Jonathan Tiersten, the actor who etched himself into horror history as troubled teenager Ricky Thomas in the 1983 cult slasher “Sleepaway Camp,” has died at his home in New Jersey. He was 60.
Tiersten died last week, his brother, William Tiersten, told TMZ in a report published May 5, 2026. The medical examiner is investigating the cause of death, William Tiersten said.
The actor’s passing closes the book on a career that began with one of the most divisive horror films of the 1980s — a low-budget summer-camp slasher dismissed by critics on arrival, only to claw its way to cult status decades later thanks to one of the most jolting twist endings ever filmed.
A Breakout Role at 18
Tiersten was 18 when he landed his first film role, playing Ricky Thomas in “Sleepaway Camp.” It would prove the biggest role of his acting career. The movie followed a group of teenagers terrorized by a string of killings at their summer camp, and while critics largely panned it as a derivative imitation of “Friday the 13th,” it found modest commercial success.
Time, however, treated the film far more kindly than its first critics did. The twist ending has since transformed “Sleepaway Camp” into a cult classic of the genre. In the movie’s closing sequence, Ricky is attacked after camp owner Mel, played by Mike Kellin, suspects him of the killings. Mel then runs into the woods and discovers the true murderer — Ricky’s traumatized cousin, Angela, played by Felissa Rose.
“There’s a disturbing, nightmarish quality to the final sequence that can’t be shaken,” critic Padraig Cotter wrote for ScreenRant in 2019. “‘Sleepaway Camp’ would spawn a number of inferior sequels, but even better slasher movies like ‘Scream’ or ‘Happy Death Day’ have struggled to craft an ending that stays with viewers in such a visceral way.”
Returning to the Franchise
Tiersten reprised the role of Ricky decades later, appearing in “Return to Sleepaway Camp” in 2008. The decision to step back into the character that defined him underscored an enduring affection for the franchise that gave him his start, even as the films continued to draw mixed reactions from mainstream audiences.
His passion for blood-splattered storytelling never dimmed. Across the years, Tiersten amassed a deep resume in independent horror, with credits including “The Perfect House,” “Terror Tales,” “Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back,” “Blood Reservoir,” “The House That Wept Blood,” “Lake of Shadows” and “Last American Horror Show: Volume II.” His final feature film role came in the 2022 slasher “Time’s Up.”
His turn as serial killer John Doesy in “The Perfect House” earned him some of the most substantive recognition of his career outside the “Sleepaway” universe. Tiersten took home three best actor awards for the performance and was nominated for a fourth at multiple film festivals — a tally that suggested the actor was capable of far more than the genre’s tight budgets typically allowed him to show.
From Screen to Stage
Acting was not Tiersten’s only creative pursuit. During a hiatus from film, he turned to music, fronting several bands as lead singer, including his own group, Ten Tiers. The transition gave him an outlet apart from the festival circuit and indie horror sets, and friends and fans came to know him as much for his stage presence as for his on-screen work.
Still, it was Ricky Thomas — the foul-mouthed, loyal cousin whose fate is upended in the film’s final frames — who anchored Tiersten’s public identity. The performance, delivered when he was barely out of his teens, has only grown in stature among horror enthusiasts. As retrospectives have noted, the ending of “Sleepaway Camp” remains a touchstone reference point for filmmakers chasing a similar gut-punch reveal.
A Legacy in the Genre
Tiersten belonged to a generation of young actors thrust into low-budget horror in the early 1980s, when the slasher boom was at its commercial peak and critics rarely treated the genre with seriousness. Many of those performers faded from view. Tiersten kept working, kept showing up at conventions, kept returning to the genre that embraced him long after the mainstream had moved on.
Information regarding survivors beyond his brother William, and details on memorial arrangements, had not been released as of publication. The medical examiner’s investigation into the cause of death is ongoing.
For the legions of horror fans who first met him as a panicked teenager screaming through the woods of a fictional summer camp, Tiersten leaves behind a body of work that improved with age — and an ending that, more than 40 years on, still refuses to let go.