William Tobe Hooper was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was best known for his work in the horror film genre.
Background
Hooper was born on January 25, 1943 in Austin, Texas, United States. He was the son of Lois Belle (née Crosby) and Norman William Ray Hooper, who owned a theater in San Angelo. He first became interested in filmmaking when he used his father's 8 mm camera at age 9.
Education
Hooper took Radio-Television-Film classes at the University of Texas at Austin and studied drama in Dallas under Baruch Lumet.
Career
His 1974 film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was described by Stuart Heritage of The Guardian as "one of the most influential films ever made". Hooper spent the 1960s as a college professor and documentary cameraman. He directed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974.
He later directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in 1986.
In 1982, Hooper directed Poltergeist, which was based on a story by Steven Spielberg. In October 2009, Twisted Pictures, the company behind the Saw films, bought the rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and made a new Chainsaw film in 3D, Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013).
In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed the director for his British Broadcasting Corporation documentary series A History of Horror. Hooper appeared in the third episode. Hooper’s first novel, Midnight Movie, was published on Three Rivers Press in 2011.
His supernatural thriller film, Djinn, premiered at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Festival. makers who have been influenced by Hooper include Hideo Nakata, Wes Craven, Rob Zombie, Alexandre Aja, and Jack Thomas Smith. Director Ridley Scott has stated that his work on Alien was influenced by Hooper"s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre more than any other B-level genre product.
Connections
In 1983 he maried Carin Berger. In 1990 they divorced. In 2008 he married Rita Marie Bartlett. In 2010 they divorced. He had a son, William Tony Hooper.