Famed Horror Film Director Wes Craven Dead At 76

Horror movie lovers and the whole entertainment industry is grieving the loss of a man who caused many scary moment in our lives, Wes Craven. The legendary director has died at the age of 76 at his Los Angeles home, after battling brain cancer.

The famed director’s family issued an official statement regarding the sad passing of the noted filmmaker: “It is with deep sadness we inform you that Wes Craven passed away at 1pm on Sunday, August 30 after battling brain cancer. He was 76 years old. Craven was surrounded by love, in the presence of his family at his Los Angeles home. Craven is survived by his wife, producer and former Disney Studios Vice President Iya Labunka, older sister Carol Buhrow, son Jonathan Craven with wife Rachel Craven and their two sons Miles and Max; daughter Jessica Craven with husband Mike Wodkowski and their daughter Myra-Jean Wodkowski; and Wes’ stepdaughter Nina Tarnawksy.”

Craven, who majestically ruled in the pantheon of horror and horrid, didn’t find his true love right at first. After teaching for some time at Westminster College in Pennsylvania (English) and in Potsdam, New York (Humanities), he got a gig as a sound editor in a post-production company in Manhattan.

From that job, he went into the more lucrative career in the porn industry, where he worked as a writer and editor. Among his many pseudonyms, Abe Snake definitely took the cake. However, the pornographic entertainment sector didn’t appeal to him as much as he hoped for, so he decided he should change careers yet again and make films that the audience would gladly admit to watching.

His horror movie opus started building up with his first scary flick, the 1972 rape-revenge drama The Last House On The Left, which got amazing reviews and was an instant success. He went on to direct The Hills Have Eyes, Deadly Blessings, and the cult-favorite Swamp Thing. However, it wasn’t until 1984 that he finally reached the pedestal of epic horror-making. That year, he made the legendary film you might have heard of called A Nightmare On Elm Street, which introduced Freddy Krueger to the world.

The only installment from the franchise in which he participated in was the 1994’s New Nightmare. Two years later, he made Scream, the best-known modern-era horror flick, which also made it onto the cult classic shelf, along with its sequels. After some time, Craven decided he should try out something else, which resulted with the 1999 Music Of The Heartmovie, starring Meryl Streep. He also did occasional acting and writing in his favorite genre, and his gift to the horror spectrum in the feature film industry will never be forgotten.