RIP Bill Hinzman – Zombie # 1

It is with a sad and heavy heart that we bid good-bye to the most iconic zombie of our time—Bill Hinzman. The first zombie to make an appearance in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Bill continued his career as an actor, writer, cinematographer, director, and editor and most times he stood in front of the camera he donned zombie makeup.

Bill loved to go to conventions and pose with fans while in zombie makeup. In fact, that was how we first met Bill—when he tried to take a bite out of the chief. But her prowess at screaming and running in circles paid off, she was able to escape his grasp and then talk him into being a friend of the Zombie Survival Crew.

Born Samuel William Hinzman, October, 24 1936, Bill passed away February 4, 2012 at the age of 75 from that insidious beast—cancer. To see his accomplishments, check out his IMDB page. Perhaps the tweet from Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg puts it best:

Sad to hear Bill Hinzman, George Romero’s first zombie in NotLD passed away today. Even zombies die, legends however, do not. RIP Bill.

Rest in Peace, Bill. We, the Zombie Survival Crew, give you a 21—Crossbow salute!!

 


Zombie # 1

Suffice it to say, Spooky Empire’s May-Hem was chalk-full of strangeness for your ZSC commanders. Juliette covered some of it in her debriefing after the event. However while scouring her files for something we came across this, footage of actor Bill Hinzman.

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That name not ring a bell? Then you haven’t been doing your research. Mr. Hinzman was the first zombie on screen in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. So… why was Juliette talking to a potentially compromised person? We aren’t sure, but he was nice enough to film this clip for us.

Command considers Bill Hinzman a friendly and we thank him for not munching on our fearless leader.