Tobe Hooper

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Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper (born Tobias Paul Hooper on January 25, 1943) is an American television and film director best known for his work in the horror film genre. His movies include Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Toolbox Murders and the watershed exploitation classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

1 Biography
2 Trivia
3 Filmography
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Born in Austin, Texas, Hooper spent the 1960s as a college professor and documentary cameraman. In 1974, he organized a small cast comprised of college teachers and students, and with Kim Henkel made the underground classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The highly successful film changed the horror film industry, and landed Hooper in Hollywood. Hooper rejoined Henkel and the cast of TCM for Eaten Alive (1977), a gory horror film with Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, William Finley and Marilyn Burns (who played the lead role in TCM). From then on, Hooper's films were mostly box office flops panned by critics.

In 1982, Hooper found greater success when hired by Steven Spielberg to direct his production of Poltergeist (1982) for MGM. It quickly became a top-grossing motion picture. Hooper was asked to write a script for Michael Bay's 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which also became a huge box office success. He served as producer on the remake sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

[edit] Trivia

Hooper, a native of Austin, Texas, first used his father's 8 mm camera at age 9.
Hooper wanted a MPAA PG rating for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (as there was no PG-13 at the time).
Hooper claims to have got the idea for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre while standing in the hardware section of a crowded store. While thinking of a way to get through the crowd, he spotted chainsaws for sale -- and the rest is history.
Featured in a song by the band Showbread, "Welcome To Plainfield Tobe Hooper".