Old Debi-Sue Voorhees Interview

This was set up by me a few years back and conducted by www.crystallakeafterdark.com, enjoy.

from: http://mistymoon.net/

Tommy Jarvis- Hello Debbie, and thank you for taking time out to do this.
Deborah Voorhees- Well, you’re welcome!

TJ- I want to start off with a few of your hobbies, one of your favorite things is horseback riding. Can you Tell us a little about that?
DSV- Yes, I have a horse, Kiawa (msp?), he’s seven years old. (inaudible) with blue eyes. He’s gorgeous.



TJ- I would assume you live on a pretty piece of property?
DSV- I have purchased ten acres, outside the L.B.J. grasslands, where there’s 30,000 acres as National Park and 150 miles of horseback riding trails. So yeah, it’s perfect for me. I’ve always dreamed of a place being somewhere where I could saddle up and ride. And that’s what I finally have.

TJ- Wow, that sounds great. When exactly did you start horseback riding, and how did this all start for you?
DSV- I’ve been around horses all my life. One of my earliest memories is of riding with my father. All I can remember of it is… I can remember seeing his hands, and the horn, and the horse’s mane. I was riding in front of him. I was two years old.

TJ- I understand your other hobbies include jogging and reading?
DSV- I do… I go at least 4-5 days a week… two miles, and I do Palates and stuff like that. I like to stay in shape… and yes I love to read. 

TJ- I read somewhere that you won “Best Body of Texas” aware when you were nineteen years old. 
DSV- Right, I did-- Best Body Of Texas contest.

TJ- Was that a beauty pageant,, or what kind of format was that?
DSV- (inaudible) I don’t know how many women total because there were smaller contests around Texas, by the time we got together there was like two-hundred of us.

TJ- Wow, out of two-hundred girls, you won-- that’s great.
DSV- Yeah, that was great.

TJ- A weird fact about you. Even though you were in Friday The 13th Part V, you do not like horror movies.
DSV- No, I am too easily scared. Oh yeah, I am a big chicken.

TJ- When you actually went for the role in Friday The 13th Part V, you were aware of the other four movies, of course.
DSV- Oh yes, I have heard of them. I just didn’t have the courage to see them. I have seen The Exorcist, and you have to realize that gave me nightmares. 
I’m really not… you know… If I’m watching a show on T.V. and something starts getting scary, yeah, I always have to change the channel.

TJ- Wow, that’s awesome. So, when you watched yourself on Friday The 13th Part V, and you watched the whole movie during the screening, of course you weren’t scared. Because now you know, you’re behind the scenes, you know how it all works, so for that reason alone were you scared watching this movie?
DSV- Yeah it wasn’t because I knew everybody and I knew how the shots were done. So, no it didn’t scare me.

TJ- Now of course, I have to address the fact that your last name being “Voorhees”. How did that feel-- that you were the only person in any of the Friday The 13th or Jason movies to have his last name.
DSV- (laughs) It is kinda funny, isn’t it? Everybody always thinks that somehow or another, either one-- That I took the name because of the show. Or I even have people, even though it was the fifth installment ask, if that’s where they got the name… the “Voorhees” name from me. But no, it was complete coincidence. Voorhees is very unusual.. You probably know being in New Jersey area, that there‘s a Voorhees, New Jersey. But most of the country, it’s not a common name. I always thought it was stunning that it was even spelled the same.

Debi-Sue Voorhees in His Name Was Jason

TJ- Yeah, that is crazy. It was even spelled exactly the same. It was like fate… You shot the movie when you were twenty-four years old. How long were you actually acting at that point during filming?
DSV- Let’s see… I started doing stuff when I was in Dallas. So, I guess 19-20. I started at 19-20 years old.

TJ- You were paid roughly three-thousand dollars to play that role?
DSV- Ah, boy. I wish I could remember. I’m pretty sure it was a little more than that.

TJ- I personally hope so, because as most fans know, that your love scene in that movie in the woods actually took thirteen-- which is funny, thirteen-- hours to film. Can you tell us about that, and how that happened?
DSV- Yes, it was grueling.

TJ- How could it have exactly taken thirteen hours to film a scene that we all know, of course, was a very short scene? What went into this? Because I know most scenes don‘t take that long. What went into this scene to make it thirteen hours?
DSV- Oh several things. One, when you’re doing a film, they do several different angles. So they are constantly moving the camera around. One shot is for “film, for the R rated version. Then they shoot again for television, plus you have all kinds of problems that come in… you’ll come in to shoot and a plane will go overhead, or some noise will happen , or there will be a problem with the lighting, or a problem with the (inaudible) so they have to do a reshoot of it. Also the amount of makeup that went into making my face look like my eyes were gouged out , you know, when they made it look like my…

TJ- Yes, when the impostor killed you with a pair of trimming shears and gouged your eyes out.
DSV- Yes, it took them a long time to apply that , so it’s all of those things that come together, it just took a very long time. It was a grueling day.

TJ- A lot of people in horror movies mention that the makeup they wear, either in their death scene or any other type of scene-- I’ll use Corey Feldman as an example-- He mentioned the bald cap he had to wear actually made him very sick, it gave him headaches, and things like that. Did you experience any nausea, headaches, or any problems while you were wearing the eye piece for your death scene?
DSV- Yeah, well, one of the worst things was when they put blood in my eyes, because it just burned, it seeped through it when I closed my eye, and it would seep through and I mean it burned for a very long time. You just have to grit your teeth. So, yeah, really, it was a tough-tough day.

TJ- Wow, that sounds really rough. Luckily it was worth it. It all turned out pretty good on film. Okay, and of course, we have to address the fact that the major part of your role in Friday The 13th, it was a nude scene. So, I guess the questions would be.. Did you come from a strict Catholic family?, What did your parents think of this? Were you afraid that your Aunts and Uncles would see this? Because, you know, you were twenty-four years old. Your friends, peers.. What were your thoughts on filming this movie knowing about the nude scene? Were your parents against it because of their knowledge, or did they support you?
DSV- My mom in particular was very supportive of whatever decision I made. What I later found out that it did upset her. But, she was just the type of person… that she wanted me to have her support unconditionally. And so, she was really great about it. You know, I had a lot of mixed feelings wand was uncertain about it myself. But, you know, I went ahead and did it. I don’t really regret it, but my mom (inaudible), it was more about the death scene that bothered her. She basically told me that she (inaudible) for three days because it was just so traumatic to see the daughter she loved, you know, killed.

TJ- Really?
DSV- Yeah, but I didn’t know. She didn’t tell me right then, she told me years later. So, she didn’t want to upset me.

TJ- Okay, at twenty-four years old , of course all of your peers and friends, were you nervous, did you think when they all go to the movie theater, like with the nude scenes, would they (tease) you or laugh about it? What was the atmosphere with that?
DSV- Just laughed about it, you know.

TJ- That’s cool, because it’s always fun. It’s a fun thing. When you think of Friday The 13th , Part V, was it a happy time for you? Or do you think of the misery of the makeup, the burning of your eyes, and the 13 hour shoot? What was your overall opinion and thoughts about that time?
DSV- Even that was fun in a strange way. The people on the set were very supportive and very nice. They had a great time with everybody, so, no it was good memories.

TJ- Good to hear that. Now I understand there was some behind the scenes controversy between you and the girlfriend of the co-star (John-Michael Dixon) in your love scene. Can you tell us a little bit about what happened at that time?
DSV- It was kind of funny really, I’m sure she’s a really nice person . I just didn’t know much about her, but, supposedly she-- this is what I was told-- and her version of it is very different. I was told that she was already signed for the part and the producers seen her and decided that they wanted her to play the role, but producer didn’t see (myself) yet. Danny Steinmann, the director, seen me and liked me the best. He said that I was the only one who understood the role.. You know the part by the clothesline and he tells her that he wants her to go in the woods and fool around with him?

TJ- Yes, right before your death scene.
DSV- The other women, they all thought that she would be angry. When she said “fuck you”, and instead, I knew she was being playful. I was the only one that understood that she was playful. I knew she wasn’t going to be getting mad at her boyfriend, that would be silly.

TJ- Right, you understood the character completely.
DSV- Right, and that’s why he wanted me to play the role. He went to the producer, and at first he was like “no, I’ve already made my decision. I think we will just see this one first“. Well, they decided to go with me and I was fine. She says that she backed out because too much nudity. You know, it doesn’t matter which way it really was, she was apparently (inaudible), because I seen her at a couple auditions. It just seemed like every time I saw her at auditions that she had to bring that up. I don’t think that she was very comfortable having another women in the scene with her boyfriend like that. Maybe it was a combination of both, maybe they decided against her and she got nervous about the nudity. I don’t know.

TJ- When she auditioned for that role, and that scene came up, she played the angry girlfriend, which wasn’t what Danny had in mind.
DSV- That’s what I was told, yes. Plus I was told that all of the women who auditioned none of them understood that it was playful.

TJ- Did you audition for any other role in this movie, or was Tina always the role you were going for?
DSV- Just that one.

TJ- A lot of fans like to ask these type of questions, do you actually own Friday The 13th Part V on VHS or DVD?
DSV- I have it on tape. It was given to me by a friend.

TJ- Good, because you see, Shavar Ross from Friday The 13th Part V, you know, little “Reggie The Reckless”, Warrington Gillette and Russell Todd, and oddly enough none of them ever followed up on the franchise. They were not interested in what happened to Jason after their movie, they just didn’t care. Some of them hasn’t seen the movies before their movie…
DSV- (laughs) right.

TJ- You not being into horror movies, I would assume the same applies to you?
DSV- Right.

TJ- Okay, that’s what I thought., but I did hear you did see Part 1.
DSV- I know I did see part of it, it was so long ago, I can’t remember anything about it.

TJ- Okay, so, you weren’t interested in the whole saga and the franchise of the series. Did it bother you at all that the real Jason wasn’t in this movie? Or you didn’t care either way?
DSV- Oh no, It didn’t bother me at all. Did it bother you?

TJ- No, a lot of people actually shun this movie. I actually have a friend who I was collecting the movies with years ago, and he would not add Part V to his collection. He thought “impostor Jason”, “Jason’s not even in it”, “blah, blah, blah”. I actually thought it added a cool little element to the movie that was interesting. It brought new life, and breathed fresh air into the franchise and I believe that the franchise as a whole would not be as successful without Part V separating Parts IV and VI. So, I was actually for the storyline of the impostor Jason, and I thought it was a great idea. Something new to give the fans, and I thought it was really good.  Did doing Friday The 13th Part -- do you feel that it helped you get those T.V. roles, or were you offered roles in the future for future movies? Did it help boost your career in any way?
DSV- Hmm.. (pause) I don’t know if it did or not. I didn’t stay in Hollywood that long after. It probably would have if I had stayed longer. I was doing some auditions, when I decided to leave, I decided to go back and go to school. I was up for some role in some soap opera. So it probably would have helped.

TJ- Cool. So, after doing the film, were you all revved up and ready to go and get into Hollywood and take on a whole career of acting? Or as you went on did it seem like something you wanted to do less and less?
DSV- I think my interest in Los Angeles came early on, and the longer I was there, the more I felt like it wouldn’t work for me. There are a couple things that kind of came… I really enjoyed the acting part of it. There are a few things, I remember being at auditions, where I would see women who were twenty years older than I was at that time. I always felt so bad for them because they would have to work so hard to compete for the same role that I was going up for. Rather than going up for a role that might be more suitable. But they would have the boob job, facelift, the, uh, you know all different kinds of stuff done. The tan, and they would put glitter and baby oil on them. So, I guess I just felt really bad for them.

TJ- Yeah, a lot of people in that industry try to hold onto their youth a little longer.
DSV- Yeah, and I just thought “you know… I don’t want to feel that desperate and that afraid“. So that was one thing where I thought it probably was not for me. The second thing was that… well, actually there were two other things. Another thing was that after I got a little taste of Hollywood that my personality might not do well if I was recognized where I went. To disruptive for me, because I am more private. The last thing was that I really wanted to get an education. I loved writing and so I went on and did, and wanted to write. I felt that writing was more in my area, and after I graduated from school I went on and worked in journalism for fifteen years, four and a half years with the Fort Worth Star Telegram and eleven years with the Dallas Morning News. Now I freelance for a couple magazines, and still with the newspaper and stuff. I do marketing and media consulting and things… I’d also like to get into concert promoting.

TJ- Wow, you are really diverse. You’ve really not lived the same day twice from what it sounds like. I think that’s very interesting. I think a lot of people hearing (reading) this interview are going to be very surprised, because you know you never.. You know, you watch a girl get killed in a horror movie in a love scene, and this and that, and you really never know anything about them. Or never could imagine that they have a whole thing going on, and are a very smart person… You are all of that., and you are just a big surprise. That’s really great, I am so happy to hear all of that. Wow, this has really been a great interview and I really enjoyed this a lot. I think you are a very interesting person and I am really glad that we did this. I was wondering if you had any final words to sign off with, or to give to your fans of Friday The 13th part V.
DSV- You know, I always enjoyed hearing from them. They have always been so sweet. It’s always nice to hear from them. I’m ever amazed that they keep writing… I understood how they found me when I was at the newspaper, but I am getting people who email me.

TJ- Well, I would like to add that you were one of the better looking girls in the Friday The 13th series, and I was very happy that you were a part of it.
DSV- Well, thank you. That’s very sweet.

TJ- Well, I’m just being honest. Well, okay, thank you very much for your time and we greatly appreciate it.
DSV- You’re welcome. Feel free to e-mail me and say hello, let me know when you post this so I can take a look at it.

TJ- Well have a great day, and I will be keeping in touch.
DSV- Take care Tommy.