MOVIE NEWS – Texas Chainsaw Massacre star confirms the long-standing rumor that he was “paid” for his role with drugs.

Things worked differently in the 1970s film industry, as evidenced by John Larroquette’s unusual salary for his role as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

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 shoot, is that Larroquette was not paid cash for his time, but was given weed for his participation. According to the star himself, this is exactly what happened.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is Tobe Hooper’s 1974 film about a group of young people who fall victim to a family of cannibals living in a forest behind God’s back, including the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. Considered one of the most influential horror films of all time, the harrowing film is gritty, grim, and has earned its place among the best video horror films of the 70s and early 80s. Because it was made in an era where things weren’t as intensely scrutinized as movies are today, many aspects of the making of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre wouldn’t exactly measure up to today’s standards. Speaking to Parade, Larroquette was asked about internet rumors about his unusual salary. His answer was:

“Absolutely true. Tobe [Hooper] heard I was in town and asked me for an hour of my time to narrate something for this movie he was doing. I said, ‘Okay! It was a favor. He gave me a little marijuana or ‘matchbox’ or whatever it was called at the time. I walked out of the [recording] studio and patted him on the back and said, ‘Good luck to you!’

After serving as the opening narrator for 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a favor to director Tobe Hooper, Larroquette returned to the franchise to provide the same narrator role in the 2003 reboot, and his voice was also heard in 2006’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The beginning. Twelve years later, Larroquette is back once again to perform the opening monologue of the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot.

Although his favor to Tobe Hooper certainly turned into a party for Larroquette, as he noted in the interview: “In the 70s you do something for free and in the 90s you get some money”. That money came when when the actor joined the cast of Night Court in 1984. Larroquette played Assistant State’s Attorney Dan Fielding on the popular sitcom and is the only star returning for the new sequel series, which arrives on NBC next week.

Larroquette’s Fielding will be on the other side of the courtroom this time, in his new role as the court’s assigned defender. Abby Stone, the on-screen daughter of the original Judge Harry T. Stone, is the new protagonist, taking over her father’s role as presiding officer of the Manhattan Municipal Court night shift. Night Court is scheduled to premiere on January 17th on NBC. It airs at 8pm as part of NBC’s Tuesday night comedy lineup.

Source: MovieWeb