William Tobe Hooper (January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film genre; his most recognized films include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Poltergeist. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian described The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as “one of the most influential films ever made”. Hooper was born in Austin, Texas, 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. Hooper took Radio-Television-Film classes at the University of Texas at Austin and studied drama in Dallas under Baruch Lumet. Tobe Hooper spent the 1960s as a college professor and documentary cameraman. His short film The Heisters (1965) was invited to be entered in the short subject category for an Academy Award, but was not finished in time for the competition that year. 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 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed the director for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror; Hooper appeared in the third episode. Tobe 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 Film Festival. In May 2017, Hooper was attacked by a former girlfriend. Tobe Hooper died of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles on August 26, 2017 at the age of 74.