The Late Great Marilyn Burns

Marilyn Burns, 65.

As many of you have already heard by now, Marilyn Burns, the woman who made us feel real terror in Tobe Hopper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre, as passed away. She was found yesterday morning by a relative in her Houston, Texas home. This of course comes at a great shock, and a terrible tragedy. Mrs. Burns was more than an icon, she was one of the original Scream Queens of horror. Mrs. Burns also acted in other iconic horror films, such as: Eaten Alive, Helter Skelter, Texas Chain Saw Massacre the New Generation, and Texas 3D.

But I for one will always remember her as Sally Hardesty. Her portrayal as the lone survivor of the Texas sized massacre has always struck a dark root in the back of my mind. Her performance was chilling and real and some of the best and most fondest moments in horror fiction. The way she played her character made me want to create better, realer, characters in my own stories. She survived. But did she? Sally really makes you wonder about the cost of terrible things, the things that stay with us and can never fully heal or go away. They become a part of you, for better or worse.

Marilyn Burns will be missed. I’m sure more than one fan will be watching her debut role in Texas Chain Saw Massacre this week as tribute to a most beloved actress.