The Man Himself

On the 8th of October David Hess sadly passed away at the age of 69. One of his children posted on his Facebook profile,

“It is with great sadness that we have said our last goodbyes to our beloved dad and friend to all. David passed away peacefully last night. The Mad Hessian lives on in his family, friends, and all of his devoted fans. Sing a song in celebration of his life. . . .”

Known for his roles in such classics of the horror/exploitation genre as Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left , Ruggero Deodato’s The House On The Edge Of The Park and Hitch-Hike with Franco Nero, David Hess will be missed by cinema fans around the world. As such, here is a little tribute and celebration of the great work he created.

Perhaps the first time he made it big was not with the film roles he has since become adored for, but his other passion; music.  Hess began writing music for Shalimar Music  from the age of 15! During his teenage years and early twenties, David Hess wrote many of Elvis Presley’s songs, from Speedy Gonzalez, Frankie and Johnny, Come Along, I Got Stung (click here for Paul McCartney’s cover version)  and one of Elvis’ all-time classics All Shook Up. David was a huge fan of music, especially his favourite composer Sergei Prokofiev. So much so, that he  told Shameless he found inspiration for his portrayal of the character of Alex in The House On The Edge Of The Park from Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges. He used his musical talents (which earned him two Grammy awards!) to create many soundtracks including the haunting Last House On The Left , Swamp Thing and Cabin Fever as well as his recent solo work with the CD, Caught Up In The Moment.

"Piss your pants. I said, piss your pants."

But to readers of this blog, he will always be remembered most fondly for the many great film roles he played. From Krug Stillo, Alex,  Manuel Delgado to Frank and many more, Hess was best when he was at his most vile and horrid. Besides his minor role in Charles Bronson’s Cold Sweat, Hess began his career of twisted sickos with  Wes Craven’s infamous Video Nasty The Last House On The Left. Rather than writing about all the incredible films he took part in, it seems more fitting to show him at work. So here is one of the best tribute videos on YouTube. Enjoy.

Despite playing the vilest onscreen characters, David was, according to those who had the pleasure of meeting him, one of the most cheerful and pleasant people you  could possibly meet. With Shameless’ release of Ruggero Deodato’s classic home-invasion film The House On The Edge Of The Park coming to the UK very soon,  Shameless had this pleasure to meet the man himself. Below are a few words from Shameless sharing their  memories of David.

“We met David Hess during the Cinema Wasteland Convention in Cleveland Ohio, where we went to interview Ruggero Deodato, David Hess and Carl G Yorke  and met a HolydayInn-full of wonderful people! We  immediately clicked with David, and in the three days we were there we quickly got to eat and talk together …

David Hess is famous for his interpretation of despicably nasty characters on screen, we discovered instead his warm sense of fun, his friendliness and his easy and convivial manner; it was like meeting up with an old friend  – he just made it natural … and when he sat in front of the camera for the interview, he was very insightful very generous with his answers, sometimes erupting passionately, not so much about events but mostly about the emotions of making films .. and despite the fact that these questions must have been put to him endless times, he gave the impression of enjoying the interview: just shooting the breeze with old pals..

He was interesting and interested. He also came across as a tender, sentimental, man speaking about his children as only a very proud, loving father would ..

We found David to be not only larger than life, but full of life. It was an honour to spend a bit of time with him. He will be missed.” -  Shameless Screen Entertainment, 2011.

The below touching video is taken from the interview mentioned above that shows exactly how passionate, down to earth and wise Hess was.

Shameless asked their friend Ruggero Deodato – the director of Cannibal Holocaust, Body Count, the TV mini-series Oceano and of course House On The Edge Of The Park which all stared Hess – if he’d write something for David and his fans. He replied with the below emotional message, detailing the moment he learnt of David’s sad passing:

”

Friends of David, Ruggero Deodato and G L Radice at the May Cineexcess screening of Cannibal Holocaust

I am in Spoleto for the weekend. My cell phone rings and it’s Giovanni Lombardo Radice. I wonder : “Maybe he wants to tell me something about the movie project we share? I finally will be able to give David some good news, we could make our sixth film together and we could fight as in the old times, not joking anymore, but with renewed energy”. “Ruggero! Terrible news! David died from heart attack, he fell on the street whilst he was walking with his son” – and, crying, Giovanni ends thus the call. I am thunderstruck. How is this possible? David? The good giant, the big man who could suffer whatever insult and answer me back, hugging me with all his force? My big friend David goes KO on the street without sending me a text message, without a Skype call. This is not possible! I run at my computer and I find a message on Skype: (10-06-2011 1.14,30) David Hess writes: Ruggie, get me to Rome to work on something! I need to get out of here and do a little acting etc.

I call his son Jessie on Skype. The telephone rings with no answer, so I send him a short message of comfort. I look for my friend Baronas. Mike appears on the video, silent and on tears (problems with his audio); with gestures and chat he explains to me what happened and he is desperate. My daughter Beatrice arrives to ask me something and she finds out about David with whom she played during our visit to Cleveland. She cries too and Mike is faced with the image of my distraught daughter tightly embraced to me.

I go to sleep but can’t close an eye and I go back to my computer and, on Facebook, I find pictures and messages from friends and fans. David considered me a big friend and was saying so to everybody, the many messages prove it. I rest my head on the keyboard and a message arrives, four chat lines from David’s son, Jessie. “Thank you Ruggero. He loved you so much. You were his special friend. Do you know he bought a ticket to Italy the day before he died. He was going to visit you”.

I switch off my computer, I silently cry and I quarrel, miming David’s reactions.” – Ruggero Deodato, 2011.

One of cinema’s greats has sadly passed away, but his legacy will always be remembered.