 Larry
Zerner will forever go down in horror
movie history as the man who introduced
Friday the 13th’s
Jason to his trademark – the white
hockey mask. In Friday the 13th,
Part 3, Zerner portrayed one of the
series most memorable characters, Shelly,
the awkward, overweight jokester whose
bag of tricks included the before
mentioned mask. True to his sad sack
character, poor Shelly was not only
slaughtered by the unquenchable Mr.
Vorhees, but he was robbed of the mask,
which became the serial monster’s
signature costume piece, worn in film
after film! Put aside this exalted piece
of trivia for a moment, however, and I
would hazard to say that Zerner truly
remains so well thought of by the Friday
fans because everyone can relate to the
insecurity and overeager longing for
acceptance that was part and parcel of
Zerner’s portrayal of Shelly. In
fact, one of the reasons I was thrilled
that Zerner agreed to be interviewed for
this website was because my halting
youthful personality was very much akin
to that of the character that he is so
well known for. Zerner, though, who
admits he was, at one point in time,
similar to Shelly, has long since come
into his own. After an appearance in the
television series Fame and a small role
in the teen wrestling film, Hadley’s
Rebellion (starring headline grabbing and
multiple genre film performer Griffin
O’Neal and Chopping Mall/Evils of
the Night star Tony O’Dell), Zerner
discovered that his heart belonged in
entertainment law and he has forged a
success career in that profession. He has
lost the bulk and timid-ness of his
popular Friday the 13th
character, but, as you can attest below,
his sardonic humor and zest for life
remain.Brian:
You did an episode of Fame. Do you
have any special memories about that? Was
there talk of you returning to the show?
In fact, I didn’t catch Friday
the 13th, Pt 3 until
cable, a year after its release, and I
remember thinking you looked familiar. At
that point in time I had a mind like a
steel trap when it came to people who had
been on television, so I’m wondering
if I had remembered you from your small
role in that show. Could be crazy, who
knows, but as an aspiring performer, I
did watch Fame vigilantly for the
first couple of years –until I
outgrew it.
Larry:
Fame was a lot of fun. I
was a big fan of the show so it was kind
of a kick to be on it, although I only
got to work with Lee Curreri and Morgan
Stevens and didn't have much to do.
I was actually up for the role of
the tuba-playing Nazi-like
hall monitor(Damn you David
Greenlee!) but lost out and they gave me
the small part of the stage manager as
kind of a consolation prize. If
they had only let me dance . . .
Brian:
You were still a teenager when your Friday
the 13th moment
happened. Was there a period of time when
you thought that you had “made
it” and stardom was just around the
corner – or were you pretty aware of
the realities of the business from the
get go?
Larry:
I don't think even the
big actors ever think that they
"made it." Insecurity is
just part of being an actor. But in
my case, there was never a time where I
really thought I was going to be a
star. There just aren't that many
parts for fat, nerdy kids with big
afros. If only Napoleon Dynamite
had been made 20 years ago.
Brian:
As you know, I am crazy about Dana
Kimmell, but I, also, thought Tracie
Savage would have been the absolute
coolest older sister ever! You have
stated that you had a huge crush on her.
Do you have any cool memories or stories
about working with her?
Larry:
Tracie was a lot of fun and I just
remember always hanging in the
dressing rooms with Tracie and Jeffrey
Rogers and David Katims and just shooting
the breeze and we all had a great
time. Unfortunately, me and Tracie
didn't really have any big scenes
together so there aren't any good war
stories.
Brian:
Obviously your appearance has changed
greatly since the Friday the 13th
film. Was there a specific event that
convinced you that the weight had to go
or was it a series of things? Was it a
difficult process for you and is there a
strict regimen that you still have to
follow to stay in shape?
Larry:
I guess at some point I realized that if
I was going to get some
female companionship in my real life
I would have to lose weight. Going
on a diet was tough and I have certainly
gone up and down over the years, but in
the past few years I
started drinking Slim-Fast and
cutting out sweets and that really
worked. My weight is currently
below 170 (from a high of 220) and I've
been able to keep it off for more than a
year. But there are always
temptations out there.
Brian:
You stated that once you lost the weight
you went from a pool of 5 actors to
compete with at auditions to a pool of
10,000. Were you still auditioning while
you were studying law- or did you just
give that side of show business up cold
turkey?
Larry:
I had pretty much given up acting by the
time I started law school. It's
just impossible to be in law school and
go to auditions.
Brian:
I know so many bitter actors who never
had the degree of success that they hoped
to, so I think your attitude of feeling
lucky to have had your 15 minutes of fame
is great. Still, is there a certain role
or type of character that you would have
loved to have played that you
weren’t given the chance to in your
acting career?
Larry:
I started out as a comic actor and,
although Shelly has his humorous moments,
I would have loved to be in an "Animal
House" type comedy
Brian:
You seem honored and humbled by the fans
continued loyalty to you. Aside from the
fellow Friday the 13th
film series actors that you have met, is
there any one that you have admired
and/or met that might have been baffled
by your enthusiasm upon meeting
them?
Larry:
I haven't met that many famous people, so
I guess the answer is no. Sorry.
Brian:
Now that you have delved into
entertainment law, are there any other
sides of the business that interest you
– such as producing, writing or
directing?
Larry:
Yes, I've been working on an idea for a
horror movie with Dan Farrands (Writer of
Halloween 6) and
hopefully we will write and produce it in
the near future.
Brian:
Finally, I know you have been asked
numerous questions about your involvement
in the Friday the 13th
film series. Is there anything – a
story, an incident, an emotion- that you
feel hasn’t been touched upon and
that you would like to end with?
Larry:
I'm just really grateful that I had the
chance to be in Friday the 13th.
I know that to many (if not most) people
it's just a dumb part in a dumb movie.
But for me, it was a great experience,
and over the years I have met so many
amazing people and had some fantastic
experiences because of my involvement in
the film. I know that I'll probably
never be in another movie. But to
know that by giving Jason his trademark
hockey mask, I had a small part to play
in movie history is really cool.
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