Celebrity Nooz: Peter Barton

Peter Barton (Actor) - Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Updated: 5/09/22

Name: Peter Barton

Birth Name: Peter Thomas Barton

Born: July 19, 1956 in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, USA

Claim To Fame: Peter Barton is a retired American actor best known for starring on The Powers of Matthew Star, with Louis Gossett Jr.; Burke's Law with Gene Barry; and as one of Jason Voorhes' victims in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).

Family Life: Barton never married. Has a brother named Billy and a sister, Linda.

Info: He is a graduate of Valley Stream North High School, where he played soccer and wrestled.

He attended nearby Nassau Community College, majoring in chiropractic medicine.

Barton was accepted into St. John's University School of Medicine, he changed his mind about attending and decided to pursue a career in modeling and acting.

As a youngster, he was terrified of Cruella De Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).

Got to meet his idol, James Stewart, when he ran Stewart's relay marathon benefit in 1992.

Named one of the 10 sexiest guys in soaps by Playgirl.

He's an avid golfer.

In 2012, an Illinois man named Ray Fulk died at age 71. He had no family of his own, but was a fan of Peter Barton and Barton's friend, Kevin Brophy. Despite never having met either actor, Fulk bequeathed half of his $1.3m estate to each of the actors.

Trivia: When he first started out in Hollywood, Barton was occasionally misidentified in the media as Donny Osmond, due to their resemblance to one another.

In 1979, with no formal acting training, Barton was cast as Bill Miller in the short-lived NBC TV series Shirley, starring Shirley Jones, Rosanna Arquette, and Tracey Gold. The show ran for 13 episodes.

He was then cast as the lead in another NBC series, The Powers of Matthew Star, co-starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Amy Steel.

He won the role over many actors, including up-and-comer Tom Cruise.

Barton was badly burned when a stunt went wrong on the set of his series "The Powers of Matthew Star". Production was delayed a year while the he healed.

In the 1980s, Barton became many teen magazines' cover guy; this includes including Tiger Beat and 16, more often than not in a sexy pose and shirtless.

By the end of 1983, Barton "wanted to give up acting". However, he became involved in the burgeoning teen horror/thriller film genre, beginning with Hell Night (1981) and followed by Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).

Linda Blair coaxed him into doing Hell Night (1981) with her. He now credits that film as bringing him back to show business.

There was a scene in Hell Night (1981) where Peter was thrown down a flight of stairs and hurt his leg. According to the film's director, he had really hurt himself and most of his limping wasn't an act.

Peter Barton was talked into taking a role in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) by his 'The Powers of Matthew Star' (1982) co-star Amy Steel who played Ginny in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981).

Where Are They Now: It seems that Barton has retired from the entertainment business. However, he was appeared in supplemental material on Blu-ray releases for Hell Night. I would like to see Barton make a comeback. Maybe he can have a great cameo in the next Friday the 13th movie, once all of those lawsuits get figured out. It would be cool for fans of the franchise!

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