Peter Jason mini-bio: Excellent, prolific and versatile character actor Peter Jason was born on
July 22, 1944 in Hollywood, California and grew up in Balboa. He attended
Newport Beach Elementary School, Horace Ensign Junior High, and Newport
Harbor High School. He originally planned on being a football player, but
fell in love with acting after playing the lead in a high school
production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner." Following his high school
graduation Peter attended Orange Coast Junior College and did a season of
summer stock at the Peterborough Playhouse in New Hampshire. Jason then
studied as a drama major at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. More stage work followed with the acting group
the South Coast Repertory Company, then Peter eventually made his film
debut in Howard Hawks' final picture "Rio Lobo" (this movie remains one
of Jason's favorites). Peter worked with Orson Welles on the uncompleted
"The Other Side of the Wind" as an actor, boom operator, prop man and
even cook for the cast and crew. Jason has appeared in many films for
director Walter Hill; he's especially memorable as the racist redneck
bartender in "48 Hrs." Moreover, Peter has acted in several pictures for
director John Carpenter: he's very engaging as the jolly Dr. Paul Leahy
in "Prince of Darkness" and was terrific as underground guerrilla army
leader Gilbert in "They Live." Other notable roles include a sinister
government agent in "Dreamscape," the rugged Major G.F. Devin in
"Heartbreak Ridge," jerky detective Fedorchuk in "Alien Nation," a
newspaper reporter in "Seabiscuit," and the US president in "Alien
Apocalypse." Jason recently had a recurring role as dissolute gambler Con
Stapleton in the superbly gritty cable Western TV series "Deadwood." He
also had a regular part as Captain Skip Gleason on "Mike Hammer, Private
Eye." Among the many TV shows Peter has done guest spots on are
"Desperate Housewives," "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," "Nash Bridges,"
"Coach," "The Golden Girls," "Murder, She Wrote," "Married With
Children," "Rosanne," "Dear John," "Quantom Leap," "Dr. Quinn, Medicine
Woman," "B.J. and the Bear," "The Incredible Hulk," "Gunsmoke," and
"Hawaii Five-O." In addition to his substantial film and TV show credits,
Jason has acted in over 150 plays and hundreds of TV commercials. An
accomplished baritone vocalist, Jason has sung in such musical stage
productions as "The Music Man" (this is one of his favorite plays), "Stop
the World, I Want to Get Off," "The Roar of the Greasepaint," and
"Threepenny Opera" (as Mack the Knife). He's been married to his wife
Eileen for 33 years. In his spare Peter Jason makes his own furniture
with found, recycled wood.
