Ari Lehman (born May 2, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known as the first person to portray Jason Voorhees in the film Friday the 13th. He was not the killer in the film and only appeared for a brief moment at the end.
A native New Yorker, Lehman grew up in Westport, Connecticut, where he trained in classical music and jazz piano. Recognized at an early age for his musical abilities, Lehman was presented with an award for excellence in pi...
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Ari Lehman (born May 2, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known as the first person to portray Jason Voorhees in the film Friday the 13th. He was not the killer in the film and only appeared for a brief moment at the end.
A native New Yorker, Lehman grew up in Westport, Connecticut, where he trained in classical music and jazz piano. Recognized at an early age for his musical abilities, Lehman was presented with an award for excellence in piano and a scholarship to Berklee School of Music by jazz great Billy Taylor. Also actively engaged in performance and theatre, Lehman sneaked into an audition for a new movie, Manny's Orphans, directed by Sean S. Cunningham. This role led to Lehman getting the call for Friday the 13th.
Lehman returned to New York City where he studied jazz piano in its breeding ground with Joanne Brackeen and enrolled at New York University studying big band orchestration and jazz piano with Jim McNeely and Vladmir Shafranov. In response to their enthusiasm,...
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