Bill Hinzman of the original Night Of The Living Dead has died at the age of 75
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It's with deep sadness that we bring to you the news of the passing of Bill Hinzman this evening. We've lost another icon of the industry and more importantly one of the nicest and most genuine people we've ever had the chance of knowing.
Best known to fans everywhere as Zombie #1 or the Graveyard Zombie from the George A. Romero classic Night of the Living Dead, Hinzman has died after losing a bout with cancer. He was 75.
Bill Hinzman worked on numerous projects over the years, several of which were with Romero, such as There's Always Vanilla, Hungry Wives aka Season of the Witch, and of course The Crazies. On his own he tried his hand at directing with one of our favorite flicks, Flesh Eater.
A fixture on the convention circuit, Bill was always there with a smile for fans, often appearing in costume as the famed ghoul we all grew up with.
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest condolences to Bill's friends, family, and constituents. Rest in peace, sir. You will be incredibly missed.
http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/523...e-bill-hinzman Bill Hinzman, the first zombie to lumber across the screen in George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead, has sadly passed away. Details are slim right now, but it's reported that he succumbed to cancer. Check back here for any updates.
I never get really sentimental when people in the film world leave us, but I've met Bill numerous times over the last decade. He was a regular at the Spooky Empire horror convention in Orlando, FL and kicked off the annual zombie walk almost every year that I went. He was always a cool guy, hanging out at the pool with everyone as the festival started winding down for the evening, and I never saw him turn down a fan for a quick photo in the hallway, an autograph, or even an interview.
He was in several early Romero films - he even DPed The Crazies - but his first scene in Night would set the precedent for the undead in one of the most well-known and highly regarded trilogies in horror history (I count Land as the start of a new one). RIP Bill Hinzman, THE FIRST ROMERO ZOMBIE.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/28228/ 
