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Jonathan Tiersten, a fan favorite for his role as the hot-headed Ricky in the 80s horror classic\u00a0Sleepaway Camp, has passed away.<\/p>\n
According to TMZ<\/a>, the 60-year-old actor died last week at his New Jersey home, a detail confirmed by his brother, William Tiersten. The outlet also reports that the medical examiner is currently investigating the cause of death.<\/p>\n In his big screen debut as a teen, Jonathan Tiersten played Ricky, the cousin of Angela (Felissa Rose), in the 1983 horror classic Sleepaway Camp, which has enjoyed a huge cult following. He reprised the role in the 2008 sequel, Return to Sleepaway Camp.<\/p>\n Tiersten had an impressive career in the horror genre. He appeared in films such as The Perfect House, Redemption, Blood Reservoir, The House That Wept Blood, Terror Tales, Lake of Shadows, Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back, Last American Horror Show: Volume II, and the slasher Time\u2019s Up.<\/p>\n Beyond acting, Jonathan Tiersten was also an accomplished musician.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a singer\/songwriter, Tiersten made his presence felt on the Greenwich Village folk-rock\/roots rock circuit in the late 1980s and early 1990s as one-half of the acoustic duo The Magic Box,\u201d his IMDb<\/a> bio states. \u201cTiersten (whose first solo album,\u00a0Heaven, was released in 1998) also has been a member of the alternative funk-rock band Gaphiltaphunk, and now leads the band TEN TIERS, whose debut album,\u00a0Don\u2019s Club Tavern: Part 1, was released in 2006.\u201d<\/p>\n Horror fans took to social media to pay tribute to the beloved actor, who was a frequent guest on the convention circuit.<\/p>\n \u201cLegitimately gutted by this news,\u201d one mourning fan shared on X<\/a>. \u201cSleepaway Camp is one of my personal fave movies that I\u2019ve seen so many times I\u2019ve got it memorized. RIP Jonathan Tiersten. 60, just a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOMG! I\u2019m in total shock! Ricky was awesome, and to see him back in 2008 was awesome\u2026RIP Jonathan Tiersten. Condolences to his family and loved ones,\u201d another fan wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, a third horror fan paid tribute by tipping their hat to an infamous line Tiersten delivered to a bully character in Sleepaway Camp.<\/p>\n \u201cRIP Jonathan Tiersten. Thank you for giving me one of my favourite line deliveries in film, \u2018Eat s\u2014 and live, Bill,’\u201d they wrote alongside footage<\/a> of the scene in question. <\/p>\n \u201cI just got word of the awful news that @JonnyTiersten of Sleepaway Camp suddenly passed away. [We] met at a Sleepaway Camp screening in L.A., a little over a decade ago. He was a lovely man who took part in something very special. He will be dearly missed,\u201d yet another fan wrote alongside a candid snapshot. <\/p>\n I just got word of the awful news that @JonnyTiersten<\/a> of Sleepaway Camp suddenly passed away. He and I met at a Sleepaway Camp screening in L.A. a little over a decade ago. He was a lovely man who took part in something very special, and he will be dearly missed. pic.twitter.com\/r1HdOJtbyW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jonathan Ruggiero (@jruggiero86) May 5, 2026<\/a>\n<\/div>\nFans Pay Tribute to Cult Horror Favorite Jonathan Tiersten<\/h2>\n