Bonnie Broecker
Who was Wes Craven 's spouse before Nov 1967?
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven ( August 2 , 1939 – August 30 , 2015 ) was an American film director , screenwriter , and producer . He was known for his pioneering work in the horror genre , particularly slasher films , where he mixed horror cliches with humor and satire . His impact on the genre was considered prolific and highly influential . Due to the success and cultural impact of his works , Craven has been called a Master of Horror . He is best known for creating the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise ( 1984–2010 ) , featuring the characters Freddy Krueger and Nancy Thompson , and the Scream franchise ( 1996–2011 ) , featuring Ghostface and Sidney Prescott . His other notable films include The Last House on the Left ( 1972 ) , The Hills Have Eyes ( 1977 ) , Swamp Thing ( 1982 ) , The Serpent and the Rainbow ( 1988 ) , Shocker ( 1989 ) , The People Under the Stairs ( 1991 ) , Vampire in Brooklyn ( 1995 ) , Music of the Heart ( 1999 ) , and Red Eye ( 2005 ) . Cravens final film was Scream 4 ( 2011 ) . Early life . Craven was born in Cleveland , Ohio , the son of Caroline ( née Miller ) and Paul Eugene Craven . He was raised in a strict Baptist family . Craven earned an undergraduate degree in English and psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois and a masters degree in philosophy and writing from Johns Hopkins University . Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College of Technology ( later named Clarkson University ) in Potsdam , New York . He additionally taught at Madrid-Waddington High School in Madrid , New York . During this time , he purchased a used 16 mm film camera and began making short movies . When his friend Steve Chapin informed him of a messenger position at a New York City film production co , where his brother , future folk-rock star Harry Chapin worked . Craven moved into the building where his friend Steve Chapin lived at 136 Hicks St . in Brooklyn Heights . His first creative job in the film industry was as a sound editor . Recalling his early training , Craven said in 1994 , Harry was a fantastic film editor and producer of industrials . He taught me the Chapin method [ of editing ] : Nuts and bolts ! Nuts and bolts ! Get rid of the shit ! Craven afterward became the firms assistant manager , and broke into film editing with Youve Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or Youll Lose That Beat ( 1971 ) . Career . Craven left the academic world for the more lucrative role of pornographic film director . In the documentary Inside Deep Throat , Craven says on camera he made many hardcore X-rated films under pseudonyms . While his role in Deep Throat is undisclosed , most of his early known work involved writing , film editing , or both . Cravens first feature film as director was The Last House on the Left , which was released in 1972 . Craven expected the film to be shown at only a few theaters , which according to him gave me a freedom to be outrageous , and to go into areas that normally I wouldnt have gone into , and not worry about my family hearing about it , or being crushed . Ultimately the movie was screened much more widely than he assumed , leaving him ostracized due to the content of the film . After the negative experience of Last House , Craven attempted to move out of the horror genre , and began writing non-horror films with his partner Sean S . Cunningham , none of which attracted any financial backing . Finally , based on advice from a friend about the ease of filming in the Nevada deserts , Craven began to write a new horror film based on that locale . The resulting film , The Hills Have Eyes , cemented Craven as a horror film director with Craven noting It soon became clear that I wasnt going to do anything else unless it was scary . Craven frequently collaborated with Sean S . Cunningham . In Cravens debut feature , The Last House on the Left , Cunningham served as producer . They pooled all of their resources and came up with $90,000 . Later , in Cravens best-known film , A Nightmare on Elm Street ( 1984 ) , Cunningham directed one of the chase scenes , although he was not credited . Their characters , Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees , appeared together in the slasher film Freddy vs . Jason ( 2003 ) with Cunningham acting as producer , while screenwriter Victor Miller is credited as Character Creator . Later , in The Last House on the Left remake ( 2009 ) , Cunningham and Craven share production credits . Craven had a hand in launching actor Johnny Depps career by casting him in A Nightmare on Elm Street , Depps first major film role . Although known for directing horror/thriller films , he had worked on two films which are outside this genre : Music of the Heart ( 1999 ) , and as one of the 22 directors responsible for Paris , je taime ( 2006 ) . Craven created Coming of Rage , a five-issue comic book series , with 30 Days of Night writer Steve Niles . The series was released in digital form in 2014 by Liquid Comics with a print edition scheduled for an October 2015 debut . Film style . Craven has cited filmmakers Ingmar Bergman , Luis Buñuel , Alfred Hitchcock , Federico Fellini , Jean Cocteau , and Francois Truffaut as among his major influences . Craven’s first film , The Last House on the Left ( 1972 ) , was conceived as a remake of Bergman’s The Virgin Spring ( 1960 ) . Cravens works tend to explore family dynamics , the nature of dreams and reality , and often feature black humor and satirical elements . A Nightmare on Elm Street , for example , dealt with the consequences of dreams in real life . New Nightmare has actress Heather Langenkamp play herself as she is haunted by the villain of the film in which she once starred . At one point in the film , the audience sees on Wes Cravens word processor a script he has written , which includes the conversation he just had with Heather—as if the script were being written as the action unfolds . The Serpent and the Rainbow portrays a man who cannot distinguish between nightmarish visions and reality . In Scream , the characters frequently reference horror films similar to their situations , and at one point , Billy Loomis tells his girlfriend that life is just a big movie . This concept was emphasized in the sequels , as copycat stalkers re-enact the events of a new film about the Woodsboro killings ( Woodsboro being the fictional town where Scream is set ) occurring in Scream . Scream included a scene mentioning an urban legend about Richard Gere and a sex act involving a hamster . Craven stated in interviews that he received calls from agents telling him that if he left that scene in , he would never work again . The last film that he directed before his death was Scream 4 . Other work . Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween . Craven had a letter published in the July 19 , 1968 , edition of Life , praising that periodicals coverage of contemporary rock music , in particular Frank Zappas . Personal life . Cravens first marriage , to Bonnie Broecker , produced two children : Jonathan Craven ( born 1965 ) and Jessica Craven ( born 1968 ) . Jonathan is a writer and director . Jessica was a singer-songwriter in the group the Chapin Sisters . The marriage ended in 1970 . In 1982 , Craven married a woman who became known professionally as actress Mimi Craven . The two later divorced , with Wes Craven stating in interviews that the marriage dissolved after he discovered it was no longer anything but a sham . In 2004 , Craven married Iya Labunka ; she frequently worked as a producer on Cravens films . Craven was a birder ; in 2010 , he joined Audubon Californias Board of Directors . His favorite films included Night of the Living Dead ( 1968 ) , The Virgin Spring ( 1960 ) and Red River ( 1948 ) . Craven was an atheist . Death and legacy . Craven died of a brain tumor at his home in Los Angeles on August 30 , 2015 , four weeks after his 76th birthday . Many actors paid tribute to him , including David Arquette , Johnny Depp , Adrienne Barbeau , Angela Bassett , Neve Campbell , Courteney Cox , Robert Englund , Sarah Michelle Gellar , Jamie Kennedy , Rose McGowan , Kristy Swanson , and Amanda Wyss . The tenth episode of the horror series Scream was dedicated in his memory . Awards and nominations . Throughout his career , Craven was nominated for and won numerous awards , including multiple Saturn Awards and several film festival honors . In 1977 , Craven won the critics award at the Sitges Film Festival for his horror film The Hills Have Eyes . In 1997 , the Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize for the slasher film Scream . In 2012 , the New York City Horror Film Festival awarded Craven the Lifetime Achievement Award .