John A. Russo (born February 2, 1939), sometimes credited as Jack Russo or John Russo, is an American screenwriter and film director most commonly associated with the 1968 horror classic film ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'', which he co-wrote with director
George Romero
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
. As a screenwriter, his credits include ''Night of the Living Dead'', '' The Majorettes'', ''Midnight'', and '' Santa Claws''. The latter two, he also directed. He has performed small roles as an actor, most notably the first ghoul who is stabbed in the head in ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'', as well as cameos in ''
There's Always Vanilla
''There's Always Vanilla'' (also known as ''The Affair'') is a 1971 romantic comedy film directed by George A. Romero and starring Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, Roger McGovern, and Johanna Lawrence. It was Romero's second motion picture and hi ...
'' and '' House of Frankenstein 1997''. He was the Publisher and Managing Editor of the magazine Scream Queens Illustrated that featured popular stars of Horror films and other genres.
Career
Russo attended
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. Ricci met George A. Romero at Carnegie Mellon and introduced Russo to Romero on Russo's Christmas vacation. After college, Russo was drafted into the army and served a two-year stint. Meanwhile, Romero with Russell Streiner formed The Latent Image to produce commercial films with the aim of eventually making a full-length feature film. When Russo got out of the army, he joined his friends in The Latent Image and soon plans were made for a feature film. Russo crafted a rough idea about a young man stumbling upon a host of
ghouls
A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...
feeding off human corpses. Romero loved the idea and a few days later he presented Russo with forty pages of a story based on the idea. The film ultimately became ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'' which led to Romero's Dead series and the ''Living Dead'' series, with the latter based on a story by Russo.
Russo went on to author many novels and, like his friend Romero, began making films of his own. ''The Booby Hatch'' was a sex comedy released in 1976. '' Midnight'' was an adaptation of Russo's novel of the same name and released in 1982. His novel '' The Majorettes'' was adapted by Russo himself and directed by Bill Hinzman who played the Cemetery Zombie in ''Night of the Living Dead''. Russo's next film was ''Heartstopper'' which featured "name" actors Michael J. Pollard and
Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is the daughter of musician Frank Zappa.
Early life
Moon Zappa was born in New York City, the eldest child of Gail (née Sloatman) and musician Frank Zap ...
. Russo considers it his favorite of the films he has directed.
Russo is also the founder and one of the co-mentors (along with Russell Streiner) of the John Russo Movie Making Program at DuBois Business College in
DuBois, Pennsylvania
DuBois ( ) is a city and the most populous community in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. DuBois is located approximately northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 7,510 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the ...
.
Russo was born and grew up in
Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion is a borough in and the county seat of Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north-northeast of Pittsburgh and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the sur ...
and lives in
Glassport, Pennsylvania
Glassport is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, approximately south of Pittsburgh and the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers where they form the Ohio River. Glassport lies along the east side of the ...
.
Filmography
As an actor
*''My Uncle John is a Zombie'' (2016) .... Uncle John
*'' House of Frankenstein 1997'' (1997) (miniseries) .... Honor Guard
*'' Santa Claws'' (1996) (as John Russo) .... Detective
**a.k.a. '' 'Tis the Season''
*''
The Inheritor
''The Inheritor'' (french: L'Héritier) is a 1973 French film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Plot
Hugo Cordell, media and industrial tycoon, dies when his plane explodes between Geneva and Paris. Examination of the plane's debris cannot establish ...
'' (1990) .... Unknown role
*'' The Majorettes'' (1986) (as John Russo) .... Dr. Gibson the Coroner
**a.k.a. ''One by One''
*''
There's Always Vanilla
''There's Always Vanilla'' (also known as ''The Affair'') is a 1971 romantic comedy film directed by George A. Romero and starring Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, Roger McGovern, and Johanna Lawrence. It was Romero's second motion picture and hi ...
'' (1971) (uncredited) .... Music producer
**a.k.a. ''The Affair''
*''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'' (1968) (uncredited) .... Washington military reporter/Ghoul in house
Documentary appearances
* ''More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead'' (2011)...Himself
* '' One for the Fire: The Legacy of Night of the Living Dead '' (2008)...Himself (also served as
associate producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
)
*''UnConventional'' (2004) .... Himself
*''The Dead Walk: Remaking a Classic'' (1999) (V) .... Himself
:''Note: this is a "making-of" special featured on the DVD edition of the 1990 remake of ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
''.''
*''A-Z of Horror'' (1997) (mini) TV Series .... Himself
**a.k.a. ''Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror'' (UK: complete title)
*''Night of the Living Dead: 25th Anniversary Documentary'' (1993) (V) .... Himself
:''Note: this is a 25th Anniversary special featured on a video release of the original ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'' film.''
* ''Horror F/X'' (1989) (V) .... Himself
:''Note: Russo interviews frequent collaborator and fellow Pittsburgh horror movie maker,
Tom Savini
Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin' ...
, in this low-budget shot-on-video documentary.''
*''Drive-In Madness!'' (1987) .... Himself
**a.k.a. ''Screen Scaries'' (USA: video title)
Return of the Living Dead
''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon in his directorial debut, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a wa ...
986
Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byz ...
magine
Magine TV was a cloud-based TV platform that allows broadcasters to deliver live and time-shifted content to users, as well as catch-up and on demand programming, across all devices, including tablets, phones, Smart TVs and computers. The service ...
* ''Living Things'' (1988) opular Library
* ''The Complete Night of the Living Dead Film Book'' (1989) andom House* ''Making Movies'' (1989) ell
* ''Scare Tactics'' (1992) ell
* ''How to Make Your Own Feature Movie for $10,000 or Less'' (1995) inn P.G.
* ''Hell's Creation'' (1995) (Ravenmor)
* ''The Sanity Ward'' (1995) (Ravenmor)
* ''Undead'' (2010) (Kensington) (Omnibus of ''Night of the Living Dead'' and ''
Return of the Living Dead
''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon in his directorial debut, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a wa ...
'')
* ''The Big Book of Bizarro'' (2011) (Burning Bulb Publishing) (Contains the short story ''Channel 666'')
* ''The Hungry Dead'' (2013) (Kensington) (Contains the novel ''Escape of the Living Dead'' and the 1980 novel ''Midnight'')
* ''Dealey Plaza'' (2014) (Burning Bulb Publishing)
* ''Epidemic of the Living Dead'' (2018) (Kensington)
* ''Spawn of the Living Dead'' (2019) (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
* ''The Darkest Web'' (2022) (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
* ''The Night They Came Home'' (2022) (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
* ''The Unearthly'' (2022) (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
* ''Weep No More'' (2022) (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
* ''The Killing Truth'' (2022) (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
* ''The Price of Admission'' (2022) (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
Comics
With
Avatar Press
Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. Avatar Press is most notable for publishing Bad girl art, bad girl comics, such as ''Faust (Avatar Press), Fau ...