We got some sad news today as we have learned that director Jeff Burr, best known for Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Stepfather II, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, and more, has died. He was just 60 years old.
Like many future horror directors, Jeff Burr grew up reading horror magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland and making his own Super-8 movies. He later attended the University of Southern California but dropped out after his third year to finish his American Civil War drama Divided We Fall with co-director Kevin Meyer. His second feature found him entering the world of horror, and he scored a superstar of the genre to star in it: The one and only Vincent Price.
From a Whisper to a Scream was a horror anthology movie which featured Vincent Price as a historian who tells four tales to a journalist, all of which take place in the small town of Oldfield, Tennessee. As for how Jeff Burr got Vincent Price onboard, it turns out that he simply showed up at Price’s house with the script and a bottle of wine.
“So, the producer and I got his address from a celebrity address service, and we went up to his door with the script and a bottle of wine in hand,” Burr said. “We came bearing gifts, and wouldn’t you know… he opened the door himself when we knocked! It was a flurry of ‘Gee, Mr. Price, we’re fans of your work…’ and ‘we wrote this script,’ and he actually invited us inside. He had every reason to ignore us, and even if it was on a polite level, he could have said, “Okay boys, contact my agent,” but he was just so gracious. He invited us in, sat and talked with us for about 15 minutes, took the script, and that’s how it all started.“
From there, Jeff Burr went on to direct Stepfather II, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Eddie Presley, Puppet Master 4, Puppet Master 5, Pumpkinhead II: Bloodwings, Night of the Scarecrow, The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes, Straight into Darkness, and more. You will be greatly missed, Mr. Burr. Our thoughts go out to your family and friends.
