Robbie Jacks, "Leatherface" in last TX Chainsaw film

[Sluggo the Crusher]

From the Austin American-Statesman, Saturday, August 11:

Robert Nick Jacks: 1959-2001

By Dick Stanley
American-Statesman Staff
Saturday, August 11, 2001

Friends of Robbie Jacks, who played the villain Leatherface in the fourth of
the "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" films, are gathering in Austin this
weekend to mourn the artist, who died unexpectedly Wednesday at Brackenridge
Hospital, a day before his 42nd birthday.

His family said the cause of death was an abdominal aneurysm, a tendency he
inherited from his father, who died of one when Jacks was a child.

"He was an incredibly supportive friend of all of us," said Jim Fritzler,
former artistic director of Big Stake Productions, an Austin theater
company, who drove in Thursday from Nebraska to join friends at Jacks' West
Austin home. "We had a kind of birthday party for him."

Born Robert Nick Jacks in Monterey, Calif., he was from a military family
and grew up in Germany and Copperas Cove, about 60 miles north of Austin.
Jacks came to Austin in 1980 and started volunteering at Zachary Scott
Theater, becoming a fixture in the decade's punk-rock scene, said Austin
playwright Shelby Brammer, a friend and collaborator.

Jacks was an actor, writer, singer and composer who worked on many local
shows, including Big Stake Productions' "Our Town" and "Council of Love." He
also wrote, produced and performed in "Boy Trouble," an autobiographical
punk-rock musical about Austin, which sold out two runs in 1991 and 1993,
Fritzler said.

"I read his reviews and saved his reviews," said his mother, Ginger Lee
Jacks of Copperas Cove. "He was constantly writing."

In 1993, he joined then-unknown actors Matthew McConaughey and Renee
Zellweger in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Next Generation," a humorous
sequel to the 1974 Austin horror classic. When the movie was released in
1997, an American-Statesman reviewer said Jacks "imbues the
chainsaw-wielding Leatherface with an almost demure, feminine charm."

Jacks also recorded the movie's love theme, "Der Einziger Weg," (German for
"The Only Way") a duet with Debbie Harry of the rock group Blondie.

"He said when he grew up he wanted to be in a horror movie and meet Debbie
Harry," said longtime friend Mary-Jane Warren. "And he did both of those
things. He was frequently thwarted, but he never gave up."

Jacks is survived by his mother, three brothers and a sister.

A private family service is pending, but friends are invited to gather
tonight at Jacks' home at 2902 Oakmont Blvd., said his sister, Nicole Jacks
Brown of Round Rock.

"His house has been full since he passed on," she said. "He was just adored
by people. We're just devastated and will miss him very much."

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Austin American-Statesman Obit Classifieds, 8/10/01:

Robert Nick Jacks Robert Nick Jacks, born August 9, 1959, in Monterrey,
California, and raised in Germany and Copperas Cove, Texas, died in Austin
on the morning of August 8, 2001. Beloved friend of many, many people. He is
preceded in death by his father and Oma; and leaves behind his mother, two
brothers, a sister, his much beloved, Aunt Rosa Hall of Virginia, and her
two sons. Highly intelligent, provocative witty, and multi-talented, Robbie
worked as a writer, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, radio personality,
record company head (Viscera Music), collector, and general social observer
and cultural commentator. His work included writing, producing, and singing
a duet, ``Der Einziger, Weg,'' with Debbie Harry of Blondie, which was the
love theme from the third ``Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film. Robbie also
protrayed Leatherface in the film. He worked on many prestigious theatre
productions, including Big State Productions' ``Our Town'' and ``Council of
Love'' and Jo Carol Pierce's ``Bad Girls Upset by the Truth.'' A fixture in
the eighties punk rock scene, he later produced ``Boy Trouble,''a punk rock
musical based on the exploits of that time. He wrote the music and lyrics
for ``Boy Trouble'' and played the lead role. Robbie hosted two radio shows,
one with Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers called ``The Gibby & Robbie
Show'' on 101X, and later a talk show. ``The Robbie & Shelby Show,'' on
KJFK. One of the more infamous bits on this show featured a live interview
with Debbie Harry as she lay in bed with him in his house in Austin.
Generous and tenderhearted, Robbie loved children and animals and
particularly cherished his cats. If it's true that you are reunited with
your pets when you enter Heaven, Robbie is being greeted by many creatures
whom he nurtured over the years. He was also a wonderful friend who brought
many people together, for decades running a salon in his living room in
which one could meet the most interesting people from all walks of life, and
of all ages. For the many who loved him, who laughed and cried with him, who
collaborated with him, it will be difficult to imagine life without him. We
love you, Robbie. A memorial for Robert Jacks will be announced soon.