Gunnar Hansen

Gunnar Hansen
Hansen at Days of the Dead in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2012
Born	Gunnar Milton Hansen March 4, 1947 Reykjavík, Iceland
Died	November 7, 2015 (aged 68) Northeast Harbor, Maine, U.S.[1]
Cause of death	Pancreatic cancer
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–2014

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 and central role of Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

Early life

Hansen was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, and moved to the United States when he was five years old. He lived in Maine until age eleven, when his family moved to Austin, Texas, where he attended both Austin High School and the University of Texas at Austin. 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 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was being filmed in Austin and decided to try out. He got the part of Leatherface, the masked killer in the movie. Hansen apparently visited and studied children with special needs to determine mannerisms for Leatherface.

After the success of the movie, Hansen co-starred in Demon Lover, but after the experience he decided not to continue acting, instead pursuing a writing career. In 1975, after one extra year of graduate school, Hansen moved back to Maine and started writing. During this time he rejected a part he was offered in the cult horror film The Hills Have Eyes.

After writing (and occasionally editing) for magazines and writing books, Hansen returned to acting in 1988, appearing in the horror spoof Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, and appeared in 20 films since. 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, which focuses on the making and reception for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In addition, he taught college as an adjunct instructor.

Death

His agent stated Hansen died at his home in Northeast Harbor, Maine from pancreatic cancer on November 7, 2015 at the age of 68.^[2][3]

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Leatherface
1977	The Demon Lover	Prof. Peckinpah
1988	Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers	The Stranger
1991	Campfire Tales	Ralph
1995	Exploding Angel	Walter
	Mosquito	Earl
	Freakshow	Freakmaster	Direct-to-video
1996	Repligator	Dr. Kildare
1999	Hellblock 13	The Executioner	Direct-to-video
2002	Hatred of a Minute	Barry
	Witchunter	Michael Jones	Direct-to-video
	Rachel's Attic	Ronald
	Sinister	The Piper	Short film
2003	Next Victim	Doctor Howard
2004	The Business	Grandfather	Short film, direct-to-video
	Chainsaw Sally	Daddy
	Murder-Set-Pieces	Mechanic
2005	Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen	Reggie
	Wolfsbayne	The Elder
2006	Swarm of the Snakehead	Gunner
	The Deepening	Dr. Chambers
2007	Brutal Massacre: A Comedy	Krenshaw
	Shudder		Direct-to-video
	Gimme Skelter	Porter Sandford
2009	Won Ton Baby!	Dr. Kurt Severson
	It Came from Trafalgar	Tex Ghoul
	Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre	Captain Pétur
2013	Texas Chainsaw 3D	Boss Sawyer, Leatherface (Archive Footage)	Cameo

As self

• Terror in the Aisles (1984) – archival footage
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988)
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000)
• Leatherface Speaks: An Informal Interview with Gunnar Hansen (2001)
• Behind the Attic Door: The Making of "Rachel's Attic" (2002)
• UnConventional (2004)
• Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw (2006)

See also

• The White Bird

References

1. Associated Press "Gunnar Hansen, killer of 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' dies" Associated Press via The State Columbia, SC November 8, 2015.
2. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Actor Gunnar Hansen Dies at 68
3. Associated Press staff, "Gunnar Hansen, killer of 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' dies," Associated Press via Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, Tx) accessed at 3:56 am November 8, 2015.

External links

• Gunnar Hansen official website
• Gunnar Hansen at the Internet Movie Database