Allen Danziger
Questions by Aine,
interview conducted by Larra
For those of you who don’t
know, Allen played “Jerry” in the original Texas
Chainsaw Massacre. Like Lou Perryman, this was Allen’s
first convention.
Are things going
good this weekend?
Fabulous!
These are going
to be some fun questions.
That’s what I’m
looking for, nothing too tough. Is this an open book quiz?
What kind of
candy do you like?
I like a good Mounds bar,
or Almond Joy. Or Godiva chocolate, I’ll go for that.
Or a Mars bar.
What was the
worst date you ever went on?
All of them. It’s
so long ago I can’t remember.
Interesting
times though.
Intersting times? The making
of the movie was an interesting time. The birth of my son, the
birth of my grandson, just recently, a few months ago. First
marriage and first divorce, only marriage.
Have you seen
the remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre?
I have. Honestly, I enjoyed
it for what it was, but I didn’t think it was as good
as the first one. I liked seeing Jennifer Beal, so it was good.
Actually, I went to the premier in a place called Lockhart,
Texas, and a friend of mine owned the theatre. When he found
out I was in it he said I had to come, and when I did, they
were lined up for me. I signed autographs and posters for 45
minutes, they held up the showing of the movie; I couldn’t
believe it.
In the original,
if I’m not mistaken, you were the third to die.
That is correct, I’m
in the movie for almost an hour.
How was your
death?
I think that was when I
was really acting. I didn’t see anybody, I had them blindfold
me. Honestly, I felt I really worked into that one. You know,
I got hit with a sledge hammer, and thirty years later, I’m
still getting terrible headaches.
If you had the
chance to get killed again, would you?
Why not? You see, that fifteen
minutes of fame, I’ve built on it for thirty years. That
works for me.
Which do you
prefer, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?
I’ve seen none of
them. It’s not my thing, I’m not into the sci fi…I
hate to say it. I can’t even watch it on television; I
don’t have the patience for it. I need something that
I can relate to. With a choice of either one, I pick neither.
So you are a
convention virgin?
Say what? Please, let’s
not get personal.
How’s
it going so far?
Honestly, I love it. It’s
better than what I could hope it to be. If I can fit it in,
I’d love to do more of these. It’s a blast seeing
everybody, you know Paul, Gunnar, we became good friends AFTER
the movie, and Ed, and a lot of us are Austin. Everybody’s
been super to us, especially the people who put this on.
You mentioned
fitting it in; you have a company in Austin?
Yes, the Three
Ring Service, we’re an entertainment company and this
is our busy time. Fortunately, I have a wonderful staff, and
they said, “Allen, you’ve got to go.” They’ve
got it covered.
What kind of
things do you guys handle?
We do everything from singing
telegrams to Las Vegas nights, jugglers, clowns, adult situations,
sumo wresting…you’re in to sumo wrestling? We’ve
got it. If we can’t do it, you don’t need it; that’s
out motto.
You’re
one of the more illusive cast members, did you ever do another
movie?
Yes I did. I was in the
first movie that Tobe (Hooper) did prior to Chainsaw, that’s
how I got into Chainsaw, the movie Eggshells, which about thirty
people saw. And my parents were several of those thirty. So
when they wrote Chainsaw they actually came to me and asked
if I’d like to do it, so that was a flattering thing thirty
years ago. Then I went from a starring role and I think my career
plummeted, and I became and extra in a Willie Nelson movie called
Honeysuckle Rose. Then I also did a movie called The Tomato
that Ate Austin Texas, so I had a very brief career. I’ve
just been living my life, starting my business, and meeting
a lot of great people. Which is a lot better than my last job
which was a life guard at a local car wash. So I was able to
get off of that. And actually, we bought a 100 year old house
that we’re trying to convert into a bed and breakfast
and an events center; we may be interested in trying to do a
Chainsaw murder mystery in this town. So these are some of the
things we’re thinking about. There are many people who
really loved this movie and are willing to anywhere. It’s
something that I’m going to pursue.
