Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Brain Cancer Claims Horror Maestro Wes Craven At 76

Posted by timothy on from the good-life-of-sneaking-up-behind-you dept.

New submitter JamesA writes: Wes Craven, the famed writer-director of horror films known for the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream movies, died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76. Though he's far less known as a novelist than for his various horror film jobs (writer, director, producer, actor ...), Craven also wrote a few books; I can't vouch for "Coming of Rage," but "Fountain Society" is pretty solid speculative fiction. Wikipedia notes that Craven also "designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google, and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween."

35 comments

  1. Goodbye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope he wasn't scared.

    1. Re:Goodbye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      And I hope he doesn't come back to kill us all in our dreams.

    2. Re:Goodbye by LarryRiedel · · Score: 2

      And I hope he doesn't come back to kill us all in our dreams.

      I can confirm he was in fact not the bastard son of a hundred maniacs, so no worries.

      There wasn't even twenty of us.

  2. link to Halloween 2008 logo by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Informative

    here is the logo he designed.

    slashdot editors are seriously slacking off.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  3. Coming second doesn't count. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween."

    I was taught no one remembers who was second. Who came first?

    1. Re:Coming second doesn't count. by adolf · · Score: 1

      Who came first?

      Who!

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
    2. Re: Coming second doesn't count. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what she said

  4. The 120 yr Limit by jwillis84 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Interesting he passed at 76, for men aroun 75 seems to be the break even point where your 50/50 to living to the next year.

    There are some fantastic developments in Brain Cancer treatments coming a just a few years, but they might not be effective once you get past 75 yr old.

    They focus more on tagging the Cancer cells such that the bodies Immune system will focus on those cells and demolish them. The use of the Polio vaccine on 60 minutes comes to mind, but there have been others.

    Several studies have focused on the seemingly mystical statistic that no one currently alive will live past 120 years old.. the simplist and most well thought out reason is the Immune system simply gives out, or shuts itself off. After that if Cancer doesn't kill you then something like Pneumonia will. Assuming of course you don't die of Little Debbies overdose or a Sugar induced Coronary... well I guess that's a psychological illness manefest physically... not breaking the carb addiction until its too late.. like smoking. Funny how lifes stressors and Seretonin levels can lead to additctions.. food or otherwise.. and ultimately to a shortened life span.

    1. Re:The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a friggin' lunatic, rambling on like that. Also, there's nothing special about living to 120 years old. Unless, of course, you believe the book of Genesis, which seems to limit people to 120 years. Scientific discoveries can and will extend people's lives beyond 120 years. It's likely that stem cell treatments and understanding telomerase will be key to achieving this. Regardless, you're still a rambling lunatic.

    2. Re:The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a horrible post...

      This guy just died.

      Show some respect.

    3. Re:The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think I died after the first paragraph.

    4. Re:The 120 yr Limit by adolf · · Score: 4, Interesting

      My Jr. High music teacher died from brain cancer. He was brilliant, highly-skilled, and excellent with showing kids their vocal potential. He remembered everyone; name, rank, serial. And he never gave up on any of them.

      One of the more painful memories I have, ever, is of meeting this man a few years later, at work: He's browsing movies, and I'm coming back from a long day of installing satellite dishes -- my first "real" job.

      I'm all "Mr. [ZZZ], how are you? I haven't seen you in awhile."

      And he's all "Uh, hi. Yes! Yes, I remember you! You're uhm, Jason? No that's not it. Andy? No no. I'm very sorry, but they tell me I've got brain cancer and it's really hard to remember..."

      Me: "Can I help?"

      "No, no, they say I've still got 72% of my brain left. I've got brain cancer, haven't you heard? Let's see, uh, I know I know you and I'm very embarrassed that I can't name you."

      At this point, I let the then-old-to-me damaged dude (45-50-ish) know my name, which still drew a blank. It was difficult excusing myself from that situation, and apparent that the missing 28% was inclusive of all of his genuinely-beloved students. He died a year or two later. Mein herz brennt -- I used to could talk to the guy about anything.

      I mean, FFS: My grand-dad died from Parkinson's, which is a terrible fucking way to die when it gets stretched to multiple years of uselessness: You still know everything, but you can't do anything about it. (He was an engineer, but couldn't communicate his ideas at all. One scribbled note, discarded by the nurses because they'd since moved/re-adjusted him and no longer cared, said "Neck hurts." By the time I got there, they didn't care about my interpretation. He cried, which was perhaps the best he could do, paralyzed and unable to speak but having successfully had his written complaint understood only to be ultimately ignored).

      My other grand-dad died from a bad stroke, leading to other strokes. This is also a terrible fucking way to die, especially it also involves years of uselessness. (He was a salesman and a wildly successful realtor and a lot of other first-party things, but couldn't reach the people he used to know after the first real stroke)

      Fuck all brain diseases, in general. But brain cancer? Sheesh Fuck that one in particular. Brain cancer is silly-crazy-scary. Shell-of-a-ghost-of-a-human scary. I wish we could fix that one. At least my grand-dads knew who I was.

      (I'd tell you about the staph infection my school-teacher aunt got in her own brain, but she's mostly better, ish: She used to know everything, and she's sure that she still does, but she's a bit more reserved about relaying that than she used to be.)

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
    5. Re: The 120 yr Limit by ph1ll · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've just finished nursing a loved one with glioblastoma. It's frikken awful but it was short (the medium survival rate is about 14 months. My loved one went in 9). I think Parkinson's, Alzheimer's etc are far worse because they go on for years. My loved one didn't realize she was dying at the end as it severely impairs cognition. I hope anybody who has a loved one with brain cancer takes some comfort from this.

      --
      --- "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
    6. Re:The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      One grandma died about 3.5 years after a pretty major stroke. Other grandma died about 4 days after a massive heart attack. Grandpa died of lung cancer (don't smoke kids, mmmkay).

      Out of those, lung cancer seems the worst way to go. It's slow, it's painful and you're fully aware of what's happening to you. Has to be terrifying. Between my grandmas, I'm not sure which would be better. Massive heart attack, terrifying for a few moments knowing the end is coming, slipping into a coma and then passing a few days later or stroke with your mental awareness constantly slipping until you don't really know where you are or who you are any more.

      Is it preferable to just go along and then in a few terrifying moments, die. Or is it preferable to not really understand that you're dying. Still being aware of your existence and fading until you aren't aware of it and never really having to face death. But then again, I'm still relatively young and learning to deal with my own mortality and ultimately one doesn't get to choose their time or method of death barring suicide.

    7. Re:The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is hard to believe he wouldn't remember a guy who sold satellite dishes for a living and a Neo-Nazi to boot.

    8. Re: The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sorry to hear that. It must be some comfort to know they suffered relatively little.

      My grandmother had Alzheimers for over a decade. At first it didn't affect her much, but for her last few years she sat in a chair completely unaware of her surroundings. When she eventually passed the truth was we had lost her years before.

    9. Re:The 120 yr Limit by justthinkit · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about.

      This guy posts about twice a year. Going back a bit, but when Gene Roddenberry passed, this guy was very respectful.

      He is commenting about the aging process, about what ultimately gets us, and what are our chances are. I fail to see any problem with anything he said.

      Perhaps some of his points are too subtle for the 20-somethings more concerned about who they can bed tonight. For example, we do need to drop the sugar (and carb) addiction as we get older, or get Type 2 diabetes. If this saves one person from diabetes, his post is paid in full.

      He then goes even further to talk about what causes us to be addicted. How this is not relevant to every single over-stressed 100 miler on Slashdot, I'll never know.

      Thanks, JWillis, and I look forward to your next post.

      --
      I come here for the love
    10. Re: The 120 yr Limit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When the Dr. told us that my daughter-in-low's brain tumor, Glioblastoma multiforme , was "treatable", I knew before hand that it was not curable. 72% of tumor removed 10 months ago. Beautiful 51 year old. We're taking it day by day.

      Cut out the gutter talk about brain cancer.

  5. Cancer Martial Metaphors by x_IamSpartacus_x · · Score: 5, Insightful

    died Sunday after a battle with brain cancer.

    For people who live with cancer, it's actually been found that's it's better to not use martial metaphors. For many cancer patients, the emotional journey is hard enough without feeling like they are "losing a battle" or "losing a fight" etc. with cancer. Even family members of those who've died with cancer often struggle with the emotions of feeling like someone "lost" or they "didn't fight hard enough". Living with cancer is not always something that has to be fought, especially brain cancer.

    More on topic, Wes Craven was an artist and we will miss his art. Go well Mr. Craven.

    1. Re:Cancer Martial Metaphors by quenda · · Score: 0, Troll

      Thanks, I'll keep that in mind in case I ever get a brain tumour that makes me politically correct.

  6. What's the brain cancer's favorite vector? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How one's brain develop cancer?

    What's the vector or vectors?

    What should one do to avoid getting brain cancer?

    1. Re:What's the brain cancer's favorite vector? by phantomfive · · Score: 0

      What should one do to avoid getting brain cancer?

      Brain removal is known to prevent it.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:What's the brain cancer's favorite vector? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then how does one go about avoiding brain cancer AND not deciding to run for public office?

    3. Re: What's the brain cancer's favorite vector? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are these real question?

  7. One ... Two ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... Brain Cancer's coming for you ...

  8. At 76? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why not call it natural cause?

    1. Re: At 76? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Brain aneurysm at 14 is "natural causes" too.

    2. Re: At 76? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, that at 14 is defect.

    3. Re: At 76? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Defects are natural.

    4. Re:At 76? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because "natural causes" is shorthand for "we don't really know", and in this case we do.

  9. You are terminal and don't even know it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're next! Then you! And you! Blame God! The Bible! And Republicans!

    Go Egypt!

  10. A sick and twisted mind? by Chas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The shit this guy dreamed up to scare the fuck out of people? Brain cancer? I believe it!

    Scaring the crap out of people since at least 1971.
    Haunting our nightmares since 1984.

    We'll miss you Wes. Just...don't come back and kill us in our sleep? Please?

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!