Gunnar Hansen, who took on the role of one of the most iconic villains in horror movies with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, has died, it was announced today. He was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He originally auditioned for director Tobe Hooper and won the part that would make his name famous, if not his features as he played the entire film under someone else's face and hair, as befitting a member of a violent, cannibal family. His huge frame and emphatic way with a power tool was a large part of the movie's success, but he found it difficult to translate this into an acting career, with his sole credit for around fifteen years afterwards on The Demon Lover, a work only noted for the tell all documentary made about it at the time, Demon Lover Diary - which Hansen didn't appear in. After making a living writing, he was coaxed back to the screen for Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, which kicked off regular appearances in low to no budget horrors for the rest of his life, cashing in on his name. With Marilyn Burns gone too, the cast of one of the greatest shockers ever made passes further into legend.
