Horror Community Honors Tobe Hooper

Like all of you, we are still recovering from the sad news that iconic director Tobe Hooper died late Saturday night at the age of 74, leaving behind his 1974 masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as his ultimate monument, along with a amazing filmography of additional classics, including the original Poltergeist (1982), ‘Salem’s Lot (1979), The Funhouse (1981), and the 1986 Leatherface sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2.

Hooper died in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to the Associate Press.

The horror community at large took to social media yesterday to pay honor Hooper and share his influence on them and the genre we all love so much.

We have gathered some of these tributes from many of Hooper’s friends and contemporaries, including John Carpenter, Stephen King, Rob Zombie, James Wan, William Friedkin, Joe Dante, Don Mancini, Eli Roth, and many more, which you can read below.

Tobe Hooper directed THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, a seminal work in horror cinema. He was a kind, decent man and my friend. A sad day.

— John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) August 27, 2017

Sorry to hear Tobe Hooper passed. He did a terrific job directing the ‘SALEM’S LOT miniseries, back in the day. He will be missed.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 27, 2017

Tobe Hooper, a kind, warm-hearted man
Who made the most terrifying film ever.
A good friend I will never forget

— William Friedkin (@WilliamFriedkin) August 27, 2017

Just woken up to news that my friend Tobe Hooper has passed away. A great director, yes, but also the kindest, sweetest man. I am so sad.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 27, 2017

Sad to hear the passing of Tobe Hooper. One of the nicest people. A sweet, gentle soul of a man. Your legacy lives on. #RIP

— James Wan (@creepypuppet) August 27, 2017

One of the kindest souls I’ve ever known and a wicked sense of humor pic.twitter.com/wr60mfo0np

— Tom Holland (@RealTomHolland) August 27, 2017

When we did TCM 2, He loved @drpepper and smoked @CDMCigars. I bought him this hat and he wore it. I thought he was brilliant. RIP Tobe… pic.twitter.com/aPqu5iFI9x

— Tom Savini (@THETomSavini) August 27, 2017

I spoke with the man who gave me everything I have just yesterday. He died a happy man~ https://t.co/fqMadEEULd

— Caroline Williams (@WilliCaroline) August 27, 2017

So sad to say goodbye to TOBE Hooper, the man who took a chance on me and gave me my career in film’s greatest genre.

— Bill Moseley (@choptopmoseley) August 27, 2017

Someday LIFEFORCE’s mad iconoclasm will be truly appreciated. So long, Tobe. I hope you find more sympathetic financiers on the other side. pic.twitter.com/MG7WtthcWn

— Joe Dante (@joe_dante) August 27, 2017

RIP horror legend TOBE HOOPER. He’s crossed over to The Other Side. pic.twitter.com/R1fqSbjq45

— Don Mancini (@RealDonMancini) August 27, 2017

I just heard about the death of Tobe Hooper. This is really sad. I first met Tobe at the premiere of House of 1000 Corpses. He was very cool and gave me a great quote for the DVD package. Obviously he was a big influence on that film. After that we became friends. I still remember him in his Hawaiian shirt at our Polynesian BBQ marveling at the about of monster stuff I owned. He will be missed and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will always be one of the greatest movies ever made. #riptobehooper🎥

A post shared by RobZombieofficial (@robzombieofficial) on Aug 27, 2017 at 12:51pm PDT

‪RIP #TobeHooper, brilliant director of #TheTexasChainsawMassacre – one of the most successful independent films of all time. I met this icon once, years ago at the old Dave’s Laser on Ventura in the Valley. I was able to tell him how important he was to me and indie cinema in general and how much I LOVE TexasChainsawMassacre2 – (a movie that me and @TellEmSteveDave and #VincentPereira still quote at each other to this day). Not only did the man terrify me with #SalemsLot and #Poltergeist in my youth, his DIY moxie to make movies at all inspired me as a 23 year old who wanted to make Clerks. While my first film wasn’t a horror movie (I wouldn’t make my first horror flick until #JerseyGirl), I was terrified nonetheless about spending 27 grand on credit cards when I was dirt poor. But Tobe’s work made the prospect of making a movie with no money when I’d never done something like that before less scary. He proved you didn’t need lots of money or studio backing to make a flick – so to me, Tobe will always be one of the best filmmakers who ever lived. He entertained me long before I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker and he inspired me and kept me going when I was first learning to tell my stories cinematically. Thanks for that, Mister Hooper – and thanks for being so gracious and patient when I rightly gushed at you that day. You changed the world, storyteller, and your name and ideas will always be a part of my DNA. Because sex? Well nobody knows what sex is. But the saw is family! #KevinSmith #TobeHooper #Director #filmmaker #indiefilm #horror ‬

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on Aug 27, 2017 at 6:15am PDT

There are very few people who were as kind and supportive as Tobe Hooper. I met him at a dinner thrown by Mick Garris and was just so excited to sit at the same table as him. He was so happy I had made a horror film and that I referenced the classic TCM swing shot. He came to the premiere of Cabin Fever just to support me from that one dinner. He was truly one of my heros of cinema, an inspiration in so many ways. I will miss him deeply. He’s one of those rare people who changed not just cinema but pop culture with one film.

A post shared by Eli Roth (@realeliroth) on Aug 27, 2017 at 10:19am PDT

Don’t have a picture of me & Tobe Hooper, but I do have the Choptop head plate and scratcher. To TOBE, my tribute to you. RIP

A post shared by Bill Moseley (@choptopmoseley) on Aug 27, 2017 at 4:20pm PDT

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