William Henry Pratt, stage name Boris Karloff, became an early icon in the horror genre for his multiple portrayals of Frankenstein's monster. Jim Henson - Kermit the Frog, The MuppetsР”В®lsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein. Hansen passed away at his home in 2015, at the age of 68. He eventually made a return to acting in 1988, appearing in over 20 films, reprising his role as Leatherface for a few. Spending the rest of his career writing and editing, he wrote for many magazines and books, including his own non-fiction travel memoir Islands at the Edge of Time, A Journey to America's Barrier Islands (1993). After this great success, Hansen tried acting once more in The Demon Lover (1977), but decided to pursue a career in writing instead of acting thereafter - rejecting a role in the cult classic The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Hansen got the part of the main antagonist, Leatherface, in the film that would go on to gain a reputation as one of the best and most influential horror films of all time - credited as one of the pioneers of the slasher genre. Fresh out of high school, playing college football and working as a computer operator, the young man heard through the grapevine that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) was being filmed in his hometown of Austin and decided to audition. Gunnar Hansen moved to the US at just five years old, where he lived in Maine, then Texas. The Icelandic-American behind one of the most iconic villains in horror had a career one may not expect of someone who played such a terrifying role to great success.

A tribute to the fallen legends of Star WarsР”Р‡rom household names to men behind masks, these are some of the fallen actors that made Star Wars so beloved to their fans.

Men behind the mask