Gunnar Milton Hansen (March 4, 1947 – November 7, 2015) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic-born American actor and author best known for playing the mentally impaired cannibal

Leatherface Leatherface is a fictional character in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. He first appears in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' as a disfigured, cannibalistic and mentally unstable mass murdere ...

in ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...

'' (1974).

Early life

Hansen was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, Iceland, to Icelander Skúli Hansen, a dentist, and Norwegian Sigrid Hansen. He moved to the United States with his mother and brother when he was five years old. He lived in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

until age eleven, when his family moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, where he attended Austin High School and the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He majored in English and mathematics as an undergraduate and then went to graduate school in Scandinavian Studies and English.

Career

His first job out of high school was as a computer operator before he began theater work during college. He was also a football player during high school and for a while a bar bouncer. In 1973, just after finishing graduate school, Hansen heard that ''

'' was being filmed in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and decided to audition. He got the part of Leatherface, the masked killer in the movie. After writing (and occasionally editing) for magazines and writing books, Hansen returned to acting in 1988, appearing in the horror spoof ''

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers ''Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers'' (also known as simply ''Hollywood Hookers'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1988 American black comedy slasher film directed by Fred Olen Ray, and starring Gunnar Hansen, Linnea Quigley, Jay Richardson and Michelle Bau ...

.'' He acted in 20 films thereafter, including ''Texas Chainsaw 3D'' as one of the Sawyers. He considered his later acting as a side project and continued to write books. He also wrote film scripts and wrote and directed documentary films. Hansen was also an author; his nonfiction travel memoir, ''Islands at the Edge of Time; A Journey to America's Barrier Islands'', was published in 1993. In 2013 he wrote the nonfiction book '' Chain Saw Confidential'' about the making of and reception for ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre''. In addition, he taught college as an adjunct instructor.

Death

Hansen died at his home in

Northeast Harbor, Maine Northeast Harbor is a village on Mount Desert Island, located in the town of Mount Desert in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The original settlers, the Someses and Richardsons, arrived around 1761. The village has a significant summe ...

, of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

on November 7, 2015, at the age of 68.Associated Press staff, "Gunnar Hansen, killer of 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' dies,"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

via ''

Waco Tribune-Herald The ''Waco Tribune-Herald'' is an American daily newspaper serving Waco, Texas, and vicinity. Background The newspaper has its roots in five predecessors, beginning with the ''Waco Evening Telephone'' in 1892. The ''Tribune-Herald'' took its curr ...

'' (Waco, Tx) accessed at 3:56 am November 8, 201

/ref>

Filmography

As self

* 1984 ''

Terror in the Aisles ''Terror in the Aisles'' is a 1984 American documentary film about horror films, including slasher films and crime thrillers. The film is directed by Andrew J. Kuehn, and hosted by Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen. The original music score is co ...

'' archival footage * 1988 ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait'' * 2000 ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth'' * 2001 ''Leatherface Speaks: An Informal Interview with Gunnar Hansen'' * 2002 ''Behind the Attic Door: The Making of "Rachel's Attic"'' * 2004 ''UnConventional'' * 2006 ''Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw''

References

External links

Gunnar Hansen official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Gunnar 1947 births 2015 deaths

Gunnar Hansen Gunnar Milton Hansen (March 4, 1947 – November 7, 2015) was an Icelandic-born American actor and author best known for playing the mentally impaired cannibal Leatherface in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974). Early life Hansen was bo ...

American male film actors Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni

Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Maine 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers People from Northeast Harbor, Maine American memoirists 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors