Key Takeaways
- Actor Corey Parker, known for his role in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, has passed away at age 60.
- Parker was diagnosed with advanced stage 4 metastatic cancer prior to his death.
- He had a diverse career, appearing in numerous films and TV shows over several decades.
- Parker was also an acting coach in recent years, contributing to the series Ms. Marvel.
No matter what size of a role they had, it’s always a bummer when I hear that another actor who played a part in my favorite franchise, the Friday the 13th franchise, has passed away. Corey Parker showed up in the fifth film, 1985’s Friday the 13th: A New Beginning for one sequence that ended with his character getting his throat slit with a machete. It was a quick appearance, but one I’ve been familiar with for most of my life and one that I’ve watched play out many times over the decade. So it was very sad to see the news that Parker has passed away at the age of 60, following a battle with cancer. Last year, a GoFundMe campaign launched in support of Parker mentioned that he had been diagnosed with advanced stage 4 metastatic cancer.
The son of actress Rochelle Natalie “Rocky” Parker, Corey Parker was born in New York City on July 8, 1965. His IMDb bio states that he grew up in and around the theater, began working as an actor at age 5, and started training with teachers from the Actors Studio at the age of 14. He graduated from the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.
He landed his first on-screen role, an uncredited appearance as a bully in an episode of As the World Turns, in 1983. A role in the awesome 1984 thriller Scream for Help, directed by Michael Winner and scripted by Tom Holland, quickly followed. Then came an episode of The New Leave It to Beaver and Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.
Between 1985 and 2017, Parker landed roles on multiple TV shows and TV movies: The Best Times, Courage, a few Afterschool Specials, At Mother’s Request, The Bronx Zoo, CBS Summer Playhouse, I’m Dangerous Tonight (directed by Tobe Hooper), Thirtysomething, Eddie Dodd, Big Deals, Broadway Bound, Flying Blind, Duckman, Blue Skies, Grandpa’s Funeral, Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, A Mother’s Prayer, Mr. and Mrs. Loving, Encino Woman, Touched by an Angel, Breast Men, Nashville, and Sun Records. His longest TV run came on Love Boat: The Next Wave, where he appeared on 25 episodes, but he may be best known for playing the character Josh on 5 episodes of Will & Grace.
On the film side of things, he worked on 9 1/2 Weeks, Willy/Milly, Biloxi Blues, Big Man on Campus, How I Got Into College, White Palace, The Lost Language of Cranes, Flesh Suitcase, The Rainmaker, Fool’s Paradise, One Came Home, Woman’s Picture, and Being Awesome.
Parker was married to actress Linda Kerridge from 1989 to 1992, and they had one child together. He had been married to Angela Denise Douglas since 1995, and they also had a child together. In recent years, he had been working as an acting coach, including being behind the scenes on the Marvel / Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to Corey Parker’s family, friends, and fans.
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