For many actors, appearing in a ‘70s horror was a stepping stone to mainstream success, from Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween to John Travolta in Carrie.
But for the actors on this list, despite starring in the decade's most gruesome and blood-curdling horrors, they failed to launch themselves into mainstream Hollywood. Instead, they faded from the limelight and no longer appeared on the silver screen.
So, how many of these 70s horror stars can you remember? After all, few faces are more likely to stick in your memory than one that once terrified you, even if that was some fifty years ago.
© Getty ImagesMarilyn Burns
Marilyn Burns first rose to fame in her role as Sally Hardesty, the final survivor in Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974); a horror movie that saw a group of young friends encounter, and later try to escape from, a family of cannibals.
After appearing in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Marilyn continued to act, mainly appearing in other low-budget horror films like Eaten Alive (1976), Future-Kill (1985) and The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994). But despite her iconic performance as one of horror's most famous 'final girls', the actress failed to successfully break into mainstream movies.
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle in 2006, Marilyn ultimately said that her role in The Chainsaw Massacre made it hard for her to get other parts: 'It hurt me. [Casting agents] would call me in for parts and complain about Chainsaw'.
© WireImageCamille Keaton
Camille Keaton starred as Jennifer Hills in the 1978 horror directed by Meir Zarchi, I Spit on Your Grave, playing the role of a writer who sought revenge on the men who assaulted her. The film was controversial, with some critics heralding it as a feminist revenge plot, while others argued that it exploited female suffering. Despite the film's controversy, Camille was awarded the Best Actress Award at the 1978 Sitges Film Festival.
She went on to appear in The Concrete Jungle (1982) and Savage Vengeance (1993), after which she took a ten-year break before she returned to acting in 2005. More recently, she's appeared in I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu and Coffintooth, a horror film released in 2024. The actress continues to embrace her connection to horror movies and attends horror movie conventions even now at 79 years old.
© Bettmann ArchivePamela Franklin
Pamela Franklin became a horror star in the 1970s, appearing in And Soon the Darkness, Necromancy and Satan's School for Girls. She's likely best known for her role starring opposite Roddy McDowall as Florence Tanner in The Legend of Hell House (1973), where she played a medium investigating a haunted house.
After later appearing on television in the 1980s, the actress eventually withdrew from the profession to focus on her family life. The former actress is now 76 years old and lives in California with her husband, British actor Harvey Jason.
© Getty ImagesRobert Quarry
Robert Quarry made his film debut at just 17 years old in Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, but it wasn't until some twenty years later that he landed his first leading role as Count Yorga in Count Yorga, Vampire. The star then went on to act alongside Vincent Price in Dr Phibes Rises Again as well as with Paul Newman in WUSA.
Robert signed with AIP in 1970 but later criticised the studio's poor finances and organisation, claiming it stopped him from developing into a major star. In an interview with Anthony Petkovich in 2000, he said: "They didn't develop me as a property. They just let me go down the drain". He returned to acting in low-budget horror films in the 1980s and passed away in 2009.
