Wes Craven

Craven in 2009, photo by prphotos

Birth Name: Wesley Earl Craven

Date of Birth: August 2, 1939

Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

Date of Death: August 30, 2015

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, German, distant Scottish

Wes Craven was an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. He directed The Last House on the Left (1972), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Swamp Thing (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Deadly Friend, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, the first four Scream movies, My Soul to Take, and Red Eye, among others.

Wes was the son of Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He was raised in a strict Baptist family.

Wes was married to producer Iya Labunka, until his death. He had two children, writer and director Jonathan Craven and singer and songwriter Jessica Craven, with his former wife Bonnie Broecker.

Wes’s paternal grandfather was Eugene Elsworth/Ellsworth Craven (the son of Luke Craven and Sarah Hannah Connell). Eugene was born in Burlington, Vermont. Luke was born in Heaton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, the son of Jesse Craven and Rebecca Normington.

Wes’s paternal grandmother was Maude Lizzie Magoon (the daughter of Edgar Charles Magoon and Frances Charlotte Haskins). Maude was born in Vermont. Edgar was the son of George W. Magoon and Abigail Lounge/Lougee. Frances was the daughter of Hiram Sereno Haskins and Almina E. Jones.

Wes’s maternal grandfather was John Turner Miller (the son of Ebenezer Miller and Mary Jane Turner). John was English.

Wes’s maternal grandmother was Bertha Maria Zimmer (the daughter of Friedrich/Frederick Albert Zimmer and Carolina Albrecht/Albright). Bertha was born in Ohio, to German parents. Friedrich was born in Neunkirchen, Landkreis Neunkirchen, Saarland, the son of Jacob Zimmer and Elizabeth Fox. Caroline was born in Cussel Rheinphalz.

Sources: Genealogies of Wes Craven – http://www.findagrave.com
https://www.geni.com

Marriage records of Wes’s paternal grandparents, Eugene Elsworth/Ellsworth Craven and Maude Lizzie Magoon – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org