Scream Queen Impact
Adrienne King’s introduction to the horror world came in 1980 when she portrayed Alice Hardy in Friday The 13th. She would briefly reprise the role in the 1981 sequel and then seemingly vanished from film and television. Not long after the release of the first film, Mrs. King became the victim of an extremely persistent stalker. Things got so bad that she moved to London and went into seclusion. She ultimately returned to film and television as a voice actor and also provided dubbing for a number of popular films throughout the 1990’s.
King was born in 1960 and began working as a child actor and continued working primarily as a background character or extra until she offered the role of Alice in Friday The 13th. With the success of the film came the attention of horror fans throughout the world. It also brought the attention of a man who hated King simply because she reminded him of someone that wronged him in the past. He stalked her for a year and a half, going as far as following her to London. Her case was never taken that seriously because “celebrity stalkers” were just not a thing at the time. King left the U.S. for London, England. She studied voice acting and dance. She ultimately came back to the United States around 1984 and was picked for a role on All My Children. Despite wanting to take the role, anxiety forced her to decline the offer.
King, still uneasy about appearing on screen, embraced voice acting and dubbing. Throughout the 90’s she worked behind the scenes as a dubber and voice looper on a number of films and television shows including The Good Son, Titanic, Almost Famous, Melrose Place, and While You Were Sleeping. She finally returned to the front of the camera in the 2010 indy flick, Psychic Experiment. Since that time, she has had roles in a number of films including Tales Of Poe and The Butterfly Room. She also appeared in the Friday The 13th fan film, Jason Rising.
King may not have the long list of films that many Scream Queens have accumulated over the years but without her amazing portrayal of Alice Hardy, there may never have been a Jason Voorhees franchise. For that reason alone she is worthy of the Scream Queen title.
I hope that you enjoyed this entry in the Reign of the Scream Queens. There’s plenty more to come this month!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 