she thought they were going to, and she ended up being a really frustrated mess. And there obviously was that sense of frustration in the written repartee between her and Harold.

  When I went into the audition I did not read the character as the stereotype that was written. I had to come in a couple of times, and then they brought me in to read with Steve Susskind. And if you don't go in and be the character, you're not going to get anything in this business. So I came in with curlers in my hair, bad shoes, no makeup and a bathrobe. Steve Miner and I just laughed through the whole thing.

  PAUL KRATKA:

  I remember they were still trying to find the lead girl right up until the last minute. They kept bringing me in, week after week, for readings with all these different actresses. They really wanted Amy Steel from Part 2, but she was unavailable.

  AMY STEEL, "Ginny Field," Part 2: />
  You know, sometimes I look back on my career and wonder. They really wanted me for Part 3. They didn't have a script, but they were just going to show me some sort of outline. Then my agents got involved, and I don't know whether it was a money issue or a script issue, but I didn't do it. I think I just wanted to do different things. When you're young and cocky, you think that another great movie is going to be coming along, that Steven Spielberg is going to be banging on your door. But now I look back and I say, "I should have just gone for it. I should have done Part 3."

  Left: Paul Kratka and Dana Kimmell as Rick and Chris. Center top: David Katims and Rachel Howard as stoners Chuck and Chili Center bottom: Tracie Savage and Jeffrey Rogers as young lovers Debbie and Andy. Right: Larry Zerner and Catherine Parks as unlikely couple Shelly and Vera.

  DANA KIMMELL, "Chris Higgins":

  Someone on the production had seen me in another movie I'd done, Sweet Sixteen, with Bo Hopkins and Susan Strasburg. I met with the casting director and he immediately took me over to meet with Steve Miner. I always joke that I got the part because I scream really well. That's all I did at my audition—scream! And by the time I got home they were already negotiating with my agent.

  I had no clue what Friday the 13th was. Growing up, I always loved scary movies, but I was not familiar with these. I'd heard of them, but I'd never seen any of them. Once I got the part, Steve Miner sent me home with tapes of the first two Fridays, just to see what I had gotten myself into. And, they were already shooting, so I read through the script and was on set in a day or two. It was really a quick thing. There wasn't a lot of discussion about my character until we got into the actual shooting. But I liked Chris because she fought back. I didn't want her to be a wimp—I wanted her to be someone who could survive. And she did.

  PETRU POPESCU:

  Almost every character in the Friday the 13th movies acts like they don't have a head on their shoulders. They see something that says "Don't Enter" and that's exactly where they go. And usually the girls are very lascivious and very much in tune with their own sexuality. They want to go out in the bushes, even when it's dark because they're itching for sexual attention right then and there. And the guys are more or less ready all the time. Only with the lead character do you have someone who is a bit more reasonable, who says, "Okay, maybe we shouldn't." So the character of Chris Higgins was at least somewhat creatively satisfying to write, because she had a past. She was both easier and harder to create—I spent the most time on her. I imagined this young American girl, who, even though she isn't very grounded sociologically or whatever, at least she has a history with the monster.

  The biggest discussions were around what was the exact nature of Chris' backstory with Jason. We talked about a certain type of sensibility and drama—would a rape take the audience out of the fantasy, even though all the killings do not? We will accept mutilation of the body, but not the notion of sexual penetration—killing can be entertaining and rape cannot be. If you see a head roll in these movies, it's okay. It's like play. But if you see someone invaded or soiled—that's not amusing for anyone. So we left Chris's past encounter with Jason ambiguous. Also, it's very unusual that someone is a virgin in a Friday the 13th, unless that's a piece of the puzzle. If there was a rape and the victim is a virgin and that weighs into the drama, sure. But otherwise, virginity in these types of movies in general is rare.

  TRACIE SAVAGE:

  One thing fans continue to ask me about the movie is if my character was really supposed to be pregnant. The issue of her being pregnant only came up in that one scene, and it was never mentioned again in the movie. I think it was just one of those little twists the filmmakers threw in there. Or maybe it was just supposed to be a joke. To be honest, quite often the scripts of these movies aren't their strongest points…

  DANA KIMMELL:

  It's funny, but apparently I did an interview for Fangoria a few years ago where I talked about all these changes I requested in the movie. I honestly don't even remember giving that interview. But I do remember having a meeting with Frank Mancuso, Jr. They had a couple scenes in there about how Rick and Chris had stayed out all night, and there was a line that they had made love. I said to Frank and Steve Miner, "I'd be a lot more comfortable if we didn't talk about that." And they said, "Just do whatever you want," and rearranged it. I knew this series has a lot of young followers. I just thought it was good not to promote that kind of thing so much. And nobody notices, anyway.

  PAUL KRATKA:

  I was 27 at the time and I had this vision of having a torrid romance with my leading lady—and it turns out she's Mormon. Dana was just the sweetest, straightest arrow possible. A really nice girl, professional and courteous. I never got any sense that she was objecting to anything. But I can't believe Paramount would acquiesce anyway—it's not like a hundred other girls in Hollywood couldn't play her role. It wouldn't have changed the outcome of the movie, one way or the other.

  DAVID KATIMS:

  Dana was a Mormon, so I guess it was very bizarre for her to be doing this movie. But it's not like she ever preached. And I have no memory of her being bitchy; rather, I remember her being very friendly to me. The one thing that I thought was a little odd, though, was that the crew loved to gamble, and once in a while she would join in, and I knew it was against her religion. But it is understandable why Dana would set boundaries. This isn't Shakespeare. The thinking is pretty much that if you do something like this, you are not pretending that it's going to be the greatest piece of character drama. And for someone like Tracie Savage, who ended up doing some nudity in the movie, it is even a bigger decision.

  Right: Despite being at the losing end of Jason's machete, actor Nick Savage has fond memories of his duel to the death with Jason. "I had to go into the makeup shop a week early so they could make a cast of my arm and stuff it with bloody meat," says Savage. "It really did look real. I had to check my own arm after I saw it!"

  TRACIE SAVAGE:

  Each person took care of themselves. Dana had no say over what was happening. She wouldn't have had that authority. The priority is to scare the hell out of people, and if they have an actress who was concerned about art they're going to say, "Sorry. We'll find somebody else." I had no qualms about the nudity. It was very minimal, and there are hardly any movies on the air today where you don't see someone nude. And since then, as a joke, friends have done blooper reels for me where they've taken my nude scene and slowed it down frame-for-frame and then played it for all my friends. But I just laugh. It's not a big deal.

  The hardest part was that during my entire career up until then I had been a minor and my mom was on the set with me all the time. If there was every anything dangerous or inappropriate, she was there to protect me. Part 3 was the first movie I did as an adult, and I had to protect myself. It was a little intimidating to have to stand up for my rights, as an 18-year-old, and be able to say, "No, I'm not going to do that. That's not right." I did put my foot down about the scene where I'm supposed to be having sex with Andy; they wanted to have a tight shot of our faces as we were having an orgasm. The thought of that horrified me, because that's something that's just so inappropriate. I did not want them to have a close-up shot of our faces as we're in ecstasy. That would have embarrassed me, especially as I knew I was about to pursue a more legitimate professional career as a journalist. So I just said, "Absolutely not. This is a horror movie, it's not an X-rated movie." So what they ended up doing was slowly panning down to our feet, and you saw our feet jerk as if we had just … well, you know.

  No one involved in the production of Friday the 13th Part 2 was fully satisfied with the look of Jason Voorhees that they had created. But if nothing else, it was clear that what had not so affectionately become known as "the bag" was no longer an option. The search was also on for yet another new actor to play Jason, an effort necessitated by the production's relocation to the West Coast. Coupled with another new makeup crew coming on board, radical shifts in the
continuity and appearance of Jason were fast becoming a tradition of the series.

  It is often impossible to determine at what exact moment an icon is born—and perhaps even harder to determine the originator of that icon. However, it remains without question that, as Part 3 began production, the most important step in the transformation of Jason Voorhees from slasher movie footnote into monster movie legend was about to take place. No one would ever look at a hockey mask in quite the same way again.

  STEVE DASKAWICZ, "Jason Stunt Double,"Part 2:

  If you look at Freddy Krueger and A Nightmare on Elm Street, they used the same guy every time. But not Friday the 13th, because they don't want to pay more each time they use you. I was really shocked when I was told that if I wanted the job on Part 3, I would have to pay my own airfare out to California. And I wasn't going to do that. They said, "You don't understand, you're nobody." And I said, "No, I'm Steve Dash." Because the role wasn't that important to me. Hey, I have my morals.

  RICHARD BROOKER, "Jason Voorhees":

  I had the weirdest audition. I actually answered an ad for the role in Backstage West the previous summer and never heard another word. Then totally out of the blue, in February or March, I got this phone call: "Will you come in for an interview?" I went down to the casting office and there were like 15 of the biggest, buffest guys standing outside. I had no idea why they were there. I just walked straight in, saw two people behind the desk, and I said, "Hello, I'm Richard Brooker. I have a meeting at 2:00 p.m." It was the two casting guys. They said, "We're waiting for Steve Miner—would you mind waiting for a few moments?" So I went into this other room, sat down and waited for a bit, and then Steve Miner came in and we chatted for a while. Then he turned around to the casting guys and said, "Book him." They said, "What about the actors outside?" Only then did I realize that the guys outside were also there for the interview. Steve just said, "Forget them. Send them home." I didn't know it was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.