Marilyn Burns
Acting
Biography
Marilyn Burns was born Mary Lynn Ann Burns on May 7, 1949 in Erie, Pennsylvania, and raised in Houston, Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Drama. Marilyn was one of the original scream queens, remembered primarily for her role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). She played Sally Hardesty, a teenager who travels with her brother and some friends to the cemetery where her grandfather was buried to investigate reports of grave vandalism, and then encounters an insane, murderous family, including the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. Her follow-up appearance was in Eaten Alive (1976), where she played a vacationer who unwittingly stumbles upon a hotel managed by a maniac who feeds his guests to his crocodile. Marilyn earned her scream queen status by starring in other horror movies; Kiss Daddy Goodbye (1981) and Future-Kill (1985). She appeared in the television miniseries Helter Skelter (1976) about the real-life trial of Charles Manson and his family. She played Linda Kasabian, a member of the Manson Family whose testimony helped lead to the convictions of the cult leader and many of his followers. Marilyn had an uncredited cameo as Sally Hardesty in The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995), and made a cameo appearance as Verna Carlson in Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013). However, aside from these roles and occasional appearances at horror conventions, she lived a relatively quiet life out of the spotlight in the Houston area in her later years. Marilyn Burns died at age 65 in her sleep on August 5, 2014 and was found in her Houston, Texas home by family members, the cause was an apparent heart attack, although not specified.
Known For
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
American Psycho
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
A young woman learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from her deceased grandmother. After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars.
Texas Chainsaw 3D
A group of teenagers get into a car crash in the Texas woods on prom night, and then wander into an old farmhouse that is home to Leatherface and his insane family of cannibalistic psychopaths.
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
A psychotic redneck owns a dilapidated hotel in rural East Texas, where he murders those who upset him or his business, and then feeds their remains to his pet crocodile in the swamp beside his hotel.
Eaten Alive
A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.
The Great Waldo Pepper
The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".
Helter Skelter
Brewster is an owlish, intellectual boy who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome. He has a dream: to take flight within the confines of the stadium. Brewster tells those he trusts of his dream, but displays a unique way of treating others who do not fit within his plans.
Brewster McCloud
The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".
Helter Skelter
A documentary primarily focusing on the filming and release of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth
A gut-wrenching, non-stop roller coaster ride through the hellish underbelly of inner-city America. A birthday celebration at an upscale restaurant sets in motion events that bring Sissy, her brother, Mikey, and friends, Kenny and Barbie, face to face with the macabre world of the Boneboys. Inspired by Jonathan Swift's cannibalistic tale A Modest Proposal, the Boneboys are international predators who deal in human flesh - dead or alive. Their hunting grounds are the cities of the world.
Butcher Boys
Nash The Slash was deliciously surreal, verging on demented. A mummy wrapped in surgical bandages, an invisible man in full formal white tuxedo and top hat buzz-sawing his violin through endless reams of electronics, melodies and distortion. His music and image were demanding. His life was rock fantasy. ‘NASH THE SLASH RISES AGAIN!’ uncovers the sinister Canadian electronic music innovator. A classically trained violinist and multi-instrumentalist, he created music that was an unlikely combination of prog-rock, punk-rock, classic-rock, psychedelic fused with techno and industrial before they had names. The end result is an unearthly life drenched in film history, enveloped in a wall of sound that would do Phil Spector justice. A career embodied in artistic integrity, courage and the price-tag that comes with it. ‘NASH THE SLASH RISES AGAIN!’ unwinds the bandages of a ground-breaking, mad musical scientist whose career decomposed before the world caught up.
Nash the Slash Rises Again!
Spanning nearly 40 years from 1925 to 1964, two Texas farm boys; straight-arrow Gid and laid-back Johnny fight over the affections of the beautiful and headstrong Molly Taylor, who consistently refuses to marry either of them.
Lovin' Molly
An examination into the nature of 1960's-70's horror films, the involved artists, and how they reflected contemporary society.
The American Nightmare
A non-stop roller coaster ride through the scariest moments of the greatest terror films of all time.
Terror in the Aisles
Leaving the city behind for a weekend of booze, bud and bonding at the coast, seven friends find themselves stranded en route to the Gulf Coast of Texas when a big storm interferes with their plans.
Sacrament
A group of fraternity pledges hatch a plot to kidnap Eddie Pain, the leader of a group of anti-nuclear mutant protestors ravaged by toxic poisoning. When Eddie winds up dead at the hands of one of his own guards, the frat boys are framed for his murder and pursued throughout the city.
Future-Kill
Directly based upon the infamous Houston Mass Murders, the film centers around Elmer Wayne Henley's life before, during, and immediately after his involvement with Dean Corll and David Brooks, and their killing spree of over 28 victims from 1970 to 1973.
In a Madman's World
Two children who have psychic powers use them to avenge the death of their father, who was murdered by a biker gang.