“Itty Bitty Pieces my Friend!”: A New Begining’s Ron “Junior” Sloan talks to Friday the 13th films!

To many fans, the Friday the 13th series means many different things. Most of the time, it’s remembered for creative kills and crazy characters. Perhaps none more crazy than good ole’ Junior Hubbard and his mother Ethel in the Jason-less Friday the 13th part V: A New Beginning. Played brilliantly by one Mr. Ron Sloan, Junior (quite dysfunctional himself) whirred around on his motorcycle ,with his momma Ethel right behind, tormenting the trouble kids of a halfway house who had settled down for a retreat new the Camp Crystal Lake campground. Though it was hard at times for some to separate Ron Sloan himself from Junior, the backwoods hillbilly who got decapitated by a Jason clone, Ron Slone prides himself on being part of the extended legacy of the Friday the 13th series. Mr. Sloan shared some stories with us about what it was like getting the part, the moment Junior lost his head, losing a blind date thanks to the film, and his very first convention appearance this coming October!

FRIDAYTHE13THFILMS: So tell us about yourself. (Where did you grow up? How did you get into acting? Prior acting experience before Friday the 13th part 5? etc)
RON SLOAN: I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.
I started doing Shakespeare in my early 20’s at Will Gear’s (grandpa Walton on the Walton Show) Theatre in Topanga Canyon
First television experience was bit parts on many of the top sitcoms such as Different Strokes, Facts of life, One day at a Time and many others
I was fortunate to be able to work in many TV commercials as well


F13F: How did you manage to get cast as Junior in Friday the 13th part V?

RS: I was discovered by the casting directors Fern Champion/Pamela Basker during a scene show case in Hollywood.

F13F: What was the auditioning process like?

RS: I auditioned originally for the casting directors and then I was called back to audition for the director Danny Steinman and the producer Frank Mancuso Jr. I had a lot of fun and just truly enjoyed the whole process. What a blast it is to be totally different from yourself.

F13F: How familiar with the Friday the 13th series were you before accepting your role?
RS: Very familiar. Actually horror movies scared me

F13F: What was the general feeling amongst those on the set to be making a film in a series that was going to be on its fifth film?
RS: At first none of us knew we were in a Friday the 13th movie. Our scripts were titled, ” Repetition.” It wasn’t until I saw Jason walk by, then I knew I was in a Friday the 13th sequel.

F13F: Though a lot of people seem to unfairly dismiss Friday V for some reason, it has always remained a strong entry for me personally. It had the highest body count of the entire series for a while. It had some invented killing sequences. An
d Roy Burns was really convincing to me. I’m a fan of a lot of Friday the 13th clones. So I see no reason not to love this film as well. Was there any mixed feelings amongst those working on the film when it came to the fact that this film would ultimately reveal that Jason was not the one doing the killing?
RS: He didn’t???? Just kidding There wasn’t any mixed feelings, we all had fun. It was another twist that wasn’t expected.

F13F: Do you recall if there were any rumblings on set about where they planned to go in future installments of the series after “A New Beginning”?
RS: No rumors….we all wished we could be in a sequel but only Jason can come back from the dead…

F13F: Carol Locatell (Ethel) and yourself played a pretty convincing mother and son. What was it like working with her?
RS: Carol and I were a great team. We really worked well together. Carol and I had a lot of fun rehearsing and improvising.
We motivated and inspired each other…


F13F: The fight scene featuring yourself vs. John Shepherd portraying Tommy Jarvis is a great scene. What do you recall about shooting that sequence?

RS: During rehearsals, John Shepards stunt double actually knocked me down. During the actual shooting of the scene. John Shepard’s punch connected, and knocked me down. I didn’t realize acting was so painful.

F13F: Did anyone perceive you are a redneck after making this film? How did making this film effect your overall?
RS: The character Junior was definitely different from Ron Sloan, but my blind date that I took to the screening ,couldn’t separate the two, and refused to go out with me or Junior again. I guess she couldn’t separate the two after watching me eat. ha ha I am proud to be associated with the Friday the 13th series

F13F: Having grown up in a very small town in Central/Eastern Kentucky, Junior and Ethel remind me so much of a lot of people I knew back home. Did you base your portrayal of this character on anyone you knew in life? or perhaps your experience with any particular person?
RS: Junior sort of reminded me of the character “Lenny” in John Steinbecks “Of mice and men.” Lenny was a big, lumbering, gentle soul, who didn’t realize his strength. Junior was big and lumbering and wasn’t the brightest bulb on the Christmas Tree

F13F: Your kill in this film, it easily one of my top 5 kills in the entire Friday the 13th series. Junior ripping around on his motorcycle, screaming and crying about his fight with Tommy is great stuff. When I was much younger, I kind of got creeped out when I would ride my bike down a hill around a curve thinking that there would be someone holding out a sharp object when I got around the corner. What can you recall about shooting your Death scene?
RS: It was a very difficult night. Screaming constantly at the top of my lungs was beginning to take it’s toll on my throat. Not to mention trying to balance a very heavy motion picture camera attached to my handle bars, was a feat in itself. I was warned whatever I do, DO NOT drop the bike. It was very difficult reenacting the decapitation. I was hooked up to a harness which jolted my body backwards. A notched out meat cleaver was placed against my Adams apple to look like I was decapitated. The film was shot in reverse. The director would trigger the harness and I was to change my facial expressions from screaming to normal. This reversal film technique was quite challenging, but looked real when played forward


F13F: Do you have any crazy stories from the set that you would like to share with Friday the 13th fans?

RS: It was pretty wild talking to other actors and asking them how do you die. None of us knew if we were going to die that night. It was kind of like a lottery as long as you were alive you would keep working and making money. If you died it was all over. I was only able to witness a couple of other
actors deaths, because it was a closed set and very secretive. It was eerie and bizzare

F13F: Do you recall anything from the script that didn’t make it to the final film regarding your character or the film in general?

RS: My original decapitation/close up looked so real that it didn’t pass the censors. Originally, when my head rolled on the ground, it actually stopped and looked up at the camera. It really freaked me out and apparently freaked out the censors. Quiet mild by today’s standards and would pass without a problem, today’s censorship

F13F: After Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Jason made his return to the series. Did you follow future entries in the series and are you a fan of horror films in general?

RS: I did see a couple of the later films in the series, but then my interest went into a different direction. I enjoy science fiction horror , and would love to be in one

F13F: How is your role in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning looked at amongst your family and peers these days? Do you show people your work when you meet new people? How do they take it?
RS: I am very proud of being apart of a true horror classic, it’s always fun to view and re-enact Junior Hubbard at Halloween for family and friends


F13F: What are you up to these days?
RS: This October I will be at Fearfest in Dallas,Texas October 3-5. This will be my very first appearance at a horror convention. I will be there with most of the cast…. Hope you can make it.

F13F: Anything you would like to add and say to fans of Friday the 13th, fans of “A New Beginning”, and fans of Junior and yourself?
RS: Thank you for appreciating and enjoying Part V and Junior Hubbard. If you asked Junior what he thought of the film he would say, ” Best God Damn film in the whole wide world Momma!!”

About the Author

Tony Carroll

Huge horror fan. Mainly the slasher sub genre. Die Hard Friday the 13th fan. I'm not like a lot of viewers. I love the entire series. Yeah, there are things about some films that I don't like. But I can honestly say that I don't hate a single Friday flick. I love to write and to bring info to people. So this site and my love for that go hand in hand.

21 Responses to “ “Itty Bitty Pieces my Friend!”: A New Begining’s Ron “Junior” Sloan talks to Friday the 13th films! ”

  1. Just wanted to drop a note and let the Sloan family know that I truly appreciated them taking the time to make this interview happen.

  2. Wow,I always thought that Ethel and Junior was the best comic relief of the entire series! Mr. Sloan sounds like a very nice and cool guy. Thanks for lending us F13 fans your head, it was an awesome kill!

  3. Great interview. Really glad he took the time to do this. I always enjoyed the Junior character and of course hated him all at the same time.

  4. Wonder who got to keep the head…

  5. Great interview, his character & Ethel were a nice change in the usually strict F13 line up, ya know? the slut, the token black guy, the nerd, the practical joker.

    Saddly, the only thing I remember about Part V is the nudity, damn! there’s plenty of it in that installment…I specially like the dude that gets his head crushed against the tree, such a hottie!

  6. I LOVED the interview with Ron Sloan. Sounds like a great person. What a treat for me because this was my favorite
    movie of all the series except for the first(of coarse). Do you know if he is doing any other movies in the future? Love to know

  7. Great interview Ron! Ron is a SUPER guy as he is one of my very good friends. We all would be very lucky if he would do another movie for us.

  8. “I aint so pretty myself, I know…” I loved the Junior character. He and Ethel are awesome. Thank you for the interview Mr. Sloan and best of luck.
    “jr will you shut the f*ck up?”

  9. Junior Hubbard was always my favorite character in the entire F13 franchise. Thanks Ron.

  10. would you shut the fuck up

  11. part 5 was terrible junior and his mom were annoying does anyone remember it was an ambulance driver dressed as jason. you people

  12. I heard Ron has the head and his wife puts it out on a silver platter for Halloween. Great interview!!

  13. I met him on Maui on Little Beach and as far as I could tell he had to big heads.I became a fan the moment I saw that…I was so sorry that Junior had a wife he was devoted to (who would have thunk it…Junior????)All kidding aside his role is as good if not better than any Sean Penn film.

  14. everyone says part 5 was bad,terrible and a waist of time its not true new beggining was a good movie its just differnt its a compleyment to jason voorhees to say he is so scary even a guy dressed like him is scary and jason is the only killer in a slasher movie that has a copy cat but just because jason isnt in the movie other than dreams in was a bad movie part 1 the killer wasnt jason it was his mother in fact jason has more screen time in part 5 plus the characters in 5 are classic and origanal for a friday movie also part 5 is most like part one the the most like part 1 the whole movie you thinks the killer is jason only two friday movies have a twist part 5 was awsome.

  15. im not a good speller [like junior im sure]

  16. Friday 5 is nearly my favorite. Roy Burns had the highest body count of the entire series for the longest time. I’m a fan of many films with the distinction of being called a Friday clone. The Burning, Madman, My Bloody Valentine, and many many more are fun slasher films. So why not be a fan of a Friday the 13th clone complete with characters, the title, the look and the feel of all the previous entries in the series? Though I doubt they seriously put THIS much thought in it, it’s almost like Friday the 13th part V is mocking all of the clones that the series itself inspired around that time period by throwing a mock Jason into the mix.

  17. Hi Ron,
    So glad you are getting the recognition you deserve! Enjoy the Fearfest! I hope you get future roles in horror films even though those sort of shows creep me out!!
    Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

  18. I thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Mr. Sloan - seems like a very down to earth guy, not at all like the character he played! I\\\’d love to hear if he is in anything else so I can go see it!!

  19. I read this when you posted on Frightstuff.

    Nice interview. I’d like to hear from Ethel, too.

  20. Yea, I’m joining in on some of the people here: Ron Sloan is a great guy, and always makes me laugh when he’s in an argue with Ethel. I think Friday V, was the movie i saw most of the time, because of the kills, it’s also a little mystery-story and the humor was excellent!
    Wish I could be in Dallas for the Fear Fest, or what ever it’s called, would love to meet the cast and Mr. Sloan himself ofcourse.
    Hope you have a blast, Junior!

  21. We did an audio interview with Ron Sloan and F13 5 director Danny Steinmann back on Friday the 13th. http://www.deadpit.com is where u go to hear it.

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