"The wide theatrical release of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in the United States was on October 11, 1974. It premiered in Austin, Texas on October 1st, 1974, before its wider release."

On a stormy night in late November 1973, I’d packed my VW van and headed to ‘Big D’ - Dallas, Texas, hoping to find more acting gigs. New maneuvers. After filming ‘Headcheese’ wrapped, I’d sold my motorcycle and purchased a second-hand VW bus. Dallas is about 150 miles East of Austin. I’d arranged through friends to stay with their friends and look for an apartment. It was me and my stuff, all my worldly goods.

Cut to a year later, early November 1974, I was living in Dallas and working at a popular bar on Greenville Avenue in Old Town Village called “HP Cassidy’s". The club was owned by the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Craig Morton and some of his buddies. I’d met my three roommates at my first gig at a restaurant also in Old Town Village, Daddy’s Money, and soon left for the new happening spot, HP Cassidy’s, around the corner. From its grand opening, HP’s was always crowded, with lines down the sidewalk, a good hour to two hour wait was common in its first year. We worked hard and had a lot of fun! One particular night in late October ’74, when I’d just arrived for my shift, it was just getting started. My section upstairs in the mezzanine would soon be full to the max, and it never stopped the entire night. Closing time 2 PM. Keeping up was all we could do.I went downstairs to the bar to order my drinks with the bartender, Mike. “Hey, Mike, two scotch and sodas and one Tom Collins, please.” Almost before I got my order out, Mike asked me, “Hey, Teri, didn’t you tell me a while back that you were in some horror movie back in Austin?” Confused, as I had my mind on getting my drinks out, I replied, "Huh?" You could see the mezzanine from the downstairs bar station and I saw more tables filling up. Plus, I’d not thought about filming ‘Headcheese’ very much since we’d wrapped filming 14 months earlier.

I then remembered I must have mentioned it to him during our many chats at work. Over the 35 years since filming, I rarely told any one about my playing 'Pam' in the film that put Texas film and horror on the map. The previously oppressed genre began to take on a new life of its own around the world.

I replied, “Oh, yeah, right, I did.” Mike then told me that it was out, that he’d seen trailers showing on TV and that I was in all of them, running and screaming. That didn’t make any sense to me. “No, it couldn’t be me, I was the second girl, not the lead. You must have seen the other chick, Marilyn. She played the lead…” Mike interrupted me, “Teri, it was YOU! You’re in the whole thing.” Geez, I thought, that’s amazing. I still didn’t believe it though, until the next day when to my shock, there I was running from Leatherface. I’ll be damned, this is incredible, I thought to myself.

"There are moments in life when you can't believe what's happening is really true. Pinch yourself, you may find out it is." - Pam - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

We saw it was showing at a theater near some friends who lived in Tomball, a tiny town north of Houston. One of my roomies and I were soon in my VW bus headed to Tomball to see what was then called, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” for my first time. It felt surreal. I’ll tell you that story next time.

Via chainsawgal  on IG

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.

Thanks for reading.

Sending love to all.

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.

xoxo,

Pam 🪝🌹