After news broke about the death of Wes Craven, fans and fellow artists reminisced about how talented the long-time horror director was during a career that spanned five decades.
Comments from Hollywood veterans ranged from calling Wes a “talented, good guy” to a “gentle soul.” Included in this mix is fellow horror master John Carpenter, who posted his thoughts on Facebook under images of Craven.
“My friend Wes has left us too soon. He was truly an Old School director. I had a great time directing him. I’m REALLY gonna miss him… Devastated to hear the news. Wes was a great friend, fine director and good man. Giant loss. Much too soon.”
Carpenter wasn’t alone in his sentiments about Craven.
He directed me in Scream3 and I directed him in J&SB. Fare thee well horror-Gretzky WES CRAVEN. Talented, good guy. http://t.co/LZB0EGzxfV
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) August 31, 2015
I had the great privilege of working with #WesCraven one of the kindest most gentle souls, who made great scary films. #RIPWesCraven
— Sarah Michelle (@SarahMGellar) August 31, 2015
Today the world lost a great man, my friend and mentor, Wes Craven. My heart goes out to his family. x
— Courteney Cox (@CourteneyCox) August 31, 2015
@wescraven rest …knowing your imagination delighted and terrified millions with your extraordinary story telling. Love to your memory
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) August 31, 2015
Not all actors who fondly remembered Craven worked with him on one of his dozens of movies. Some Hollywood veterans are just fans of his work, the fans Wes made scream on a regular basis.
https://instagram.com/p/7B6abqzCvi/?taken-by=pronouncedhorhay
RIP Wes Craven…you brought me many thrills and nightmares
— Gerard Way (@gerardway) August 31, 2015
Craven, who died at age 76 from his battle with brain cancer, was largely credited for the bloody horror movie genre he helped create in the 1970s and 1980s, NBC News wrote . His version of the horror movie differed greatly from the early offerings by Alfred Hitchcock or the movies about monsters.
Craven has numerous horror films to his credit, predominantly as a director. Among the most popular Craven movies include The Last House On The Left (1972 & 2009), The Hills Have Eyes (1977 & 2006), The People Under The Stairs (1991), and Red Eye (2005).
Yet Wes may be best known for his crafting of Freddy Krueger. Krueger — an iconic character donned in red and black and razor gloves in the Nightmare on Elm Street series — managed to horrifically murder his victims through their dreams. The character made Craven a Hollywood legend and haunted a generation of teenagers.
After successful sequels to the Nightmare series, Craved unearthed more cinematic gold with his Scream series, a Deadline article explained . The horror film, adapted from a Kevin Williamson script, gave Wes yet another opportunity to work on a horror franchise that not only sparked numerous sequels, but it also ignited several comedic spoofs.
Wes, who was born in 1939, was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. Craven was an avid bird conservationist, serving on the Audubon California Board of Directors. Three years prior to his death, Wes moved from his home in Martha’s Vineyard to Los Angeles for work and health reasons.
How do you remember Wes Craven? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
[Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]
