Flower Child 🌸💐💃🏼🌺🌼🐝
March 1971 - when I was a free spirited little hippie gal, all of 19. My boyfriend of 8 months, George, was taking my picture in front of the house he shared with Gunnar Hansen. It was on Avenue G and 49th St. in Central Austin, near the UT campus. Gunnar and I quickly became sworn enemies. He was relentless in making sure I was left out while he and George went out to hunt chicks, drink beer, and smoke pot. George was quite easily encouraged in all three areas. Excluding me wasn't going to work, especially after I noticed a very handsome fellow eying me on the Shuttle Bus. After 13 months with George, I’d had my fill and was ready to move on. Young and inexperienced, I was only beginning to understand that if they don't value you, don't respect you, they don't deserve you. There would be many more challenges ahead, but extracting myself from someone who treated me as though I was expendable was a powerful lesson. As angry and hurt as I was with George, I was more angry with myself for allowing myself to be tied to someone who undervalued me. At that time of self-protection, I spent less and less time looking in the rear view mirror and gratefully lost track of George and Gunnar dang Hansen. Ah-Love. Good riddance I said. I hoped.
This was one year and five months before Gunnar’s and my paths would cross again. It was on July 18, 1973, the first day on the set where we were beginning filming a little low-budget, aka "scab" film, at that time under the working title, "HEADCHEESE”. The cast, crew, producers, et all were gathered on Quick Hill Road, just outside Austin, Texas. We were standing in groups outside what we later came to know as “The Sawyer house”. The house was surrounded by grazing pastures and vacant land and located at the end of an approximate 100' dirt driveway, located directly across the unpaved Quick Hill Road from what was referred to as the old "Hardesty" house.
I was in for a big surprise that morning. I was standing outside the Sawyer house on that muggy, hot Texas morning, chit-chatting with my acting colleagues, ‘Sally’, ‘Kirk’, ‘Jerry’, and ‘Franklin’ (you know them). We were getting to know one another. We were all dressed in our costumes, all our own clothes that they’d picked out from different outfits we’d brought from home for them to choose from, for us to wear in the film, a strictly low-budget affair. Nearby, parked in the yard of the Sawyer house, was the Vortex RV/trailer/office, a no frills, no AC job, where we were soon to sign our first contracts. Everyone was pretty excited and a bit lost, finding our way. One thing we all had in common, we were making a movie. This was a great adventure we'd make together!
Producer-writer, Kim Henkel, stuck his head out the open RV door and excitedly called over to me, “Hey, Teri!! Come over here! I want to introduce you to 'Leatherface!” OK, I’m ready. Kim seemed thrilled, proud as punch for us to meet. As I stepped inside the steaming tin mobile unit, I made my way down the narrow aisle, walking toward a very large figure, a man with a head full of brown curly hair, who was sitting with his back to me. He took up one of the two banquette seats. Someone was seated across from him, but I can’t remember who. As I got even with him, I noted he was almost as tall sitting down as I was standing up. This guy was big. I was feeling an eerie sense of deja vu. Kim said, “Leatherface, meet Pam!” Ta-da! He turned his head toward me, cocked his head to look at me, both of us prepared to say, “Hey, nice to meet ya!!” Instead, we both looked at one another in sheer horror. We each jerked back with our mouths wide open. Simultaneously, we both blurted out, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??!!!” They call them "excited utterances." I thought I'd lose my breakfast. Unbeknownst to either Gunnar, or myself, we'd both been cast in this dang little scab film.
We got through the moment, gathered our wits, quickly cooled our heels, and shared little with those around us. I'm thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" Gunnar and I commiserated over coffee, kicked heels that first day on set, and most fortunately, we had a great time filming our scenes together and working with the entire crew.
A few weeks later, we began early that morning, stopped for lunch, then filmed straight through. During the final hour, they needed a few more shots, we were all wiped out. Around 8:30 PM, we were losing the light as well as the two actors. I'd already lost my voice. Kim Henkel appeared with a bottle of Johnny Walker Black. I took a few slugs and it soothed the pain. To be honest, it might have been Jack Daniels, I don't remember, but it was heep good medicine. Magically I was able to scream for the last few takes.
It was dusk, the heat had subsided as we walked out to Kim's truck. I don't remember the 15 mile drive back to my apartment at 909 West 22nd, just off Guadalupe St., aka "The Drag", across from the UT campus, home. I lived on the second floor and how I got up those stairs, I can't imagine. I was beyond sore. For 12 hours, I'd fought a 300 pound man for my life. My body ached and I felt completely limp, spent. I laid in my bed unable to turn over. I couldn't walk, lost my voice, had to cancel my performance as 'Lizzie', and my understudy went on. I wept for hours. I loved playing 'Lizzy Curry' like I'd never loved a character before. Actor Peter Breck was St. Ed's Special Guest, and played, 'Starbuck', "The Rainmaker". Great cast, such a rare, wonderful experience!
All the scenes with Leatherface that day stayed with me. I woke up throughout the night, anytime I changed position, the pain shot through my body. What a day that was filming, such a powerful experience. That memory has stayed with me. It moved in with me.
Waking, sleeping, dreaming, eating, another hot bath, re-living the shoot, wondering... will the damn thing ever come out of the can?❓?
I stayed in bed for two days and was almost alive by the third morning. The coffee was divine. A-h-h-h-h. I'll live.
If I was tired, and I was, imagine how Gunnar felt! And, our poor exhausted crew. Hats off to all of them.
Over the years, Gunnar and George managed to reconcile. In 2012 Gunnar invited me to meet him at El Mercado in South First Street in South Austin, to interview me for his book. At the end, he asked if I ever talked to George, and had a few choice tidbits to tell me… but that’s a whole other story!
On a side note, both George and Gunnar eventually settled down and found the right girls. George married his Annie and they had three beautiful kids, who all settled far away Down Under. Gunnar spent 15 glorious years, his final years, with his love, Betty. At our MoMA celebration August 7-9, 2024, Betty said she felt grateful to have spent those years with Gunnar. Here's a toast to true love! 🥂
So, as you can see, Gunnar and I buried the ol' proverbial hatchet, and got on with things, and the rest, my friends, is history.
Rest In Peace 🥀🌹🥀
Gunnar Hansen 1947-2015
George 1945-2017
**Thanks to Eric Goode for the cleanup and colorization on these 50-year-old B&W photos. @ericgoode106 on IG ❤
Saturday, 6 PM, January 22, 2022
Fair to Midland, partly cloudy, clear skies ahead.
