Friday The 13th Legend Dead At 86
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What happened
Victor Miller, the American screenwriter of the 1980 horror film Friday the 13th and creator of the character Jason Voorhees, died at 86. His son, Ian Miller, announced the death on Instagram, saying his father had died the previous day (Monday) and that a celebration of life would be held in November on a Friday the 13th. The 1980 film launched a franchise of nearly a dozen sequels. Miller also wrote for daytime television dramas including All My Children, One Life to Live, Another World, Guiding Light, and General Hospital; his work on All My Children helped the show win three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series Writing. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and a grandson.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage is simply more complete on the death itself, because it publishes the family announcement that left-leaning coverage omits in favor of a stub career recap. The son's Instagram tribute and a memorial timed to Friday the 13th appear only on the right. Ian Miller's line that his father "went to his final reward" runs in Daily Caller, which also names the relatives who survive him. Left-leaning coverage at the Washington Post never mentions the post, the day he died, or anyone in the family.
Left-leaning coverage frames the soap years as what Miller did "instead" of the franchise, with no awards attached. Right-leaning coverage lists All My Children among other daytime hits, plus three Daytime Emmy Awards.
How did Victor Miller die?
Bottom line
The Washington Post dispatched the Friday the 13th screenwriter in two sentences and never mentioned his son's announcement, which Daily Caller printed.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Son Ian announced the death in an Instagram message saying his father went to his final reward
- Miller died Monday
- He is survived by his wife, two sons, and his grandson
- The 1980 film kicked off a franchise with nearly a dozen sequels
- Miller wrote for One Life to Live, Another World, Guiding Light, and General Hospital
The Left View
The Washington Post framed Miller chiefly as the Friday the 13th screenwriter and creator of Jason Voorhees, describing the 1980 film as having kicked off a "blood-splattered media franchise with nearly a dozen sequels" and adding that he "worked on daytime television instead."
The Right View
The Daily Caller treated the death as both a horror-industry milestone and a family loss, reprinting Ian Miller's tribute that his father "was almost always the smartest, funniest person in whatever room he was in" and had inspired "a love of photography, music, and storytelling." It called Friday the 13th a "cult classic" whose summer-camp premise "helped define the slasher genre," with Jason Voorhees becoming "a horror icon," and it highlighted the soap-opera credits and three Daytime Emmys. The piece closed on the son's words that Miller "had a helluva run and will be missed dearly."
Our Take (balanced)
The left-leaning account's strongest point is that Miller's public fame rests on Friday the 13th and the franchise it started, which is why the Washington Post leads with that credit and treats daytime television as what he did "instead" of sequels. The right-leaning account's strongest point is that a complete picture includes the son's characterization of Miller as a storyteller and the Emmy-winning soap work, which the Daily Caller documents at length. The central unresolved tension is how much an obituary should weight the slasher icon he created against the rest of a writing career spent largely in daytime television.
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