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Gunnar Hansen
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Cause of death
Pancreatic cancer
Role
Actor
Name
Gunnar Hansen
Years active
1973–2014
Occupation
Actor
Height
1.93 m
Full Name
Gunnar Milton Hansen
Born
March 4, 1947 (
1947-03-04
)
Reykjavik, Iceland
Alma mater
University of Texas at Austin
Died
November 7, 2015, Northeast Harbor, Maine, United States
Books
Chain Saw Confidential, Islands at the edge of time
Education
University of Texas at Austin, Stephen F. Austin High School
Movies
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Reykjavik Whale Watching, Mosquito, Chainsaw Sally
Similar People
Tobe Hooper, Marilyn Burns, Andrew Bryniarski, Edwin Neal, Ed Gein
Actor gunnar hansen leatherface has died
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 Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
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.
Filmography
Actor
2017
Death House as
Albert Kenny
2015
Butterflies & Diamonds as
Kevin Morgenstern
2013
Texas Chainsaw as
Boss Sawyer / Leatherface (archive footage)
2009
It Came from Trafalgar as
Tex Ghoul
2009
Won Ton Baby! as
Dr. Kurt Severson
2009
Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre as
Captain Pétur
2007
Gimme Skelter as
Porter Sandford
2007
Shudder (Video) as
Samson
2007
Brutal Massacre: A Comedy as
Krenshaw
2006
Swarm of the Snakehead as
Gunner
2006
Debbie Rochon Confidential: My Years in Tromaville Exposed! (Video) as
Executioner
2006
The Deepening as
Dr. Chambers
2005
Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen as
Reggie
2005
Aconite as
The Elder
2004
Murder-Set-Pieces as
Mechanic
2004
Chainsaw Sally as
Daddy
2004
The Business (Video short) as
Grandfather
2003
Next Victim as
Doctor Howard (segment "rehabilitation Center")
2002
Sinister (Short) as
The Piper
2002
Rachel's Attic as
Ronald
2002
Witchunter (Video) as
Michael Jones
2002
Hatred of a Minute as
Barry
1999
Hellblock 13 as
The Executioner
1996
Repligator as
Dr. Kildare - Male
1995
Exploding Angel as
Walter
1995
Freakshow as
Freakmaster
1994
Mosquito as
Earl the Bankrobber
1991
Campfire Tales as
Ralph
1988
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers as
The Stranger
1976
The Demon Lover as
Prof. Peckinpah
1974
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as
Leatherface
Writer
2017
Death House (original story)
2015
Ralph Stanley: An Eye for Wood (Documentary)
2012
Chummy Rich: Maine Boat Builder (Short)
2011
Dancing at the Mill (Video documentary)
2001
A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time (Documentary)
1995
Maine: America's Coast (Documentary)
1990
Portrait of an Island (Video documentary)
Thanks
-
Full Circle: A Documentary (Documentary) (in memory of) (filming)
2024
Dinner with Leatherface (Documentary) (in memory of) (post-production)
