BY MARK CERULLI
Just
before the Covid veil descended, this Cinema Retro scribe traveled to Texas to meet
up with the unstoppable Allen Danziger, an entrepreneur and actor who parlayed
a friendship with the late Tobe Hooper into roles in two of his films. Always fast on his feet, Allen basically
improvised his way through Eggshells, Hooper’s 3rd film in 1969… five
years later he got the call for a role in Hooper’s next project, The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre. He landed the part of “Jerryâ€, the van driver
transporting his college friends to their doom – and into cinema history. “I
think he liked my look,†Danziger says of Hooper, “I was a munchkin with
Leatherface towering over me.†(Leatherface was played by 6’4†Gunnar Hansen, who passed in 2015.)
The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a genre film destined for drive-ins and grindhouses,
then something magical happened – audiences connected with its raw power and
gritty filmmaking. TCM (as fans refer to the film) became a surprise hit, grossing
over $30 million in 1974 dollars (around $150M today). Like bit players in Star Wars, anyone
who had anything to do on the film was in demand at conventions and autograph
shows. The surviving cast members have
all become close friends, “We’re like a vanishing Band of Brothers,†Danziger
notes wryly. And while he happily rode
the autograph wave, he was always open to doing more...
He
and a couple of friends were having a plate of barbecue at The Gas Station – a TCM location, now a horror museum/BBQ
joint run by super fan Roy Rose - when they said, “Hey Allen, you’re an
icon…†Danziger laughed it off saying,
“Well, an icon should have his own bobble-head and it has to talk!†In short order, his buddy John (aka “The Wizâ€)
found a company in China able to manufacture them. “We sent them pictures of me from the movie
and they did a prototype which I loved.†The first order of them arrived in January “on a slow boat from Chinaâ€,
Allen laughs. The response has been
impressive, “Everybody’s who’s seen one, wants one.†Although sales are certainly a consideration,
Danziger notes another reason for their creation – “If it gets people smiling
and laughing, that’s what it’s all about. This has been a tough year for everybody.â€
(Allen Danziger at The Gas Station, March 2020. Photo: Mark Cerulli.)
The
Nodder should be a strong seller when fan conventions can safely resume and
Danziger has a couple of other ideas in the hopper saying, “If it (the doll)
takes off, I want to do a Chainsaw
Jerry Chia Pet and beef jerky.†After
all, it really IS about the meat…
Click here to get
your signed TCM Jerry Talking
Bobblehead, t-shirts and more at Chainsawjerry.com