Dark Delicacies’ Del Howison Remembers Gunnar Hansen

Del Howison, owner of Burbank horror hot spot Dark Delicacies remembers his time with the late Gunnar Hansen.

It’s hard to speak about Gunnar Hansen without getting personal. That’s the way the big man affected you. From the first time you saw him (inevitably as Leatherface in THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE) to the last time you saw him (in photos after hearing of his passing) it was personal. His death leaves a hole and another part of an era is gone forever.

The first time I met Gunnar was at a convention, the way many fans first meet him. I bought two odd pieces from him. A blood soaked apron, which he autographed, and a book on his wildlife kayak adventures on the eastern coastline of America. Talking with him you realized that, at that moment, you were the only person who mattered to him. He was direct, pleasant, and just due to his size somewhat intimidating. But it was personal.

I’ve met him several times since then, of course, including a wonderful signing and talk at Dark Delicacies when he was hawking his book CHAIN SAW CONFIDENTIAL. On that visit Leatherface actor Dan Yeager dropped by to say hello as Gunnar had pulled a cameo in Dan’s film TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D. For Gunnar there were no rivals, only friends. It was personal.

About six months later Gunnar called from the East Coast asking us if we could line up books for him for his Monsterpalooza appearance. Since Dark Delicacies is only about a mile from the convention site it would save him trying to ship books across country. We were more than happy to work out the logistics with him. When the show was over I swung by his booth to pick up the extra copies to send back to the publisher. He handed me one box of books and said, “I’ve signed these so you can sell them in the store easier.” A class move by Gunner and another move that was personal. Something just for us from a friend.

Now he is gone. Oh sure, he’ll always live on film. But that’s the mythological Gunner. The real Gunner was very different. That Gunner only lives inside each of us who knew him. We’re taking it very personal.