Actor, Author, Playwright
R.I.P. George Romero

R.I.P. George Romero

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The world of cinema lost an icon yesterday with the death of George A. Romero.

His influence on the horror genre cannot be understated.  Before Night of the Living Dead, zombies were just brainless automatons used as cheap labor.  After Night of the Living Dead, they will forever be associated with flesh-eating monsters.

George Romero invented what we now think of as zombies.

I have so many specific memories of seeing his movies, all of them prefaced by reading articles and (more importantly) seeing photos of his work in Fangoria magazine…

Watching Knightriders at a cast party for a Quincy Community Little Theater production of Camelot I was in in 1983.

Endless viewings of my Betamax copy of Dawn of the Dead with high school friends.

Staying up a little bit extra late every Sunday night and watching his TV series Tales from the Dark Side on WGN.

Seeing Monkey Shines during a hot summer in college with someone very special.

Going to see The Dark Half with my future room-mate on a trip up north to Chicago to look for an apartment.

And Creepshow… One of my favorite movies of all time.  I have a lot of milestones associated with Creepshow.  Suffice to say that the first time I saw it was when my Dad took me to see it at the Quincy Mall movie theater and one of the most recent times was on a first date with a girl I fancied.  She attacked me half-way through.  I’ve lived with her for 15 years.  We have an original Creepshow movie poster on our wall.

Here are a couple of very nice remembrances from Edgar Wright (Director of Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver) and Eric Vespe (“Quint” of Ain’t It Cool News).

And, finally, here’s a video of me living the dream in Monroeville, PA:

Rest in Peace, Maestro.

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