Tobe Hooper, 1943-2017

Director Tobe Hooper, known for horror movies such as the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in 1973 as well as the first Poltergeist movie, has died aged 74.



I have to admit that horris isn't my favorite genre, especially the sort of horror that's come out from about the time of Friday the 13th on (so about the past 40 years when it's seemed the point is to make the movies more graphic), so I haven't seen much of Hooper's work. But I know enough to know he was influential, and looking through his credits, I also see he directed two episodes of the TV series Nowhere Man, a really nifty little show on the long-defunct UPN network. Actually, it showed up on the Fox affiliate in my market since we didn't have a UPN channel, and was stuck after prime time on Sunday, which meant it would get delayed when football ran long. Unsurprisingly, although the series got a DVD release, it's out of print.