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Friday The 13th Star Whitney Rydbeck Dies of Cancer At 79
Whitney Rydbeck, actor-comedian who starred in Friday The 13th, Crash Test Dummies PSA, Scrubs, and more, passed away at the age of 79 in hospice care.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
Whitney Rydbeck is no more. He died at 79 due to complications of prostate cancer. He was famous for his physical comedy and mime work. He played the role of a paintball soldier in Friday the 13th Part VI, and also as one of the original crash test dummies that promoted seat belt safety campaigns.
Whitney Rydbeck passes away due to cancer
As per The Hollywood Reporter, on Monday, Rydbeck took his last breath in hospice care at Chatsworth, California. He died of cancer complications according to Tommy McLoughlin, his longtime friend and director.
He was not just a comedian or actor but a really nice human being, said Tommy McLoughlin, who worked with him often.
Rydbeck appeared on many TV shows in his career including, The Brady Bunch, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Scrubs, Phyllis, MASH, Cagney & Lacey, Highway to Heaven, Sisters, Living Single, Party of Five, and more.
Mcloughlin wrote a tribute to the late Whitney Rydbeck on Instagram that reads: "We lost not only a truly funny comedian and actor…but one of the most good hearted human beings I’ve ever known. God Bless You and Rest in Peace..Whitney Rydbeck. Our Loss is Heavens’ Gain."
Revisiting Whitney Rydbeck's legacy
Rydbeck played Roy in the sixth part of Friday the 13th films which was released in 1986. His character Roy, a paintball soldier, gets murdered by Jason Voorhees in the film.
Apart from movie roles, Rydbeck made public service announcement videos as crash test dummies since 1985, creating two well-known characters, Larry and Vince. These advertisements humorously demonstrated what could happen if people did not put on seat belts with this catchy phrase “You Could Learn a Lot From a Dummy.”
Whitney Wilbert Rydbeck was born in Los Angeles on March 13, 1945. The early seventies saw him joining Richmond Shepard Mime Troupe and L.A. Mime Company, founded by McLoughlin who said to the outlet, "He was the perfect guy for that since he was so great at physical comedy."
In his acting journey, we can trace him back to the year 1970 when he appeared on the TV series Nanny and the Professor; later in 1973, he played a silent robot in Woody Allen’s Sleeper. He also played brief roles in films such as Love at First Bite (1979), Rocky II (1979), and Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979) among many other projects. In 1979, he starred as a cab driver who befriends a robot from another planet on NBC kid's show Whitney and the Robot.
Rydbeck has also been part of movies like Oliver & Company (1988), A Very Brady Sequel (1996); TV shows such as Far Out Space Nuts, Lassie, 7th Heaven, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, etc. More recently, he taught drama at Pasadena City College.
He is survived by Claire, his girlfriend of ten years.
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