I love this meme. I imagine it must have been insane watching TCSM 74 for the first time at a drive-in theater. This was one of Pam's three desperate attempts to escape Leatherface. Gunnar and I had a lot of fun filming these! We started early in the morning and finished just as the sun had set, and we lost all light. To get these scenes, the collaboration between everyone was tight. Gunnar was very strong, and we wrestled mightily up and down that hallway all day, along with the crew in that stifling heat. All the windows in the house were closed, no fans, no AC because they needed to block any outside noises. Wow. She almost made it on this one!! By the end of the day, I remember it was almost dark, Iād lost my voice, and Tobe wanted one more shot. Kim handed me a bottle of Jack Daniels black, and I welcomed a couple of slugs. In a daze, we got āer done and wrapped for the day. On a personal note, it was my favorite moment. I planned on losing those most uncomfortable oh-so-chic sandals that I'd bought at Scarborough's Department Store on Congress Ave in downtown Austin the year before. When I brought various wardrobe choices in for them to pick from for Pam's costume before we started filming, they chose those sandals, the red shorts, and the bathing suit with the matching shirt. I soon wished I'd never brought them at all. OW! I was delighted to kick them to the curb at that moment on the porch!
In the mid-80s, horror cons became a thing. Dedicated horror conventions in the US officially began in 1985 with the launch of the FANGORIA Weekend of Horrors, and Gunnar began working the evolving circuit. When I was happily busy running my flower biz all through the 90s, Gunnar was going to horror cons. Heād come by for visits and bring along a stack of pics of Pam and Leatherface or me to sign to take to shows. He even paid me $5 bucks a signature! (Does anyone remember purchasing one before 2008?) We all know what happened. Gunnar Hansen became an icon, beloved across the planet. I donāt think the franchise ever understood what an amazing PR ambassador he was for building TCSMās fan base. Over and over, heād try to convince me to ācome outā as Pam, and Iād tell him I was sure no one wanted to meet Pam, always convinced I was awful in it⦠for 35 years. Finally, when he visited me in Venice Beach in 2007, he brought it up again. This time was different; he became very frustrated and said the thing that shocked me. āTeri, theyāre mad at you!" Stunned, I replied, "For what??!" GH: 'They always say to me, āWhy wonāt she come out and talk to us?ā ' He never once mentioned all these guys that had crushes on Pam! I'm convinced now: If he had, I would have come out a whole LOT sooner!!
xoxo, Pam












