Jonathan Tiersten has died at the age of 60.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The actor's death, which took place last week in his home in New Jersey, was confirmed by his brother to TMZ. Tiersten was perhaps best known as Ricky Thomas in the horror franchise Sleepaway Camp, a role that would define much of his career.
Who Is Jonathan Tiersten?
Tiersten was born in Queens, New York, on Aug. 11, 1965. He first appeared on the soap opera Another World. Two years after his debut, Tiersten landed his breakthrough role as Ricky Thomas in the 1983 slasher classic Sleepaway Camp. In the film, he and his cousin Angela attend Camp Arawak after Angela suffers a traumatic accident.
Throughout the film, Ricky defends his cousin from bullies at the camp, who later suffer brutal deaths. While Sleepaway Camp was not a critical darling, it grossed $11 million and launched a horror franchise. Tiersten would reprise the role of Ricky in the film's 2008 sequel, Return to Sleepaway Camp.
Reflecting on his connection to the character, Tiersten said in a behind-the-scenes documentary, "There's a lot of Ricky still in me... As I've gotten older, I think I'm a more 'look on the bright side' kind of guy than I was when I was younger... Life's hard. You know, it's not hard to find things to be bitter about."
Tiersten Became a Horror Film Regular
Tiersten became a mainstay at horror film conventions, where he not only signed autographs but also performed with his rock band Ten Tiers. The group's 2011 EP We'll See earned critical acclaim from several music publications.
In addition to his film and music work, Tiersten starred in several Afterschool Specials in the 1980s. He continued to appear in B-horror films in the decades since Sleepaway Camp. Those films include The Perfect House (2012), Blood Reservoir (2014), The House That Wept Blood (2016), Terror Tales (2019), Lake of Shadows (2019), Toilet Baby Zombie Strikes Back (2021), and Last American Horror Show: Volume II (2022).
