R.I.P. Peter Jason, Deadwood actor and frequent John Carpenter collaborator

Emma Keates

Feb. 21, 2025, 3:41 p.m.

Peter Jason—a film and television actor who gave new meaning to the word “prolific”—died Thursday. A cause of death was not immediately available, per Deadline. Jason was 80.

Multiple colleagues posted tributes to Jason on social media, including his frequent collaborator John Carpenter, who announced Jason’s death while deeming him “one of the great character actors in cinema.” “He was a dear friend and I’ll miss him terribly,” the Halloween director wrote. Billy Zane also posted on Instagram, hailing Jason as “my dear, dear friend, the brightest light, most generous soul and gregarious of men.”

Starting with an unnamed role in 1967 TV movie A Bell For Adano, Jason went on to amass over 260 film, television, and video game credits through his lengthy career. He’s perhaps best known for his 26-episode run in 2004 HBO Western Deadwood, in which he played card dealer Con Stapleton. His other television roles are numerous, but some notable titles include Hawaii Five-0, Gunsmoke, Starsky & Hutch, Hart To Hart, The Golden Girls, Married… With Children, Arrested Development, Desperate Housewives, Mad Men, Justified, Baskets, and many more.

Jason also made multiple films with both John Carpenter and Deadwood director Walter Hill. The character actor appeared in seven of Carpenter’s films, including Prince Of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988), Body Bags (1993), In The Mouth Of Madness (1994), Village Of The Damned (1995), Escape from L.A. (1996), and Ghosts Of Mars (2001). In addition to Deadwood, he also collaborated with Hill on films like 1982’s 48 Hrs., in which he played a bartender opposite Eddie Murphy.

Jason had many, many other film roles throughout his career. Some notable credits include Rio Lobo, Some Kind Of Hero, Streets Of Fire, The Karate Kid, Heartbreak Ridge, The Hunt For Red October, Arachnophobia, Adaptation, Milk, Hail, Caesar!, Seabiscuit, Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom, and 2019’s Deadwood: The Movie.

Jason is survived by his wife Eileen and other family.