C.J. Graham, an American actor best known for playing Jason Vorhees in “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives,” will attend Jason Lives Fan Day at Camp Lee Ford in Ridgeway on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Graham and celebrate the iconic horror franchise.
Graham has not visited the area before but has attended conventions in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“I’ve never been there before. I’m sure I’ve been within a 500 to 600 mile radius, but I’ve never been specifically, so it’s going to be exciting,” he said.
He has looked up the location in advance to familiarize himself with the area and praised event promoter Corey Agee for generating local excitement.
“He’s done a great job his whole team has as far as exposure and getting us on the market. I mean, done anything from wrapping his own truck to billboards, radio. I mean, I’m like wow, you know, for a one-day visit, tremendous effort,” Graham said.
A Vietnam War veteran, Graham accidentally entered acting. While at a club, he was cast to wear the Jason costume by the Reel Effects company for a promotional video.
“Since we’re recording this for the hypnotist, he’s trying to make up promotional tape. Let’s take CJ the GM. He’s the right size, because we have Ted White’s wardrobe,” Graham said.
“They kept saying, ‘Wow, wow, ‘you know, we’re gonna cast you for Jason?’ Yeah, right, we’ve all heard that one, and guess what? We’re talking about those 39 years later. Next year, August 1st will be 40 years since 1986.”
Graham said he stayed in Los Angeles for about eight years, acting in the movie “Highway to Hell” as Hell Cop and appearing in national commercials for AT&T, Colgate, Gatorade, and Miller Beer.
He described his size as a factor in his casting. He said he’s 6-feet, three inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. In comparison, “I think Tom Cruise” is 5-feet, 8 or 9 inches tall, “so I went back to the casino in Las Vegas, where I remained for about 20, 21 years.”
Graham eventually became general manager of two casino resorts. He now lives on a ranch with several animals, including chickens, alpacas, and horses.
“It’s fun, but I enjoy doing about 12 to 15 events” annually, Graham said. He records the events he participates in to make them more enjoyable.
Graham described his favorite scene from his acting career.
“My very, very favorite scene is the very, very first scene I ever shot in a movie, in wardrobe or any other thing in my life. There’s a scene where Jason comes into side profile, and the motor home is behind. It’s moving and I turn, look at it. I tilt my head lightly and all you see is my shoulders going out towards a motor home,” he said.
He said filming movies out of sequence made the work challenging but fun. “One, two, three, four. It could be three, four, one, two, but I will tell you that it was fun. I had a great time,” Graham said.
He noted the challenges of playing a character without facial expressions.
“The interesting fact is though I have no words. I challenge anybody to look in the mirror, show anger, happiness, sadness, whatever you want to show, but you can’t give one expression in your face. Basically, you might as well just put a hood over your face because everything is body language, 100 percent.
“The second cool thing is I had never done a stunt in my life,” Graham said. “I didn’t go to stunt school. Everything was on the job training. So, when they set me on fire, or they had me chained to the bottom of a diving pool 20 feet underwater, going through walls or doors, having cables hooked onto me with a shotgun jerk black back. I’ve never done that before.”
Graham said fans of all ages tend to be familiar with Jason. “They remember watching them with their mom that they’ve lost, or with their little brother or big brother or a family member or even grandma.”
He said he looks forward to meeting fans at Camp Lee Ford. “We’re going to have fun,” he said. “I plan on having a great time.”
