We were sad to learn of the passing of Bill Hinzman, the "cemetery zombie" from George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. As the first zombie to appear in the very first modern, flesh-eating zombie film, Hinzman could be considered the spiritual grandfather of the current zombie hordes shambling across the big and small screens. The 75-year-old actor directed two regional horror films in Pennsylvania, Flesheater (1988) and John Russo's The Majorettes (1987).
A couple of years ago he scored his own action figure.
He also appeared in this commercial for Goodfellas Brick Oven Pizza.
The Dead Next Door is a blog about regional or "backyard" horror and science fiction films made from the late 1950s to the earlyl 1990s (and beyond). These films were released during the peak years of independent film production, created by a motley crew of seasoned pros, gifted amateurs, and enthusiastic genre fans, along with dozens of eccentric dreamers -- doctors, lawyers, insurance salesmen, publishers, commercial filmmakers, TV production crews and moonlighting pornographers -- all looking for their big break or a fast buck or both.