Ari Lehman (born May 2, 1965) is an American performing artist, composer and actor. He is known for playing the child Jason Voorhees in the Paramount horror film Friday the 13th, becoming the first actor to portray the horror film icon. As of 2018, Lehman performs in a punk rock/heavy metal band, First Jason.
Biography A native New Yorker, Ari Lehman grew up in Westport, Connecticut, where he trained in Classical Music and Jazz Piano. Lehman was presented with an All-State Award for Excellence in Jazz Piano and a scholarship to Berklee School of Music by jazz educator, Dr. Billy Taylor.
Lehman heard about an audition being held in Westport for the movie, "Manny's Orphans",Kat,"Interview with Ari Lehman (Young Jason Voorhees, Friday The 13th)", Camp Blood, May 20, 2004, http://www.campblood.net/Interviews/ariinterview.htm about a group of inner-city orphans who play soccer, directed by Sean S. Cunningham. Lehman snuck into the audition and landed the role of "Roger".Sean S. Cunningham (Foreword), Peter M. Bracke(Author),"Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of "Friday the 13th" Hardcover" Titan Books Ltd; 1st Titan Ed edition (Oct 20, 2006), This role led to Lehman getting the call to play Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th from Sean S. Cunningham.Norman, Jason, "Welcome to Our Nightmares: Behind the Scene with Today's Horror Actors", 2015 "For his audition Lehman was asked one key question by the director, ‘Can you swim?’"
After the release of Friday the 13th, Lehman returned to New York City, where he enrolled at New York University and concentrated on Big Band Orchestration and Jazz Piano, "where he studied with the likes of Vladimir Shafranov". Lehman's career led him to become a keyboardist for artists of Reggae and African music of the time, with whom he toured throughout the US, Europe and West Africa, and recorded with at Tuff Gong Records and Interscope Records.Majek Fashek & The Prisoners of Conscience- Spirit of Love CD (Interscope Records, 1991) and "Rainmaker" (Tuff Gong, 1997)
Lehman went on to form his own world rock and reggae band Ari Ben Moses Band,Kat, "Interview with Ari Lehman (Young Jason Voorhees, Friday The 13th)", Camp Blood, May 20, 2004, http://www.campblood.net/Interviews/ariinterview.htm and gained acclaim when, upon moving to Chicago in late 2002, he was contacted by horror fans who invited him to attend an East Coast horror convention. Lehman then created First Jason, a punk metal band specifically for horror fans, especially the fans of Jason Voorhees and Friday the 13th.
Film career Lehman made his film debut in Sean S. Cunningham's film Manny's Orphans. He then played the role of a child Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, appearing in Pamela Voorhees's flashbackKawin, Bruce F., Horror and the Horror Film 2012,(Page 145) Anthem Press and Alice Hardy's dream – the final scene of the horror film.Hanisch, Julian, "Disrupted Relief" (p. 139) "Cinematic Emotion in Horror Films and Thrillers: The Aesthetic Paradox of Pleasurable Fear (Routledge Advances in Film Studies)" Routledge; Reprint edition (April 23, 2012),
Lehman also appears in archive footage, uncredited, in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).
Music career In 2004, Lehman formed his punk metal band whose name, First Jason, is based upon his role as Jason Voorhees. First Jason has independently released two albums: Jason is Watching! (2009), with Chuck Lescewicz "Nefarious" from Chicago death metal band Macabre playing bass, and Amit Shamir "Cleaver" from New York hardcore punk band Cro-Mags on drums; and "Heed My Warning,"(2013), described by Uber Rock (UK) as "a brand of thinking man's horror-themed rock." In 2019, he performed vocals for the acoustic version of the song Thank God It's Friday from Ice Nine Kills album The Silver Scream Final Cut.
Lehman has also composed, performed and recorded a number of soundtracks for independent films, including Alexia Anastasio's critically acclaimed all-female "Salome", and Vamp Films "Vampire the Movie", "which won the 2007 Rondo Award for Best Independent Feature."Steve Barton."Today (12/11/10) is Vampira’s Birthday; Watch an Exclusive Music Video Premiere,"Dread Central, December 2010, http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/21207/today-12-11-10-is-vampira-s-birthday-watch-an-exclusive-music-video-premiere/Sifu, Scott "2007 Rondo Hatton Award Winners Announced-Best Independent Production: Vampira the Movie", March 14, 2008, Dread Central, http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/6537/2007-rondo-hatton-award-winners-announced/"Ari Lehman accepts Rondo Award at WonderFest, July 19, 2008", Vampire the Movie: A Film By Kevin Sean Michaels website, http://www.vampirathemovie.com/gallery.php
Filmography
Title Year Role Notes/ref Manny's Orphans 1978 Roger Feature film Also distributed under the name Kick Friday the 13th 1980 Jason Voorhees Horror feature film ThanXgiving 2006 Delbert Eaton Barton, Steve."Coming This Fall...More Holiday Terror on ThanXgiving", Dread Central, May 7, 2010, http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/17235/coming-this-fall-more-holiday-terror-on-thanxgiving/ Three Thug Mice 2008 voiceover Animated short "Year of the Rat", HEEB Magazine, April 15, 2008, http://heebmagazine.com/year-of-the-rat-2/1138 Hell-ephone 2008 Professor/Circuit Maker Harlequin, David."'Hell-ephone' (2008) Review", October 8, 2014, CinemaSlasher, Terror Overload 2009 Ray Rae His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th 2009 Himself Documentary film Night On Has Been Mountain 2010 Invisible Man The Girl 2011 The Man House of Forbidden Secrets 2013 Building Crewman Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th 2013 Himself Documentary film Easter Sunday 2014 Postman The Wicked One 2014 Count Creepy Pi Day Die Day 2016 Principal Hayward Horror feature film The Barn 2016 Rock Horror feature film Camp Killer 2016 Joe Rock Paper Dead 2017 Jason Horror feature film The Lurker 2019 Dr. Stratton Horror feature film
References
External links
First Jason official website