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Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror genre. The
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time. Born in
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 ...
, Hooper's feature film debut was the independent '' Eggshells'' (1969), which he co-wrote with
Kim Henkel Kim David Henkel (born January 19, 1946) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He is best known as the co-writer of Tobe Hooper's horror film ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre''. Early life Henkel was born in Virginia and g ...
. The two reunited to co-write ''
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), which Hooper also directed. The film went on to become a classic of the genre, and was described in 2010 by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as "one of the most influential films ever made." Hooper subsequently directed the horror film ''
Eaten Alive ''Eaten Alive'' (known under various alternate titles, including ''Death Trap'', ''Horror Hotel'', and ''Starlight Slaughter'', and stylized on the poster as ''Eaten Alive!'') is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written ...
'' (1977), followed by the 1979
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''
Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine, where he ...
'', an adaptation of the novel by
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
. Following this, Hooper signed on to direct ''
The Funhouse ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1981), a major studio
slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
distributed by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. The following year, he directed the supernatural thriller ''
Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...
'', written and produced by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
. In the mid-1980s, Hooper directed two
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
horror films: '' Lifeforce'' (1985) and '' Invaders from Mars'' (1986), followed by ''
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (also known as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2'') is a 1986 American black comedy slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper. It is a sequel to ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', also directed and co-written by Ho ...
'' (1986), a big-budget sequel to his original film. The 1990s saw Hooper directing various horror and sci-fi projects, including ''
Spontaneous Combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...
'' (1990), which he also co-wrote; the television anthology film '' Body Bags'' (1993); and '' The Mangler'' (1995), another adaptation of a Stephen King story. Hooper directed several projects throughout the 2000s, including the monster film ''
Crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
'' (2000), an episode of the sci-fi miniseries '' Taken'' (2002), and two episodes of ''
Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, C ...
'' (2005–2006). He died in 2017 at the age of 74 of
natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
.


Early life

Hooper was born January 25, 1943 in
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 ...
, to Lois Belle (''née'' Crosby) and Norman William Ray Hooper, who owned a theater in
San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
. The film ''
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 ...
'' explores hicksploitation themes related to his childhood. He first became interested in filmmaking when he used his father's 8 mm camera at the age of nine. He went to college at the University of Texas, Austin. He was present at the college on August 1, 1966, when
Charles Whitman Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966) was an American mass murderer who became known as the "Texas Tower Sniper". On August 1, 1966, Whitman used knives to kill his mother and his wife in their respective homes, then went to ...
opened fire on random people from the University's clock tower, nonfatally shooting a police officer that was close by Hooper.


Career

Hooper spent the 1960s as a college professor and documentary cameraman. His 1965 short film ''The Heisters'' was invited to be entered in the short subject category for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, but was not finished in time for the competition that year. His first feature film, '' Eggshells'' (1969), was made for $40,000. Soon after, Hooper leapt to fame with ''
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). He combined elements from a story he wrote about isolation and darkness with the inspiration of graphic news coverage of violence, with his belief that people were the true monsters being a key element for the film. Along with
Kim Henkel Kim David Henkel (born January 19, 1946) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He is best known as the co-writer of Tobe Hooper's horror film ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre''. Early life Henkel was born in Virginia and g ...
, they co-wrote a screenplay that had elements based on the murders of
Ed Gein Edward Theodore Gein (; August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American murderer and body snatcher. Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, ga ...
and
Elmer Wayne Henley Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. (born May 9, 1956) is a convicted American serial killer and painter incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. Henley was convicted in 1974 for his role as a participant in a series of murders ...
while forming a company named Vortex, Inc. They produced the film alongside Jay Parsley and Richard Saenz. The low budget (roughly less than $140,000) meant that the film was shot seven days a week, having shooting times up to 16 hours a day, dealing with brutally hot temperatures, high humidity and limited special effects. Hooper had to deal with the
Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
(MPAA) with the rating; he had hoped the limited amount of gore seen in the film would give it a PG, but the original print was given an X rating. After some cuts, it was given an R rating. The film was cited as one of the scariest films of all time, with film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, despite awarding it only two out of four stars, describing it as a "weird, off-the-wall achievement." It was also a huge commercial success, making $30 million in the United States and Canada, while being one of the highest grossing independent films of the 1970s. Hooper's next film was ''
Eaten Alive ''Eaten Alive'' (known under various alternate titles, including ''Death Trap'', ''Horror Hotel'', and ''Starlight Slaughter'', and stylized on the poster as ''Eaten Alive!'') is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written ...
'' (1976), co-written by Henkel and producers Alvin L. Fast and Mardi Rustam. As with ''Massacre'', the film was inspired by serial killings, this time the murderer
Joe Ball Joseph Douglas Ball (January 7, 1896 – September 24, 1938) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer, sometimes referred to as the "Alligator Man", the "Butcher of Elmendorf" and the "Bluebeard of South Texas". He is known to have ...
, who killed at least two people in the 1930s and whose crimes led to his nicknames of 'The Alligator Man' and 'The Butcher of Elmendorf'. The movie was filmed on sound-stages in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Hooper provided the music alongside Wayne Bell - but walked off the production before shooting completed. Hooper had his biggest budget yet with the television mini-series of ''
Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine, where he ...
'' (1979), filmed on a budget of $4 million for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
while being released theatrically in some countries. It was a screening of ''Massacre'' that led producer Richard Kobritz to hire Hooper as director. He shot the film from July to August 1979, although the film differed from the source material (particularly with the violence and graphic scenes) in order to meet broadcast standards. He described it as 'very spooky - it suggests things and always has the overtone of the grave. It affects you differently than my other horror films. It's more soft-shelled...it has atmosphere which creates something you cannot escape - the reminder that our time is limited and all the accoutrements that go with it, such as the visuals.' Hooper then went on to make ''
The Funhouse ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1981) about teenagers who are stalked by a killer in a carnival fun-house. In 1982, Hooper made ''
Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...
'', based on a story by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
. Hooper was selected to direct based on his prior work by Spielberg, who co-wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film. It was Hooper who collaborated with Spielberg to make it more of a ghost story than the original science-fiction-based treatment had been, as it had originally been conceived as a sequel to ''
Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...
''. Cannon Films approached Hooper with the offer of a three-picture deal. He made '' Lifeforce'' (1985), '' Invaders from Mars'' (1986) and ''
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (also known as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2'') is a 1986 American black comedy slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper. It is a sequel to ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', also directed and co-written by Ho ...
'' (1987). Hooper also began working steadily in television. Hooper's later works included ''
Spontaneous Combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...
'' (1990); the television movie ''
I'm Dangerous Tonight ''I'm Dangerous Tonight'' is a 1990 American made-for-television supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and starring Mädchen Amick, Corey Parker, R. Lee Ermey and Anthony Perkins. It made its debut on USA Network on August 8, 1990. I ...
'' (1990); and ''
Night Terrors Night terror, also called sleep terror, is a sleep disorder causing feelings of panic or dread and typically occurring during the first hours of stage 3–4 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and lasting for 1 to 10 minutes. It can last long ...
'' (1993). He directed an installment of the made-for-television feature '' Body Bags'' (1993). His works also include '' The Mangler'' (1995), ''
The Apartment Complex ''The Apartment Complex'' is a 1999 American made-for-television mystery-thriller film directed by Tobe Hooper. Plot The film involves a man named Stan who becomes the manager of an apartment complex with strange tenants, after the previous manag ...
'' (1999), ''
Crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
'' (2000), ''
Toolbox Murders ''Toolbox Murders'' is a 2004 American slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written by Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch. It is a remake of the 1978 film '' The Toolbox Murders'' and was produced by the same people behind the original. The fi ...
'' (2004), and ''
Mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...
'' (2005). Hooper was asked to contribute to the series ''
Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, C ...
''; he responded by directing " Dance of the Dead" (2005) with
Robert Englund Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Class ...
in the first season, and "The Damned Thing" in the second season. In 2010, writer and actor
Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...
interviewed Hooper for the third episode of his BBC documentary series ''
A History of Horror ''A History of Horror'' (also known as ''A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss'') is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss. It is a personal exploration of the history of horror film, inspir ...
''. Hooper's first novel, ''Midnight Movie'', was published on
Three Rivers Press Three Rivers Press is the trade paperback imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. It publishes original paperback titles as well as paperback reprints of books issued initially in hardcover by the other Crown imprints ...
in 2011. His supernatural thriller film ''
Djinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
'' premiered at the 2013
Abu Dhabi Film Festival The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF; ar, مهرجان أبو ظبي السينمائي), formerly the Middle East International Film Festival, was an international film festival held in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007 to 20 ...
.


Personal life

Hooper was married three times. He married his first wife, Maev Margaret Noonan, in 1961. They divorced in the early 1970s, producing one son, William Tony Hooper, who was born approximately 1966. In the Fall of 1979 issue of ''
Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...
'' magazine, Hooper declared "I'm divorced. I was married very young and been divorced about eight years." At the time of the interview, his son was 13 and lived with him in Los Angeles. Hooper married again in 1983 to Carin Berger (daughter of actor William Berger), but they divorced in 1990. He later married Rita Marie Bartlett in 2008, but they divorced in 2010.


Death

Hooper died of natural causes in
Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
neighborhood of
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, on August 26, 2017, at the age of 74.


Legacy

Filmmakers who have been influenced by Hooper include
Hideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Nakata was born in Okayama, Japan. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as ''Ring'' (1998), ''Ring 2'' (1999) and ''Dark Water'' (2002). Several of these we ...
,
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
,
Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...
,
Alexandre Aja Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, (; born 7 August 1978) is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film ''High Tension, Haute ...
,
Jack Thomas Smith Jack Thomas Smith (born March 10, 1969) is an American producer, writer and director of feature films and documentary television series. His feature horror films include ''Disorder'' and ''Infliction''. Smith is a member of the Horror Writers Ass ...
, and
Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970), also known as Jang, is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his collaborations with Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling. He gained great success early in ...
. Director
Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
has stated that his work on ''
Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
'' was influenced more by Hooper's ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' than any other genre film.Anderson, Martin (March 30, 2012)
"The Russian heritage for Ridley Scott's Prometheus?"
. Shadowlocked.


Filmography


Film

Co-producer * ''
The Texas Chainsaw 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, ...
'' (2003) Executive producer * ''
Texas Chainsaw 3D ''Texas Chainsaw 3D'' (stylized on-screen simply as ''Texas Chainsaw'') is a 2013 American slasher film directed by John Luessenhop, with a screenplay by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms. It is the seventh installment in ''The ...
'' (2013) * ''
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 murderer ...
'' (2017)


Television

TV series TV movies


Music video


Bibliography

*


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Tobe 1943 births 2017 deaths American male screenwriters Film producers from Texas Horror film directors Science fiction film directors Film directors from Texas Writers from Austin, Texas Screenwriters from Texas 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Postmodernist filmmakers