SLASHER GREAT

Screenwriter Behind Horror Classic Dies at 86

Victor Miller wrote the first movie in a cult franchise featuring a famous masked villain.

The writer behind the classic slasher movie Friday the 13th, Victor Miller, has died at 86. His son, Ian, confirmed to Variety that he died in Alameda, California, on Monday, but no cause of death was given. He also paid tribute to his father in an Instagram post, describing him as “almost always the smartest, funniest person in whatever room he was in.” Ian said a celebration of the screenwriter will be held in November, “on Friday the 13th, of course.” Miller wrote the screenplay for the 1980 picture, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, that spawned multiple sequels featuring its masked villain, Jason Voorhees. During an interview for a Friday the 13th fan site, Miller said the idea for the movie was heavily influenced by John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, Halloween. “The idea for the summer camp came from my instinct that we needed a location where young adults would be cut off from all adult help, the basic idea in Halloween,” he said. Miller also wrote for TV shows like General Hospital and was part of the team that won three Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding drama series writing for All My Children.