Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-12 of 12
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; by all indications, though, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Living Dead" films was born February 4, 1940 ,in New York City to Ann (Dvorsky) and Jorge Romero. His father was born in Spain and raised in Cuba, and his mother was Lithuanian. He grew up in New York until attending the renowned Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
After graduation he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly $10,000 apiece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over $100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his "Image" co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore), enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost; it became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key but less successful, including The Affair (1971), The Crazies (1973), Season of the Witch (1972) (where he met future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as "Night of the Living Dead" or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues--usually horror-related--at the microscopic level. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around, Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh.
In 1978 he returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of "Night of the Living Dead"--Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original and allowed the film to enter into public domain, with the result that Romero and his original investors were not entitled to any profits from the film's video releases. Shot in the Monroeville (PA) Mall during late-night hours, the film told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own, and a biker gang's, greed. Made on a budget of just $1.5 million, the film earned over $40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2003. It also marked Romero's first work with brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. The success of "Dawn of the Dead" led to bigger budgets and better casts for the filmmaker. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first--but not the last--time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and big-studio distribution, it was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero.
The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely-released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Derided by critics, it did not take in much at the box office, either. His latest two efforts were The Dark Half (1993) (another Stephen King adaptation) and Bruiser (2000). Even the Romero-penned/Tom Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990), was a box-office failure. Pigeon-holed solely as a horror director and with his latest films no longer achieving the success of his earlier "Dead" films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. In 2005, 19 years after "Day of the Dead", with major-studio distribution he returned to his most famous series and horror sub-genre it created with Land of the Dead (2005), a further exploration of the destruction of modern society by the undead, that received generally positive reviews. He directed two more "Dead" films, Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009).
George died on July 16, 2017, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was 77.- Trevor W Baxter (born 18 November 1932) was a British actor and playwright. He was educated at Dulwich College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
His credits include: Adam Adamant Lives!, Z Cars (1962), Maelstrom, Thriller, Spy Trap, The New Avengers, Jack the Ripper, The Barchester Chronicles and Doctors. He is known for his appearance in the Doctor Who serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977) as Professor George Litefoot. He reprised his role of Professor Litefoot in an episode of audio series, Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles: The Mahogany Murderers. The following year he was Professor Litefoot again for a continuing series of Jago & Litefoot.
Trevor Baxter has appeared on stage with the RSC and in the West End, toured Shakespeare in South America with Sir Ralph Richardson, and also appeared in the USA in David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre at Shakespeare Santa Cruz in 1986. He has appeared in many films including Nutcracker (1983), Parting Shots (1999), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006).
He has also written a number of plays including Lies, The Undertaking, and Office Games. His play Ripping Them Off was given its first performance at the Warehouse Theatre Croydon on 5 October 1990, directed by Ted Craig and designed by Michael Pavelka. The cast consisted of: Ian Targett (Graham), Angus Mackay (Revd. Parkinson), Caroline Blakiston (Grace), Annette Badland (Hilda), Frank Ellis (Julian), Ewart James Walters (Max), Anthony Woodruff (Pauken), Ian Burford (Inspector Sands), Richard Clifford (Jeff) and C.P. Grogan (Susanna).
In 2003 he adapted Oscar Wilde's novella The Picture of Dorian Gray for the stage, followed in March 2005 by a touring version of Wilde's short story, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, revived in January 2010 at the Theatre Royal Windsor, starring Lee Mead in the title role.
In 2013 Baxter continued to record Doctor Who audiobooks for Big Finish Productions as Professor Litefoot, having completed thirteen series.
He died in July 2017. - Writer
- Producer
- Director
Jim Astrausky was born on 23 January 1953 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Chasing Classic Cars (2008), My Classic Car (1997) and St. Bernard Parish: After the Flood (2006). He was married to Holly Gausmann Wakelee. He died on 16 July 2017 in Guilford, Connecticut, USA.- Chela D'Gar was born on 22 August 1921 in La Habana, Cuba. She was an actress, known for Rosario (1968), La Zulianita (1977) and La bruja (1982). She was married to Paco De La Riera. She died on 16 July 2017 in Miami, Florida, USA.
- Kitty Lux was born on 28 October 1957 in London. She died on 16 July 2017 in the UK.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Marilyn McGinnis was an actress, known for Highlander: Dark Places (2016) and Straight Boys (2006). She died on 16 July 2017 in the USA.- Clancy Sigal was born on 6 September 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for Frida (2002), Maria/Callas and In Love and War (1996). He was married to Janice Tidwell. He died on 16 July 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
Régis Gizavo was born on 16 June 1959 in Tulear, Madagascar. He is known for Fahavalo, Madagascar 1947 (2018), Songs for Madagascar (2016) and Des mots de minuit (1999). He died on 16 July 2017 in Zonza, Corse-du-Sud, France.- Vladimir Pantelyuk was born in 1960. He was an actor, known for Flight of the Golden Fly (2015), Vremya sobirat kamni (1992) and Atentat: Osinnie vbyvstvo u Munkheni (1995). He died on 16 July 2017 in Ivano-Frankovsk, Ukraine.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Wilfried Scheutz was born on 24 June 1950 in Bad Goisern, Upper Austria, Austria. He was an actor and composer, known for Panorama (2009), Tatort (1970) and Dolezal Backstage (2015). He was married to Marina Tatic. He died on 16 July 2017 in Lilienfeld, Lower Austria, Austria.- Roland Cazimero was born in 1950 in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA. He was married to Lauwae. He died on 16 July 2017 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
- Tom Mitchell was born on 22 August 1944 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. He died on 16 July 2017 in Cape Coral, Florida, USA.