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Horror Heavyweights Pay Tribute to Tobe Hooper
“It’s the end of the golden age.”
The horror world was still mourning this past July’s loss of George A. Romero when the news broke over the weekend that yet another master of the genre had left us. On Sunday morning, we awoke to the news that Tobe Hooper had died at the age of 74, and we’ll be reeling from that loss for a long time to come.
Like Romero, Tobe Hooper was a hugely influential figure in the realm of horror cinema; but perhaps even more importantly, he was a pioneer in the world of independent film at large. Hooper totally changed the game with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and that’s a legacy that can simply never be forgotten.
We take a lot of comfort in that fact on a day like today, and we’ve also been comforted in the wake of Hooper’s loss by all the tributes that have been flooding our social media feeds in the last couple days. Friends, colleagues and fans have been memorializing the legendary maverick, and we wanted to share some of those tributes that reflect just how important Tobe Hooper was – and how much of a mark he leaves behind.
From Clive Barker to Stephen King, check out some of the touching tributes below.
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
Don’t have a picture of me & Tobe Hooper, but I do have the Choptop head plate and scratcher. To… https://t.co/k1hu2Qy4xk
— Bill Moseley (@choptopmoseley) 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
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 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
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 Tobe Hooper. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the best and scariest horror movie of all time. pic.twitter.com/UHIqsQRGU0
— Barbara Crampton (@barbaracrampton) August 27, 2017
Tobe Hooper was a maverick a rebel and gentle, kind soul. An unlikely combination and a great loss. He changed genre films forever.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) August 27, 2017
The chainsaw is now quiet, but it will forever be heard.
RIP Tobe Hooper.
— Clive Barker (@RealCliveBarker) August 27, 2017
Very sad to hear of the passing of Tobe Hooper, another master of horror. He conjured some truly shattering, unforgettable moments in film. pic.twitter.com/6Kxw0gURzF
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) 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
TOBE HOOPER -A dear friend. Always cracking me up with an unexpected punch line in that deep Texas voice. #Meathook #Legend #Master pic.twitter.com/uqpjLnJBDy
— Don Coscarelli (@DonCoscarelli) 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
Adios #TobeHooper. #GeorgeRomero, & #WesCraven. All true Masters. It’s the end of the golden age.
— Stuart Gordon (@OfficialSGordon) August 27, 2017
On my friend Tobe Hooper: https://t.co/ZMT6Tt93nV
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 27, 2017
Very few people were as generous, kind and encouraging as Tobe Hooper. I will miss him deeply and feel lucky for the time I had with him. pic.twitter.com/8dOGHGvdK4
— Eli Roth (@eliroth) August 27, 2017
Tobe Hooper, architect of the original ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ is dead
TCM was SO impactful. Safe travels, Tobe. https://t.co/NRgVBjM1QG
— Bruce Campbell (@GroovyBruce) August 27, 2017
Found a pic of me and Tobe Hooper at House of 1000 Corpses premiere. What nice guy.… https://t.co/gpjSso0EGA
— Rob Zombie (@RobZombie) 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
All of us here at Bloody Disgusting are deeply saddened to learn that George A. Romero Foundation Founder and President Suzanne Desrocher-Romero has passed away.
GARF shared in a statement on socials, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Suzanne Desrocher Romero. Suzanne passed away of natural causes on June 24 at her home in Toronto after a prolonged illness.”
The statement continues, “Suzanne was the fierce leader of the George A. Romero Estate and The George A. Romero Foundation. She worked tirelessly to preserve George’s legacy. Her work at the foundation will continue to inspire and live on for generations to come. The family asks for privacy at this time.”
Desrocher-Romero founded GARF in 2018, after her late husband’s passing in 2017, and has been a fierce advocate for his legacy and the arts. It was her mission to “strengthen horror as a serious field of global study,” and she was a tremendous fighter on behalf of Romero’s works and supporting new filmmakers inspired by his legacy.
It was Desrocher-Romero who spearheaded the recovery and restoration of The Amusement Park, and, as the person in charge of the George A. Romero estate, worked closely with author Daniel Kraus on completing unfinished novels like Pay the Piper and The Living Dead. She most recently celebrated the restoration of her favorite of Romero’s zombie films, Day of the Dead, and was hard at work producing the upcoming film Twilight of the Dead.
That passionate advocacy led to Suzanne Desrocher-Romero becoming family to Bloody Disgusting as well.
2023 marked the start of an ongoing partnership between Bloody FM and GARF on The Dead, a scripted audio series spanning multiple seasons that saw Desrocher-Romero working closely with the Bloody FM team and mentoring the series’s contributing writers with GARF. To say her loss will be felt internally is an understatement.
“Anytime George Romero is mentioned is good, because what we are doing is to provide a healthy legacy. We’re uplifting his legacy, we’re supporting the archive, and we’re also supporting the Horror Study Center. So, all of these three things are what the Foundation is striving to do. As far as I’m concerned, the more we say George Romero’s name, the better it is,” Desrocher-Romero recently told BD.
It’s the perfect encapsulation of her unwavering enthusiasm for supporting Romero’s legacy and the horror genre, and just a glimpse at how much she contributed to preserving it. She is, in short, an inspiration.
We send our deepest condolences to Suzanne Desrocher-Romero’s family, friends, and GARF.
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