I recently had the privilege and pleasure to hang out with cast and production members of George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead—a truly delightful group of people who are very obviously just as excited as fans about the legacy of this game-changing movie.
Judith O’Dea, who played Barbra, is even more beautiful now than she was back in 1968…and she was stunning then. She was even gracious enough to do a kooky green screen picture with me. (If you look closely you can see an 
image of the original Romero zombie Bill Hinzman—may he rest in peace—in the background.) I found it a lot easier to speak with Gary Streiner, NotLD’s sound engineer, than his brother Russ. Even though Russ, who played Johnny, had nothing but a smile on his face every time I caught his eye, I just couldn’t get past hearing “They’re coming to get you Barbra!” in my head. I’m not ashamed to admit it still freaks me out…
What really struck me in my conversations with the NotLD cast was their devotion to the movie, its’ fans and preserving the legacy. Gary Streiner, who has been championing efforts to save the chapel seen in the film’s opening sequence, did me a kindness and agreed to appear in the following blog post I wrote for the Zombie Survival Crew website.
Here’s an excerpt:
From the mobile unit of ZSC Commander-in-Chief, Juliette Terzieff, with special guest Gary Streiner:
When we think of iconic horror movie moments it isn’t long before visions of Bill Hinzman lurching through the Evans City Cemetery towards unsuspecting siblings Barbra and Johnny in the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead float to the top. Like the gruesome murder of Janet Leigh in the infamous Psycho shower scene, or Linda Blair’s impossible head gymnastics in The Exorcist, the image of that first modern-era zombie seeking out a meal remains a favorite of horror fans around the globe.
George Romero’s black and white masterpiece is legend. A singular piece of filmmaking that has inspired generations of writers, artists, musicians, actors and filmmakers to probe through decaying flesh in search of the monster inside us all.
Read the full post here: http://zombiesurvivalcrew.com/2012/10/zsc-special-alert-fix-the-chapel/
