March 4, 1947
On this day in Horror History Gunnar Hansen was born! As the mind behind the infamous Leatherface, the slow witted and chainsaw infatuated maniac on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Gunnar has become a cult icon who has influenced our nightmares more than we will ever know. Having led an illustrious career in many horror films and even enjoying a stint with writing, it was his role in the Tobe Hooper classic and his free reign to manifest the mannerisms and demeanor of the notorious face wearing antagonist that would forever change the entire franchise and subsequent remakes as well as the many of films inspired by the masterpiece. With nothing more than scripted lines that Leatherface would attempt to say, it was Gunnar who decided that the maniac would be mentally challenged, barely able to speak a word, and gave him most every mannerism that made the film what it became.
