Horror film legend dies at 76

CEBU, Philippines – Wes Craven, the director of iconic horror films such as “Scream” and the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series, died Sunday aged 76, his family said.

Craven, whose Freddie Krueger character terrified generations of moviegoers around the globe, had battled brain cancer.

He presided over eight “Nightmare on Elm Street” films, and in the 1980s directed some episodes of the revival “Twilight Zone” series.

Craven claimed to have gotten the idea for Elm Street when living next to a cemetery on a street of that name when growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland. His five “Nightmare on Elm Street” films were released from 1984-89.

Similarly, Craven’s “Scream” series was a box-office sensation. In those scare-‘em-ups, he spoofed the teen horror genre. The movies frequently referenced other horror movies.

Craven’s first feature film was “The Last House of the Left,” which he wrote, directed and edited in 1972.

“Today the world lost a great man, my friend and mentor, Wes Craven. My heart goes out to his family,” actress Courteney Cox, who appeared in Craven’s four “Scream” movies, wrote on Twitter.

Ohio native Craven, who once taught English, had a graduate degree in philosophy and writing.

“Thank you for being the kindest man, the gentlest man, and one of the smartest men I’ve known. Please say there’s a plot twist,” actress Rose McGowan, a “Scream” veteran, said on Twitter.

Wesley Earl Craven was born August 2, 1939 in Cleveland. His father died when he was five. Raised in a strict Baptist household, he graduated from Wheaton College with degrees in English and psychology, then earned a masters degree in philosophy and writing from Johns Hopkins. He briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College, where he was a disc jockey for the campus radio station.

Craven had an eye for discovering fresh talent. While casting “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” he discovered Johnny Depp. He cast Sharon Stone in her first starring role, for his film “Deadly Blessing” (1981), and he gave Bruce Willis his first featured role in an episode of the 1980s version of “The Twilight Zone.”