Jonathan Tiersten obit

'Sleepaway Camp' Jonathan TierstenDead At 60

 He was not on the list.

Jonathan Tiersten -- the actor best known for his role in the '80's horror classic "Sleepaway Camp," has died, TMZ has learned.

Tiersten passed away last week at his home in New Jersey, according to his brother, William Tiersten. William tells us the medical examiner is investigating Jonathan's cause of death.

In 1983, Jonathan landed his first film gig with the biggest role of his acting career, playing Ricky Thomas in "Sleepaway Camp." He also appeared in two out of the 4 sequels: "Return to Sleepaway Camp" and "Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor."

Jonathan's passion for blood-splattered horror flicks never ceased, starring in "The Perfect House," "Terror Tales," "Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back," and "Time's Up" throughout his career.

For the role of serial killer John Doesy in "The Perfect House," Jonathan snagged 3 best actor awards and was nominated for a fourth at multiple film festivals.

Jonathan was 60.

Born in Queens and raised in New York City and Northern New Jersey, Tiersten has been involved in both music and acting since his teens. Tiersten, who studied French horn and guitar when he was growing up, was still a teenager when, in 1983, he played Ricky Thomas in Robert Hiltzik's cult horror film Sleepaway Camp (1983).

Tiersten went on to study acting at New York University's prestigious Circle in the Square Theater School (where one of his classmates was future "Saturday Night Live (1975)" cast member Molly Shannon), and in 1987, he had a principal role in the Emmy-winning ABC after-school special "Seasonal Differences (1987)" (which also starred Uta Hagen, Melba Moore, Gabrielle Carteris and Frank Whaley). It was also in the late 1980s that Tiersten had a part on the NBC soap opera "Another World (1964)."

As a singer/songwriter, Tiersten made his presence felt on the Greenwich Village folk-rock/roots rock circuit in the late 1980s and early 1990s as one-half of the acoustic duo The Magic Box. But in 1991, Tiersten surprised his admirers by leaving the Big Apple and moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he opened a beer bar/live music venue called The Mountain Tap Tavern. Tiersten's bar attracted its share of well-known artists (including Dishwalla, David Gray and Victor Wooten), but he ended up selling it to devote more time to his own music. His contributions to the Colorado music scene included everything from solo performances to AC/DC and Black Sabbath cover bands to the alternative rock outfit Bambis Apartment (which he co-led with guitarist/singer Micah Stone). Tiersten (whose first solo album, Heaven, was released in 1998) also has been a member of the alternative funk-rock band Gaphiltaphunk, and now leads the band TEN TIERS, whose debut album, Don's Club Tavern, Part 1, was released in 2006.

Having spent the 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s concentrating on music, Tiersten returned to acting in a big way in 2008, when he reprised the role of Ricky Thomas in the Sleepaway Camp (1983) sequel Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008). And 2010 proved to be an even busier year as an actor, thanks to major roles in two independent films: Redemption (2014) and The Perfect House (2012). Redemption is a psychological thriller that also stars George Loros (best known for his portrayal of Raymond "Buffalo Ray" Curto on the HBO series "The Sopranos (1999)"), Meredith Ostrom (known for her roles in Love Actually (2003), Men Don't Tell (1993) and other movies) and veteran film/television actor Barry Primus. The Perfect House, meanwhile, stars Felissa Rose, John Philbin and Monique Parent along with Tiersten. Rose and Tiersten go way back; she played Angela Baker in both Sleepaway Camp (1983) and Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008), and it was Rose who recommended Tiersten for The Perfect House.

2010 was a year of dark, edgy characters for Tiersten, who portrays a pimp in Redemption and a serial killer in The Perfect House. "Apparently, I'm everyone's favorite bad guy now," jokes Tiersten, who explains that John Doesy (his character in The Perfect House) is an insane sociopath who sees the murders he commits not as crimes, but as artistic performances. In fact, Doesy keeps a woman hostage and makes her observe his crimes because he needs a "muse." Tiersten is preparing to reprise his The Perfect House role as the star of a full-length prequel centered around his character. "John Doesy sees himself as a performance artist akin to Andy Kaufman, who thought his whole life was a performance,"

Tiersten, who recently wrote the score for the short film Demption (a crime drama starring David Krumholtz of the hit TV series "Numb3rs (2005)"), is a triple threat: he can score films as well as produce and act in them. Tiersten, in fact, has been doing some work for the independent film company Brittany House Pictures, and recently was hired by its president, Anjul Nigam (Grey's Anatomy (2005), Terminator Salvation (2009)) to help produce Good Ol' Boy (a film with a score from guitarist/composer Andy Summers of The Police) and also act and do soundtrack/score work on future projects. But Tiersten stresses that no matter how much acting he will do in the future, his music will never take a back seat.

 

RIP

Actor

Open House

Mark

Post-productionShort

 

Time's Up (2022)

Time's Up

3.7

Gene

2022

 

Lynn Lowry, Mel Novak, Jonathan Tiersten, Helene Udy, Maria Olsen, and Mike Ferguson in Last American Horror Show: Volume II (2022)

Last American Horror Show: Volume II

4.6

Captain Strike

2022

 

Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back (2021)

Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back

4.3

Eric Sommers

2021

 

Lake of Shadows (2019)

Lake of Shadows

6.8

Alex Kintner

2019

 

Yan Birch, Ari Lehman, Felissa Rose, Helene Udy, Ashley Park, and Leana Lewis in Terror Tales (2019)

Terror Tales

3.2

The Sledgehammer (segment "Radical Video")

2019

 

Brian Bonsall, The Enigma, Jonathan Tiersten, Mel Haynes Jr., Doug Newville, Deno Apodaca, Jessica Winklmaier, Chris Lanham, Justine McKinney, Benton Mckibben, Jem McHugh, Trevor Shoulders, Erik Livesay, Jennifer Dechant, Bj O'Kane, Dave Adams, and Gregory Hopkins in Slaughsages (2018)

Slaughsages

4.0

Short

Jahnethin Teahrsdine

2018

 

The House That Wept Blood (2016)

The House That Wept Blood

Chris Laymon

2016

 

Robert Clohessy and Alice Ripley in Sugar! (2016)

Sugar!

6.8

Joe

2016

 

Slayer: You Against You (2016)

Slayer: You Against You

8.4

Music Video

Gangster

2016

 

Jonathan Tiersten and Nicole Cinaglia in Then and Again (2015)

Then and Again

Short

Nigel

2015

 

Blood Reservoir (2014)

Blood Reservoir

5.3

Ricky Thomas

2014

 

Jasmine Pierce in Redemption (2014)

Redemption

8.7

Manny

2014

 

The Perfect House (2012)

The Perfect House

4.0

John Doesy

2012

 

Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008)

Return to Sleepaway Camp

4.1

Video

Ricky Thomas

2008

 

ABC Afterschool Specials (1972)

ABC Afterschool Specials

7.2

TV Series

Jason

1987

1 episode

 

CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984)

CBS Schoolbreak Special

6.9

TV Series

Chip Beddington (uncredited)

1984

1 episode

 

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Sleepaway Camp

6.2

Ricky (as Jonathan Tierston)

1983

 

Another World (1964)

Another World

7.1

TV Series

Kid With Basketball (uncredited)

1981

1 episode

 

Producer

The House That Wept Blood (2016)

The House That Wept Blood

producer

2016

 

Jonathan Tiersten and Nicole Cinaglia in Then and Again (2015)

Then and Again

Short

producer

2015

 

The Perfect House (2012)

The Perfect House

4.0

associate producer

2012

 

Composer

Jonathan Tiersten and Nicole Cinaglia in Then and Again (2015)

Then and Again

Short

Composer

2015

 

Demption

7.6

Short

original music by

2008

 

Soundtrack

Plan 9 (2015)

Plan 9

4.0

performer: "Love is Strange", "City of Angels"producer: "Love is Strange", "City of Angels"

2015

 

Tiffany Shepis in M Is for Matchmaker (2014)

M Is for Matchmaker

7.8

Short

performer: "Love is Strange"producer: "Love is Strange"

2014

 

The Perfect House (2012)

The Perfect House

4.0

performer: "If I Die (On My Last Day)", "In The Air"writer: "If I Die (On My Last Day)", "In The Air"

2012

 

Juncture (2007)

Juncture

5.0

writer: "How To Love You"

2007

 

Production Management

Slayer: Pride in Prejudice (2016)

Slayer: Pride in Prejudice

8.2

Music Video

unit production manager

2016

 

Slayer: You Against You (2016)

Slayer: You Against You

8.4

Music Video

unit production manager

2016

 

Writer

The Princess (2014)

The Princess

Short

composition

2014

 

Music Department

Closing the Deal (2000)

Closing the Deal

6.1

composer: additional music

2000

 

Self

Dead Talk Live (2020)

Dead Talk Live

6.8

TV Series

Self - Guest

2021

1 episode

 

The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell (2014)

The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell

6.5

TV Series

Self - Guest

2021

1 episode

 

Horror Icon: Inside Michael's Mask with Tony Moran (2016)

Horror Icon: Inside Michael's Mask with Tony Moran

Self

2016

 

At the Waterfront After the Social: The Legacy of Sleepaway Camp (2014)

At the Waterfront After the Social: The Legacy of Sleepaway Camp

7.8

Video

Self

2014

 

The Princess (2014)

The Princess

Short

Self

2014

 

Without Your Head (2006)

Without Your Head

7.1

Podcast Series

Self

2014

1 episode

 

Reel Nerds Podshow (2013)

Reel Nerds Podshow

8.0

TV Series

Self - ActorSelf - Musician

2014

1 episode

 

Groovey.TV's Celebration of Badassery Interview Series (2009)

Groovey.TV's Celebration of Badassery Interview Series

6.2

TV Series

Self

2013

1 episode

 

Return to Sleepaway Camp: Behind the Scenes (2008)

Return to Sleepaway Camp: Behind the Scenes

6.4

Video

Self

2008

 

Archive Footage

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor (1992)

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor

1.6

Video

Ricky Thomas (archive footage)

1992