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Before becoming a horror maestro, Wes Craven was a college professor with a master's degree in philosophy who also had directed porn movies. He went on to create the iconic Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), haunting the dreams of a generation. The director and writer died Sunday, August 30, from brain cancer, reports say. New Line Cinema
Craven's "Scream" franchise brought another crazy guy to the screen -- this time in a terrifying mask. It also featured a cast of rising young stars. Here's Neve Campbell, left, and Rose McGowan in the first "Scream" from 1996. Dimension Films/Everett Collection
"The Hills Have Eyes" with Susan Lanier and Michael Berryman was one of Craven's earliest films. He wrote and directed the gory 1977 movie about a family set upon by mutant cannibals. He co-wrote "The Hills Have Eyes II" with son Jonathan Craven in 2007. Everett Collection
"Music of the Heart" (1999) with Meryl Streep was a departure for Craven; Streep earned an Oscar nomination for portraying a music teacher in East Harlem. Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection
Craven's 1982 "Swamp Thing" with Adrienne Barbeau was based on the DC comics character. MGM
The 2005 thriller "Red Eye" featured a charmingly creepy Cillian Murphy as an assassin who corners a woman on a plane to help him make a hit. Rachel McAdams, pictured, played the resourceful woman who just wasn't having it. Dreamworks
