During this time, he purchased a used 16 mm film camera and began making short movies.

He also taught at Madrid-Waddington High School in Madrid, New York. In 1964–65, Craven taught English at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College of Technology (later named Clarkson University) in Potsdam, New York. Craven earned an undergraduate degree in English and psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master's degree in philosophy and writing from Johns Hopkins University. He was raised in a strict Baptist family. He was of English, Scottish, and German descent. Early life Ĭraven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Caroline (née Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. On August 30, 2015, aged 76, Craven died of a brain tumor at his home in Los Angeles. In 2012, the New York City Horror Film Festival awarded Craven the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1995, he was honored by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films with the Life Career Award, for his accomplishments in the horror genre. His other notable films include Swamp Thing (1982), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), Shocker (1989), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), and Music of the Heart (1999).Ĭraven received several accolades across his career, which includes a Scream Award, a Sitges Film Festival Award, a Fangoria Chainsaw Award, and nominations for a Saturn Award and several other film festivals. He also directed cult classics The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), the horror comedy The People Under the Stairs (1991), and psychological thriller Red Eye (2005).

He additionally directed the first four films in the Scream franchise (1996–2011).

Ĭraven created the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise (1984–2010), specifically writing and directing the first film, co-writing and producing the third, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and writing and directing the seventh, Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). Amongst his prolific filmography, Craven was best known for his pioneering work in the horror genre, particularly slasher films, where he mixed horror cliches with humor and satire. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural impact and influence of his work. Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor.

Wes Craven by John Wooley