Peter Jason

Versatile, hard-working character actor Peter Jason was an onscreen fixture for over 40 years. After getting a taste for acting in a high school play, Jason pursued acting on the stage and through college before breaking into small roles on television in the late 1960s.

His first feature appearance was in Howard Hawks's final film, the John Wayne Western "Rio Lobo." Jason continued to work in both film and TV, forging relationships by acting in numerous films for Walter Hill (most memorably as a racist bartender in the Eddie Murphy comedy "48 Hrs.") and John Carpenter (he played a guerrilla leader in the alien-invasion thriller "They Live").

Although accustomed to supporting parts, the actor landed a regular role as a police captain on the detective series "Mike Hammer, Private Eye." For David Milch's highly regarded HBO Western series, "Deadwood," Jason brought life and depth to his degenerate card-dealer character.