Few scenes in horror history are more iconic, enduring and downright terrifying than the “girl on a meathook” scene in Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, wherein a red shorts-wearing Pam stumbles into Leatherface’s home and is captured and hooked by the hulking brute. Just thinking about it, honestly, sends shivers up the spine.
Pam was played by actress Teri McMinn in the 1974 film, and fans of the movie (and the character) will definitely want to follow her Facebook fan page, Pam, The O’riginal Chainsaw Gal. McMinn often tells stories and shares photos on the page, and she just shared a behind the scenes shot from the Chain Saw set that I had personally never seen.
In the photo, the late Gunnar Hansen (as Leatherface) looms behind Pam, during the filming of the infamous “capture” sequence. Along with it, McMinn told a fun story.
“Gunnar aka ‘Leatherface’ was my ex-boyfriend, George Bush Jr.’s roomie. I knew him quite well,” McMinn wrote. “He was Much Scarier as my ex’s housemate than he ever was playing Leatherface, believe me!! When George and I parted, I very was happy thinking I was rid of him… forever. Little did I know that fate had other plans for me.”
She continued, “When we were introduced on the set in the RV on the first day of filming, Gunnar was sitting down in the banquette/booth and had his back to me. Immediately, I heard Kim Henkel, our writer, say, “Teri, I’d like you to meet Gunnar. He’ll be playing Leatherface…” as I was simultaneously walking toward them. When I got even with the large man Kim was standing near, he turned his head to look at me. We were literally 6-10 inches apart, and he was as tall sitting down as I was standing up. Eyeball to eyeball, we Both jumped out of our skins! In unison, we both blurted out, “WHAT’RE YOU DOING HERE!!?? Turns out George had screwed him over, left him paying the rent and utilities ++, so GH and I commiserated over coffee together. All’s well that ends well, and the rest is, as they say, ‘history’.”
Check out the photo below, and see if you can spot Tobe Hooper!
