Marilyn Burns, Texas Chain Saw Massacre actress, dies at 65

US actress Marilyn Burns, best known for her "scream queen" role in horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, has died aged 65, BBC News reports.


The Erie, Pennsylvania-born actress, who played teenager Sally Hardesty in Tobe Hooper's 1974 film, was found dead at her home near Houston, Texas.


Burns went on to play Linda Kasabian, a member of the Charles Manson "family", in 1976 TV movie Helter Skelter.


In later life she made cameos in other iterations of the Massacre franchise.


She was an unnamed "patient on gurney" in 1994's Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, a film notable for providing early roles to future Oscar winners Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey.


Burns also appeared briefly in 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D, both as a character called Verna and in footage from Hooper's original.