Lar Park Lincoln – “Knots Landing” Actress and Famed ‘Final Girl’ in “Friday the 13th VII: The New Blood” – Passes Away at 63

A few days shy of my fifteenth birthday in 1988, I landed in a darkened movie theatre in Prattville, Alabama to feast my horror-loving eyes on Friday the 13^th Part VII: The New Blood. As a major fan of the Friday franchise, I counted this as an early birthday present to myself. After all, the hockey-masked escapades of everyone’s favorite undead killer – Jason Voorhees – was a favorite teenaged pastime for most people of my generation, and this seventh installment looked to be a real lulu: Not only would the waterlogged serial killer be making his triumphant return in this new chapter, it looked as if he might actually have a real fight on his hands this go-around courtesy of one bad-ass psychic who could give Sissy Spacek’s Carrie a run for her money. The name of the actress playing said commando-style psychic was unknown to me upon entering that darkened cathedral of cinema, but I sure the hell knew her name once the film ended and the houselights came harshly to life: Lar Park Lincoln. Though Paramount’s long-running Friday the 13^th series would never be mistaken for horror high-brow, the franchise was at least trying to come up with new stuff creatively, and with the introduction of ‘Final Girl’ Tina Shepard in New Blood, they more than delivered with one of the best entries of the entire series. Smart, funny, beautiful and immensely skilled in giving Jason a run for his money with various and sundry mental feats of wonder, Tina was one of the best characters ever introduced in Victor Miller and Sean S. Cunningham’s long running Friday the 13^th movies. Of course, it was Lincoln who brought the character to vibrant and exciting life and – EXTRA POINTS! – she was one of the rare characters in that franchise to have survived her encounter with Jason. Needless to say, my almost-fifteen-year-old mind was officially blown by Lincoln’s performance in what was essentially (let’s face it) a simple popcorn programmer of a horror flick.

 Lar Park Lincoln died last Tuesday at the too-young age of 63. In the end, it wasn’t a fictional character in a hockey mask who took her well-lived and productive life, but rather a far crueler murderer known far-and-wide as breast cancer.

Reading the above, one could be forgiven for assuming that Lincoln’s career only had one highlight. Nothing could be further from the truth.

After Friday the 13^th VII, Lincoln went on to dazzle television audiences with a cunning portrayal of Knots Landing meanie Linda Fairgate. If you want range in an actress, then look no further than the one-two punch of a thespian jumping from a horror movie as the hero of the piece to becoming a diabolical and scheming character that you loved to hate on the small screen. To her good credit, Lar Park Lincoln made it all look so very effortless.

Acting was a huge passion for Lincoln, who founded the Texas-based Actors Audition Studios and which she surely counted as her true legacy. The folks who now run the Actors Audition Studios in her stead certainly and rightly feel that way, as is evidenced by the statement they released upon her passing.

“Over her 45-year career, Lar left an unforgettable mark on Hollywood through her dynamic performances and dedication to mentoring aspiring actors,” an Actors Audition Studios press release read when news of Lincoln’s passing was revealed, and which was reported on by The Hollywood Reporter.

Lar is survived by a daughter and son (Piper and Trevor), not to mention four loving grandchildren.

Thank you for the wonderful memories and all the beautiful acting, Lar Park Lincoln; you will be missed.