Things were different in the 1970s movie industry, and John Larroquette’s unconventional payment for his role in Texas Chainsaw Massacre proves it.
.jpg)
Night court star John Larroquette provided the opening narration for Tobe Hooper’s iconic horror film The Texas Chainsaw massacre. A long-standing rumor, one of many surrounding the film’s rough-and-ready making, is that Larroquette was not paid cash for his time, but was instead given pot for his participation. According to the star herself, that’s exactly what happened.
The Texas Chainsaw massacre is Tobe Hooper’s 1974 film about a group of young people who fall victim to a backcountry cannibal family, including the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. Considered one of the most influential horror films of all time, the gripping film is gritty, gritty and earned a place among the best video nasties of the ’70s and early ’80s. Made at a time when things weren’t done under the same intense scrutiny as today’s movies, many aspects of the creation of The Texas Chainsaw massacre would not exactly meet the standards now. While talking to Procession, Larroquette was asked about internet rumors about his unconventional pay deal. His answer was:
“Very true. Are [Hooper] heard I was in town and asked for an hour of my time to tell something for this movie he just did. I said ‘Fine!’ It was a favor. He gave me some marijuana or a matchbox or whatever you called it in those days. I walked out the door [recording] studio and patted him on the back and said, “Good luck!”
John Larroquette returned to lend his voice to Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reboot
After delivering the 1974 opening story The Texas Chainsaw massacre as a favor to director Tobe Hooper, Larroquette returned to the franchise to play the same narrative role in its 2003 reboot, and his voice was also heard in 2006’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Twelve years later, Larroquette was back once more to deliver the opening monologue of the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre restarted.
While his favor to Tobe Hooper certainly became a party piece for Larroquette, as he noted in his interview, “You do something for free in the ’70s and get a little money in the ’90s.” That money came when the actor became part of the cast of Night court in 1984. Larroquette played Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding on the hit sitcom, and he’s the only returning star for the new sequel series, which arrives next week on NBC.
This time, Larroquette’s Fielding is on the other side of the courtroom in a new role of public defender of the court. Abby Stone, the onscreen daughter of original judge Harry T. Stone, is the new main character, having taken over her father’s role as presiding judge of Manhattan’s night shift municipal court. Night court is scheduled to premiere on NBC on January 17. It airs at 8 p.m. as part of NBC’s Tuesday night comedy block.