Tobe Hooper

Born: January 25 1943
Where: Austin, Texas, USA

The college professor-turned-horror film director has never really surpassed his low-budget big screen debut Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The 1974 movie, based on the real-life serial killer Ed Gein, was at the forefront of a new wave of horror movies and introduced cinema-goers to Leatherface.

Although he won plaudits for his subsequent work on the TV movie Salem's Lot and Poltergeist, his first outing will be what he's remembered for.

Hooper organised fellow teachers and students to make Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its success led to the call from Hollywood.

He retreamed the TCM cast for Eaten Alive, which told the story of a motel owner who feeds his guests to his pet alligator.

After being fired from the sci-fi thriller The Dark, Hooper went on to enjoy success with the 1979 TV mini series based on Stephen King's Salem's Lot.

Subsequent work included the teen slasher movie Funhouse but his profile was further raised when Steven Spielberg enlisted him to direct Poltergeist in 1982.

(The film was a huge box office success despite problems on set being resolved by Spielberg himself directing some scenes).

Hooper found himself in limbo for three years before being signed up to direct Lifeforce and the lacklustre sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

His career in decline, he went on to direct minor TV horror movies as well as Robert Englund's Night Terrors and Mangler on the big screen.

In 2003 he was involved in Michael Bay's glossy remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre which stuck closely to Hooper's script.

Recent work includes the Toolbox Murders, which sees a haunted house picking off its residents.