Many writers have contributed to the Friday the 13th franchise over the years, but the first to bring an adult Jason Voorhees to life was Ron Kurz, who did some uncredited work on the original Friday the 13th and subsequently went on to write the script for 1981’s Friday the 13th Part 2, the sequel that firmly established Jason as the franchise’s iconic slasher.
Sadly, we’ve learned this week via Fridaythe13thFranchise.com that Ron Kurz passed away this past May due to heart failure. At the age of 79, Kurz died suddenly on May 7th.
The obituary for Ronald G. Kurz over on SentinelSource.com explains that Kurz joined the U.S. Army at age 17, serving “from 1958-61 in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., and in the 8th Infantry Division in Germany as a scout and demolition specialist.” Later, “He worked as a corrections officer with the Maryland Department of Corrections for eight years.”
Kurz’s first novel, 1974’s Lethal Gas, was based on his experiences as a corrections officer, and it would be less than 10 years later that he’d be hired to write Friday the 13th Part 2.
Ron Kurz is survived by his wife, Ann Dillon, and his children Scott and Daniel Kurz.