Tobe Hooper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tobe Hooper
Hooper in September 2014
Born	Willard Tobe Hooper (1943-01-25)January 25, 1943 Austin, Texas, U.S.
Died	August 26, 2017(2017-08-26) (aged 74) Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Director, screenwriter, producer
Years active	1964–2017
Notable work	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Poltergeist (1982)
Spouse(s)	Maev Margaret Noonan (m. 1961; div. approx 1971) Carin Berger ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1990)​ Rita Marie Bartlett ​ ​ (m. 2008; div. 2010)​
Children	1

Willard Tobe Hooper (born January 25, 1943 – died August 26, 2017) was an American director, writer, and producer. He was best known for his work in the horror film world. The British Film Institute said Hooper was one of the most important horror filmmakers ever.

Born in Austin, Texas, Hooper's first full-length movie was Eggshells (1969). He wrote this film with Kim Henkel. They worked together again to write The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), which Hooper also directed. This movie became a classic horror film. In 2010, The Guardian newspaper called it "one of the most influential films ever made."

After that, Hooper directed another horror film called Eaten Alive (1977). Then came the 1979 TV show Salem's Lot, which was based on a book by Stephen King. Next, Hooper directed The Funhouse (1981), a big studio slasher film from Universal Pictures. The next year, he directed the spooky thriller Poltergeist, which was written and produced by Steven Spielberg.

In the mid-1980s, Hooper directed two science fiction horror movies: Lifeforce (1985) and Invaders from Mars (1986). He also made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), a bigger-budget follow-up to his first film. In the 1990s, Hooper directed many horror and sci-fi projects. These included Spontaneous Combustion (1990), which he also helped write. He also directed parts of the TV movie Body Bags (1993) and The Mangler (1995), another movie based on a Stephen King story.

Hooper directed several projects in the 2000s. These included the monster movie Crocodile (2000), an episode of the sci-fi TV show Taken (2002), and two episodes of Masters of Horror (2005–2006). He passed away in 2017 at the age of 74 from natural causes.

Early Life and Interests

Tobe Hooper was born on January 25, 1943, in Austin, Texas. His parents, Lois Belle and Norman William Ray Hooper, owned a movie theater. Tobe became interested in making movies when he was just nine years old. He used his father's 8 mm camera to film things.

He went to college at the University of Texas, Austin. He was on campus on August 1, 1966, when Charles Whitman started shooting from the university's clock tower. A police officer near Hooper was shot, but not fatally.

Career Highlights

In the 1960s, Hooper worked as a college professor and filmed documentaries. His short film The Heisters (1965) was almost nominated for an Academy Award. His first full-length movie, Eggshells (1969), was made for $40,000.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Hooper became famous with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). He combined his ideas about being alone and dark themes with news stories about violence. He believed that people were the real monsters. He and Kim Henkel wrote the script, which was partly inspired by real-life events.

The movie was made with a very small budget, less than $140,000. This meant they filmed seven days a week, sometimes for 16 hours a day. They also dealt with very hot weather and limited special effects. Hooper wanted the movie to be rated PG because it didn't show much blood. However, the first version got an X rating. After some changes, it was given an R rating. Many people called it one of the scariest movies ever. Film critic Roger Ebert called it a "weird, off-the-wall achievement." It was also a big success, earning $30 million in the United States and Canada. It became one of the highest-earning independent films of the 1970s.

Later Films and TV Shows

Hooper's next movie was Eaten Alive (1976). This film was also inspired by real-life events. Hooper also helped create the music for the movie.

He then directed the TV mini-series Salem's Lot (1979). This was his biggest budget project yet, costing $4 million. A producer hired Hooper after seeing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Hooper filmed it in 1979. The TV show was different from the book it was based on, especially with violence, to meet TV rules. Hooper said it was "very spooky" and "suggests things." After this, Hooper made The Funhouse (1981), about teenagers hunted by a killer at a carnival.

In 1982, Hooper directed Poltergeist, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg chose Hooper to direct because of his past work. Hooper worked with Spielberg to make it more of a ghost story. It was first planned as a follow-up to Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Hooper then signed a deal to make three movies with Cannon Films. These were Lifeforce (1985), Invaders from Mars (1986), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1987). Hooper also started working a lot in television.

His later works included Spontaneous Combustion (1990), the TV movie I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990), and Night Terrors (1993). He also directed a part of the TV movie Body Bags (1993). Other films include The Mangler (1995), The Apartment Complex (1999), Crocodile (2000), Toolbox Murders (2004), and Mortuary (2005).

Hooper was asked to direct for the TV series Masters of Horror. He directed "Dance of the Dead" (2005) and "The Damned Thing" (2006).

In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed Hooper for his BBC show A History of Horror. Hooper's first novel, Midnight Movie, was published in 2011. His spooky thriller film Djinn was shown for the first time in 2013.

Personal Life

Tobe Hooper was married three times and had one son, William Tony Hooper.

Death

Tobe Hooper passed away from natural causes in Los Angeles, California, on August 26, 2017. He was 74 years old.

Legacy

Many filmmakers have been inspired by Tobe Hooper's work. These include Hideo Nakata, Wes Craven, Rob Zombie, Alexandre Aja, Jack Thomas Smith, and Nicolas Winding Refn. Director Ridley Scott said that Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre influenced his movie Alien more than any other horror film.

Filmography

Film

Co-producer

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Executive producer

• Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
• Leatherface (2017)

Television

TV series

TV movies

Music video

See also

In Spanish: Tobe Hooper para niños