Whitney Rydbeck, Actor and Original Crash Test Dummy in Iconic Safety PSAs, Dies at 79

Rydbeck was also known for his work as a mime and his memorable role in 'Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI'

Whitney Rydbeck, the actor best known for his role in Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI and for starring as an original crash test dummy in 1980s safety belt commercials, has died. He was 79.

Rydbeck died on Monday, July 15, due to complications from prostate cancer while in hospice care in Chatsworth, California, one of his longtime friends and collaborators, Jason Lives director Tommy McLoughlin, told The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly.

McLoughlin shared stills of the late actor’s Jason Lives role in his Instagram tribute to Rydbeck. In the sixth Friday the 13th installment, released in 1986, Rydbeck gave a comedic and memorable turn as Roy, who comes across the titular villain, Jason Voorhees, in the woods during a paintball game before meeting a grisly end.

Alongside photos of the nerdy, bespectacled character Roy, McLoughlin wrote, “We lost not only a truly funny comedian and actor…but one of the most good hearted human beings I’ve ever known.”

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In a statement provided to horror outlet Bloody Disgusting, McLoughlin said that Rydbeck is “truly the kindest, heartfelt and lovable person I have known,” and that his performance as Roy “is still making audiences and fans laugh almost 40 years later.”

Rydbeck appeared on-screen for the very first time in a 1970 episode of Nanny and the Professor, according to his IMDb page.

Throughout the decade, he went on to star in Love at First Bite, Rocky II, Steven Spielberg’s 1941, as well as an episode of M*A*S*H. Some of his later one-off episode appearances include Living Single, Party of Five and Scrubs.

Perhaps his most memorable role of all was his stint as one-half of the dummy duo Vince and Larry in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s iconic “You could learn a lot from a dummy” crash test commercials, which debuted in the 1980s.

Alongside the other half of the crash dummy team, Tony Reitano, Rydbeck was the original star of the slapstick public service announcements. He and Reitano provided the bodies for the dummies, while other actors — because of the constricting masks — provided the voices.

Reflecting on the iconic role in 2010, when some of the dummies' body parts and costumes were donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Rydbeck told The Washington Post that he was a great fit for the role, largely because of his background as a mime.

He and McLoughlin were both members of the Richmond Shepard Mime Troupe and the McLoughlin-founded L.A. Mime Company in the 1970s, according to THR. McLoughlin told the outlet that the late actor “was the perfect guy for that” because of his aptitude for “physical comedy.”

Elsewhere in his interview with The Washington Post, Rydbeck recalled how difficult it was to get in and out of the PSA dummy getups. "God forbid you had to go to the bathroom,” he joked.

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Despite the undeniable humor of the commercials, Rydbeck said he took the call to action — to always buckle up — to heart. "I always buckle up, I'll tell you that," he told the outlet. He also joked that he used to worry his newspaper obituary would one day read: "Actor Who Played Crash Dummy Died for Not Buckling Up."

Before retiring, Rydbeck put his experience as a mime, comedy actor and crash dummy to use later in life by teaching drama at Pasadena City College, according to his social media.

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