Whitney Rydbeck, an actor known for his role in “Friday the 13th Part VI” as well as a crash test dummy in memorable ’80s and ’90s PSAs, has died at the age of 79.
Rydbeck’s longtime friend Tommy McLoughlin, who directed the sixth installment of the Jason series, told The Hollywood Reporter the actor passed away on Monday due to complications from prostate cancer while in hospice care in his hometown of Chatsworth, Calif.
“We lost not only a truly funny comedian and actor but one of the most good-hearted human beings I’ve ever known,” McLoughlin wrote in an Instagram tribute earlier this week. “God Bless You and Rest in Peace, Whitney Rydbeck. Our Loss is Heavens’ Gain.”
Rydbeck grew up in Los Angeles and attended Pasadena City College and Cal State Fullerton, where he studied theater. He also learned mime technique at the Richmond Shepard Mime Troupe and the L.A. Mime Company.
He made his onscreen debut in a 1970 episode of “Nanny and the Professor” and continued to work steadily in film and TV.
In addition to his role as Roy, a nerdy paintball player who gets killed in “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives,” Rydbeck also appeared in “Rocky II” and Steven Spielberg’s “1941.”
His decades-long career included dozens of sitcom credits, including “The Brady Bunch,” “M*A*S*H” and more recently, “Scrubs.”
But perhaps Rydbeck’s biggest role was as crash test dummy Larry in PSAs promoting seatbelt safety, which ran from 1985 to 1997. Several props and one of his costumes from the original campaign is even on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
In his later years, Rydbeck dedicated himself to teaching drama at Pasadena City College.
He’s survived by Claire, his partner of over 10 years.
