#poltergeisttimeline

[poltergeistbook]

Happy Birthday to Jim Siedow, who was born on this day, June 12, 1920. Jim was an American actor, best known for his role of Drayton "The Cook" Sawyer in the unparalleled 1974 movie 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and its subversive sequel 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'

[poltergeistbook]

Fabulous alternative poster for Tobe Hooper's 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' by legendary horror artist Graham Humphreys

[poltergeistbook]

Horror Legend and five-time Tobe Hooper alumni - 'Robert Englund' is to receive a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Englund joins fellow horror icons including Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi with the much-deserved star in 2025.

[poltergeistbook]

Happy 79th Birthday to Texas Chainsaw legend Ed Neal. Born on this day, July 12, 1945). Ed has had a vast career in films, animation and video games, but is best known for his role as the hitchhiker in Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' (1974)

[poltergeistbook]

Often overlooked was Tobe Hooper's ability to bring out striking performances from the young actors in his films, from Salems Lot (1979), The Funhouse (1981), Poltergeist (1982) and Invaders from Mars (1986) being the most notable

[poltergeistbook]

Tobe Hooper began filming Salem's Lot on this day - July 10, 1979, in the Northern California town of Ferndale.

TOBE HOOPER -

"Salem's Lot does not rely on the same kind of dynamics as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. "This film is very spooky – it suggests things and always has the overtone of the grave. It affects you differently than my other horror films. It's more soft-shelled," director Tobe Hooper explains. "A television movie does not have blood or violence. It has atmosphere which creates something you cannot escape – the reminder that our time is limited and all the accoutrements that go with it, such as the visuals."

Poster Art by Christopher Franchi

[poltergeistbook]

Belated Happy Birthday to American writer, director and former child actor Oliver Robins (born July 22, 1971). He is best known for his portrayal of Robbie Freeling in Tobe Hooper’s 1982 feature film ‘Poltergeist’ and its 1986 sequel Poltergeist II: The Other Side.

Robins said he had no real acting experience before auditioning for “Poltergeist” which was an open call with hundreds of people wanting to be considered. Robins recalled waiting for hours before getting to talk with the casting directors and impressing them with a story about how he had lived in a haunted house while in New York.

Spielberg and director Tobe Hooper were concerned because Robins couldn’t really scream, and they ended up getting a coach to help him learn how to. When he proved to the filmmakers that he could indeed scream, Robins got the part.

Oliver Robins later said - “There was only one director on set, and that was Tobe Hooper. Spielberg did write the story, but Hooper was the only one who directed me. It does feel like a Spielberg movie and he did work closely with Hooper on this project. In many ways it was a team effort, but Hooper was the true director of ‘Poltergeist.’”

[poltergeistbook]

A celebration of Tobe Hooper movies of the 1980s are showing at the Museum of Modern Art in NY. Presented in conjunction with the weeklong run of Tobe Hooper’s legendary The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), this series highlights the late director’s celebrated and controversial genre films of the 1980s.

https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/5720#:~:text=Presented%20in%20conjunction%20with%20our,1985)%2C%20and%20The%20Texas%20Chainsaw