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George A. Romero directed Night of the Living Dead in 1968, a black-and-white horror film shot on a budget of just over $100,000. It became a cult classic and entered the National Film Registry in 1999. He returned to zombies with Dawn of the Dead in 1978, which earned $40 million worldwide. Romero died of lung cancer in 2017 at age 77, leaving behind six Dead films and a transformed horror genre.
Names, aliases, and relatives of George A. Romero — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
George A. Romero by the numbers — life, work, and family.
George A. Romero — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
George A. Romero was born in The Bronx, New York City, on February 4, 1940, to Ann Dvorsky, a Lithuanian immigrant, and Jorge Romero, a Spanish-born father raised in Cuba. He grew up in New York and attended Monsignor Scanlan High School before studying at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His interest in filmmaking began early; he started making movies with an 8mm camera at age 14, and the film The Tales of Hoffmann 1951 inspired him to become a director.
Romero formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and co-wrote Night of the Living Dead 1968 with John A. Russo. He shot it in black-and-white on a budget just over $100,000; the film became a cult classic and earned back its cost many times over. Next came The Crazies 1973, Season of the Witch 1972, and Martin 1977, his personal favorite. In 1978, he revived the zombie genre with Dawn of the Dead, filmed at Monroeville Mall. It grossed $40 million worldwide and marked his first collaboration with effects artist Tom Savini. He later directed Creepshow 1982, adapted from Stephen King, and continued the Dead series with Day of the Dead 1985, Land of the Dead 2005, Diary of the Dead 2007, and Survival of the Dead 2009.
Romero married three times: to Nancy Romero from 1971 to 1978, to Christine Forrest from 1981 to 2010 he met her on the set of Season of the Witch in 1972, and to Suzanne Desrocher Romero from 2011 until his death. He had three children: George C. Romero from his first marriage, and Tina Romero and Andrew Romero from his second. He became a dual Canadian-American citizen in 2009 and lived in Toronto, Ontario.
Romero’s Dead films created the modern zombie genre and influenced filmmakers such as Zack Snyder and Robert Rodriguez. His use of social commentary in horror, like consumerism in Dawn of the Dead, set a new standard. He received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement and, posthumously, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. The National Film Registry added Night of the Living Dead in 1999. He is most remembered for revolutionizing horror with his zombie trilogy and for frequently casting African-American leads, defying stereotypes.
The complete filmography of George A. Romero — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by George A. Romero — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
George A. Romero's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from George A. Romero — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
If One Horror Film Hits, Everyone Says, Let’s Go Make a Horror Film! It’s the Genre That Never Dies.
If You Have 60 People Dress Like Zombies and You Show Them Something That You Like, You Get 60 People Doing the Exact Same Thing. My Opinion of a Good Zombie Walk Is to Loll Your Head as If It’s a Little Too Heavy and the Muscles Have Begun to Atrophy.
I’m Like My Zombies. I Won’t Stay Dead!
My Zombie Films Have Been so Far Apart That I’ve Been Able to Reflect the Socio-political Climates of the Different Decades. I Have This Conceit That They’re a Little Bit of a Chronicle, a Cinematic Diary of What’s Going On.
I’ll Never Live Long Enough to Arrive at Some Sort of Peaceful Co-existence of Some Kind. That’s Probably the Only Way You Could End It on a Note of Promise, Which Would Mean the Zombies Would Learn How to Eat Spam or Chicken Livers, Instead of Your Liver. but I’ll Never Get to That Point.
Yeah, I’m Seen by the Studios as a Genre Guy. I’ve Made Several Non-genre Films, but Nobody Went to See Them. I Guess I’ll Never Be a Member of That Club.
I’ll Never Get Sick of Zombies. I Just Get Sick of Producers.
Just Because I’m Showing Somebody Being Disemboweled Doesn’t Mean I Have to Get Heavy and Put a Message Around It.
I Don’t Try to Answer Any Questions or Preach. My Personality and My Opinions Come Through in the Satire of the Films, but I Think of Them as a Snapshot of the Time. I Have This Device, or Conceit, Where Something Happens in the World and I Can Say, Ooo, I’ll Talk About That, and I Can Throw Zombies in It! and Get It Made! You Know, It’s Kind of My Ticket to Ride.
I Guess in My Pictures You’re Either Doomed or You’ve Got Yourself a Hell of a Job.
I Don’t Think You Need to Spend $40 Million to Be Creepy. the Best Horror Films Are the Ones That Are Much Less Endowed.
I Always Thought of the Zombies as Being About Revolution, One Generation Consuming the Next.
People Say, Well, What Underlies This Film Is a Satire About Consumerism. Underlies?? I Mean, God, It’s Like a Pie in Your Face, It’s Just Way up Front. and I Thought When I Made the Film, God, I Went a Little Too Far, I Mean, This Is Too Obvious. and Yet, You Know, People Dig It, the High Kicks, It’s Always the Rockettes That Get the Applause.
Little-known facts about George A. Romero — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Romero passed away peacefully in his sleep listening to the score of The Quiet Man, one of his all-time favorite films.
He began making movies at the age of 14 with an 8mm camera.
Romero frequently cast African-Americans as the heroes of his films, going against the stereotype of the black character dying early in horror films.
He was originally set to direct Salem’s Lot and The Stand for television, but both projects fell through.
Romero remained good friends with former collaborators even after creative or financial differences; he was known for his affability.
In 2009, he became a dual Canadian-American citizen and resided in Toronto.
He was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 25, 2017, at 6604 Hollywood Boulevard.
His favorite of his own films is Martin 1977, which he said was closest to his original vision.
He was originally attached to direct the film adaptation of Resident Evil 2002, but left due to creative differences.
At age 19, he worked as a page-boy on the set of North by Northwest 1959.
Former producing partner Richard P. Rubinstein offered Romero $3 million to make a fourth zombie film in the early 1990s, but Romero chose to pursue other projects.
His top ten films in the 2002 Sight & Sound poll included Casablanca, Dr. Strangelove, High Noon, and North by Northwest.
He was originally set to direct Pet Sematary 1989 but dropped out when filming was delayed.
The film The Tales of Hoffmann 1951 inspired Romero to become a director.
His father, Jorge Romero, was from A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, and moved to Cuba; his mother, Ann Dvorsky, was Lithuanian.
Between The Dark Half 1993 and Bruiser 2000, he worked on several projects that never left development hell.
Before Night of the Living Dead, he was an industrial filmmaker, creating commercials and training films, including segments for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
He attended Carnegie-Mellon University, studying art, theatre, and design.
Universal horror classics like The Thing from Another World made a strong impression on him, but the film that made him want to be a director was The Red Shoes 1948.
He was slated to direct a theatrical version of Stephen King’s The Stand, but it never materialized.
He was a huge fan of The Tales of Hoffmann and would rent 16mm copies from the same New York company as Martin Scorsese.
He had three children: George C. Romero from his first marriage, and Tina Romero and Andrew Romero from his second marriage.
The National Film Registry selected Night of the Living Dead in 1999.
The 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead was released before his fourth zombie film, Land of the Dead 2005.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about George A. Romero.
Celebrities similar to George A. Romero — same craft, ranked by reach.
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