George A. Romero

George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. Regarded as an influential pioneer of the horror film genre and in particular zombie films, he has been called an "icon" and the "father of the zombie film". The first half of his Night of the Living Dead series—Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985)—are considered three of the best and most influential horror films ever made, and were major contributors to the image of the zombie in modern culture.

Noted for his frequent social commentary, Romero had a prolific career outside of zombie films, albeit mostly still within horror: The Crazies (1973), The Amusement Park (1975), Martin (1977), Creepshow (1982) and Monkey Shines (1988) are regarded as minor cult works, as is his anthology television series Tales from the Darkside (1983–1988). His ventures outside horror include the feminist drama Season of the Witch (1972) and the action film Knightriders (1981), while his final three films, Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009), form the second half of his Night of the Living Dead franchise.

Early life

Romero was born on February 4, 1940, in the New York City borough of the Bronx, the son of Anne Romero (Dvorsky) and George M. Romero, a commercial artist. His mother was Lithuanian, and his father was from Spain and had emigrated to Cuba as a child. His father has been reported as being born in A Coruña, with his family coming from the Galician town of Neda, although Romero once described his father as of Castilian descent.