Father of the ZOMBIES
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Father of the ZOMBIES - Audio
Although Romero is known today as “father of the zombies,” he initially had no intention of making zombie movies. The only occurrence of the word in the script of Night of the Living Dead (NOTLD) is of a “zombie-like thing.” These slow-moving, undead “ghouls,” as they were known, savored the taste of human flesh and subdued the living by their sheer numbers. By the release of Dawn of The Dead (1978) and Day of The Dead (1985), Romero had embraced zombie terminology with- out hesitation and further developed the lore. Romero’s undead began to show signs of consciousness, with further and unique features of the zombie psyche emerging in Land of The Dead (2005), Diary of The Dead (2007), and Survival of The Dead (2009).
Neither the ghouls of NOTLD nor the more complicated undead of Romero’s later movies trace their direct lineage to zombies of Haitian folklore—living humans enslaved by a sorcerer through drugging, burial, and revival. By George’s own admission, the living dead of his films owe more to the ghoulish creatures of E.C. Comics and the post-apocalyptic vampires in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend (1954). Perhaps unconsciously, the ghouls of NOTLD resemble the radiation-poisoned human beings of the Cold War cartoons that terrified George as a child in The Bronx. It’s also possible that stories of Poe (“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”) or Lovecraft (“Herbert West–Re- animator”), contemporary stage depictions of addicts and POWs, and even the “golem” of Jewish folklore are somewhere in the background of the NOTLD ghouls. Whatever their points of origin, Romero’s undead have dominated the pop-culture imagination of zombies for the last 50 years.
Parkchester CHILDHOOD
George Andrew Romero was born on February 4, 1940 to Anne Romero (Dvorsky), a Bronx native of Lithuanian background, and George Romero, a Cuban Spaniard who came to the U.S. with his family in 1922. Young George spent his childhood years in the new Parkchester development, a project of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. The Romero family were among the first to move into the development in 1940.
The Teenage "GEO"
“Geo,” as he was known as a kid, attended K–12 at St. Helena’s, attached to the Catholic church of the same name in Parkchester. As a high school student, he participated in the art, drama, and religious clubs as well as choir. In St. Helena’s senior yearbook, Geo claimed he wanted “to be a dentist by studying at Villanova.” Later in life, he reflected that parochial school had been a stifling environment, and his yearbook statement that he was “naturally loaded with school spirit” should probably be read with sarcasm. READ MORE
Becoming GEORGE
A lover of movies from an early age, Geo would often go to the Loew’s American, located at 1450 East Avenue in Parkchester, but there were many other theatres to choose from in The Bronx and Manhattan. The Thing From Another World (1951) and The Man From Planet X (1951), both horror movies, impressed young Geo, but he also enjoyed classics like The Quiet Man (1952), On the Waterfront (1954), and The Ten Commandments (1956). By far the most important movie for him was Tales of Hoffmann (1951), a British technicolor comic opera. READ MORE
Making a MONSTER FLICK
A lover of movies from an early age, Geo would often go to the Loew’s American, located at 1450 East Avenue in Parkchester, but there were many other theatres to choose from in The Bronx and Manhattan. The Thing From Another World (1951) and The Man From Planet X (1951), both horror movies, impressed young Geo, but he also enjoyed blockbuster classics like The Quiet Man (1952), On the Waterfront (1954), and The Ten Commandments (1956). By far the most important movie for him was Tales of Hoffmann (1951), a British technicolor comic opera. READ MORE
Father of the ZOMBIES
Although Romero is known today as “father of the zombies,” he initially had no intention of making zombie movies. Neither Night of the Living Dead (NOTLD) nor any of its production materials used the word “zombie.” These slow-moving, undead ghouls, as they were called, savored the taste of human flesh and overwhelmed the living by their sheer numbers. By the release of Dawn of The Dead (1978) and Day of The Dead (1985), Romero had embraced zombie terminology, first introduced by French reviews of NOTLD, and further developed the lore. Romero’s undead began to show signs of consciousness, with further features emerging in Land of The Dead (2005), Diary of The Dead (2007), and Survival of The Dead (2009). READ MORE
Romero MEETS POE
Romero, a lifelong admirer of renown writer, poet, editor, and critic, Edgar Allan Poe, worked on multiple projects inspired by the author. READ MORE
Horror and BEYOND
Romero’s most popular films like the NOTLD franchise and Creepshow will forever remain horror classics. Deeper cuts illustrate the breadth of his artistry, beyond horror. Martin (1976), for instance, remains one of the most unconventional adaptations of the vampire myth to date, and Knightriders (1981) transposes Arthurian legend to a modern motorcycle renaissance fair troupe. Among the trove of Romero’s unproduced scripts are innovative adaptations of The War of the Worlds (1898), Native Tongue (1984), and Pet Sematary (1983); “Micky B.,” a futuristic android version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth; scripts for superhero and western movies; and much more.
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