John D. LeMay
John D. LeMay headshot from his business website.
Born (1962-05-29) May 29, 1962
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1985–present
Children1

John David LeMay (born May 29, 1962) is an American actor and documentary filmmaker. He has starred in numerous TV shows, films, and theatre productions.

Biography

John D. LeMay was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on 29 May 1962. In 1970, the LeMay family relocated to Normal, Illinois.[1][2] LeMay grew up wanting to be a professional football quarterback and played with the Normal Might Mites in the eighth grade. [3] John considered himeslf to be a class clown that enjoyed being in front of people and making them laugh.[4]

Early life and education

As a public school student in the second grade, John got his first taste in theatrical productions by playing the part of Sneezy in his class production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[5] Playing a "ham" at cub scouts, he discovered that not only could he sing but he was also able to make people laugh. After winning first place in a high school talent contest for his singing, John joined the Normal Parks and Recreation Department's High School theate program to participate in musical comedy. He decided to further his education in Vocal Performance and enrolled at Illinois State University's Theatre Department, during which time he interned with the Theatre Building Chicago and also landed a role in the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre production of Room Service and the Blind Parrot production of American Gothic. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music, combined with a contract major in Musical Theatre in 1984[6] (the contract allowed him to receive credit in other performance classes such as theatre & dance), John earned his Screen Actors Guild card the following year, and then moved out west to Los Angeles, California. He also added a middle initial "D" to his name so as not to be confused with another actor by the same name.[5]

Career

For the next two years, John worked with an agent who kept him busy doing commercials and guest spots on television series. His first gig was on Remington Steele in 1985, followed by appearances in The Facts of Life and Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. He also appeared as a medical intern in the 1987 comedy film The Couch Trip just prior to winning the lead role as Ryan Dallion on the horror gothic anthology series Friday the 13th: The Series.[5]

A few weeks before his audition, John had accompanied a friend on a Thursday evening to a "spiritualist centre" in Hollywood. Visitors were asked to submit a handwritten question on a piece of paper and place it into a bowl. A middle-aged seer pulled John's question and he was told that he would be expecting a job offer from "back East". John interpreted this as meaning New York City. Shortly afterwards, he received a call to audition for a series in Toronto. Says John, "I convinced myself that the job was mine -- that the great beyond was taking care of me. That being said, I prepared myself for every audition ... I remember us Robey going over the sides near a dumpster in the Paramount lot. It all seemed glamorous at the time."[5]

Following his departure from the series, John racked up more television credits with guest spots on the historical war drama series Tour Of Duty, Gabriel's Fire, Eddie Dodd, and Over My Dead Body. In 1993, John starred in part nine of the Friday the 13th film series Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. Playing the heroic role of Steven Freeman who battled the hockey-masked maniacal killer Jason Vorhees to save his infant daughter. John worked under the guidance of director Adam Marcus for New Line Cinema.[7]

In 2014 John moved to Boise, Idaho and started his own video production company called FEAT1STFILMS. The company produces branded video content for websites and social media, helping business and individuals share their stories visually with a broader audience.[8]

Selected filmography

Year(s) Title Role Notes
1985 The New Kids Redneck
1986 The Twilight Zone Ted/Gay Man In Aqua Vita and Dead Run, respectively.
1988 The Couch Trip Dr. Smet's Resident
1989 The Freeway Maniac Lover in Truck
1987–1989 Friday the 13th: The Series Ryan Dallion TV series
1990 Over My Dead Body Murray TV series
1990 Tour of Duty SP4 Michael Kelman TV series
1991 Eddie Dodd TV series
1993 Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday Steven Freeman
1996 Without a Map Paul
2001 Three Shots Robert
2001 Totally Blonde Guy in Bar

References

  1. ↑ https://johndlemay.tripod.com/faq.html
  2. ↑ Draven, Danny (5 October 2015). The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead A Mortal's Guide to Making Horror Movies. Taylor & Francis. p. 90. ISBN 9781317439097. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Kilpin, Kris (17–23 November 1988). "If it's Friday, it's his series". Drama-Logue. No. 46. p. 4. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Kilpin, Kris (17–23 November 1988). "If it's Friday, it's his series". Drama-Logue. No. 46. p. 5. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "John D. LeMay - Biography". johndlemay.tripod.com. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. ↑ https://alumni.illinoisstate.edu/association/notable-alumni/arts-entertainment/
  7. ↑ "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday". 13 August 1993. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via IMDb.
  8. ↑ "Information about feat1stfilms, its founders and creative team". FEAT1STFILMS. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
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