The mountainous, giggling, homicidal monster that terrified a generation (and all the generations that followed) has now passed into legend: Gunnar Hansen, the star of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), died this Saturday, November 7, at the age of 68.
Gunnar Hansen played “Leatherface,” the mentally-challenged cannibal who did the dirty work for a whole family of serial killers throughout the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. Leatherface appeared in all of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies but Gunnar Hansen only starred in the first film. That’s no small accomplishment, since Tobe Hooper’s original 1974 classic is one of the best horror movies ever produced (and by extension, also one of the finest films ever produced in any genre).
Related: The 50 Best Horror Movies of the Century (So Far)
Although Leatherface became, almost immediately, one of the most iconic villains in horror movie history, Gunnar Hansen himself did not dedicate himself exclusively to acting. He would go on to appear in a number of genre films over the decades that followed (with titles like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and Repligator) but also published multiple books, including Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World’s Most Notorious Horror Movie and Islands at the Edge of Time: A Journey to America’s Barrier Islands.
It’s been a rough year for horror fans, who have already had to mourn the passing of genre legends Christopher Lee and Wes Craven, and who are no doubt equally emotional about the death of another one of cinema’s great boogeymen. Gunnar Hansen made a chainsaw-shaped mark on the horror genre, an impact that will endure for generations to come. Crave extends our sympathies to Hansen’s friends, family and fans. He will be missed.
Photo: Bryanston Pictures
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
