Horror legend Gunnar Hansen has died at the age of 68. The Icelandic-born American actor, who terrified audiences worldwide as the mentally deranged cannibal killer Leatherface in 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, passed away at his Maine residence on Saturday, November 7th due to pancreatic cancer.
Hansen appeared in close to 30 horror films, though he dedicated most of his life to writing and editing for magazines and books. In 1993, he published a traveling memoir titled, Islands at the Edge of Time, A journey to America’s Barrier Islands, and later turned the heads of every horror fan with 2013’s behind-the-scenes novel, Chain Saw Confidential.
He is survived by his partner of 13 years, Betty Tower. This morning, many fans paid their respects to Hansen on Twitter:
