Unsung Friday The 13th Hero: Taso Stavrakis

Taso Stavrakis as Mrs. Voorhees

There's a lot of people in the Friday The 13th franchise that has done a lot, yet I never see get any props-- Taso Stavrakis is most definitely one of them. Comparing him to someone like Tom Morga is just-- Morga played Roy in Friday The 13th Part V, yet was not credited and was overshadowed by the face of Roy: Dick Wieand. Taso, who did special make-up effects in Friday The 13th as well as stunts and even played the killer Mrs. Voorhees. Of course, Taso's work as the killer was overshadowed because he was not credited as Mrs. Voorhees and the creit went to Betsy Palmer.



I mention this only because Taso did a pretty good job as Mrs. Voorhees, most notable her hands in a few deaths (i.e. Annie's) as well as Mrs. Voorhees' body (i.e. her decapitation scene). Stavrakis and Tom Savini has appeared in many movies together like Dawn Of The Dead, Knight Riders and Day Of The Dead. His resume is very extensive with credits as a stunt man, actor, stunt driver, special effects artist and all around production assistant. He has training in trick riding, trapeze, mime, dancing, S.C.U.B.A., and combat-- needless to say Taso is more than qualified at what he does.

The hand of Mrs. Voorhees (Taso Stavrakis) making a kill

A lot of fans already know that Taso was offered the role as Jason in Friday The 13th Part II, but turned it down. In hos own words, it was one of the largest career mistakes he ever made-- hindsight is always twenty-twenty. The role he accepted over the role as Jason was special make-up effects in the slasher film He Knows You're Alone.

Since his days in slasher cinema Taso has went on to be a very successful stunt performer in movies like Miami Vice, Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Mask Of Zorro, Jackass 2 and Stuck On You! I'm not sure how you can get a hold of Taso these days, his email seems to be taso@stavrakis.com. .

Also check out his IMDB profile and his Wikipedia page!