R.I.P. DAVID EMGE

You acted in one of the most important, horror movies of the past century, which is also regarded as one of cinema's best sequels: George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. 

As pilot, Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews, you presented a range of identifiable emotions, sealing your fate as a fan favorite, which in turn justified your character's representation as action and resin-model figures. 

Your contribution to living-dead lore was enough to grant you roles in Basket Case 2 and Hellmaster. The Booby Hatch, aka The Liberation of Cherry Jankowski (directed by Romero's pals, John Russo and Rudy Ricci) and The Devil and Sam Silverstein (directed by Russell Streiner [Johnny from Night of the Living Dead] and Russo, with the former as director) emerged earlier in queue, and because of your participation in them, they grew all the riper for re-discovery.

Beyond your movies, you were just one of the guys: laid-back, honest and kind. You'll be missed, Mr. Emge, as will those engrossing chats you spurred in the many packed auditoriums you dignified over the years.

Collectible Time: Dawn of the Dead/Zombie German Lobby Cards

I don't know how my friend, Mel, does it, but time and again, she surprises me with cool, paper collectibles. The latest stem from one of my all-time favorites, George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead": original, 10" x 12" German lobby cards, which flaunt "Dawn'"s popular foreign title, "Zombie" (not to be confused with Lucio Fulci's "Zombie 2", an unofficial prequel to Romero's macabre masterpiece).

The top image is of Scott Reiniger's Roger in a clip snipped from an early, hellzapoppin segment.

To complement the Roger entry, there's another featuring a group of spiffy, mall zombies, with two other cards commemorating two of the movie's additional protagonists. Ken Foree's Pete dominates one, and the other spotlights David Emge's elevator-relegated Steve (aka Flyboy). 

As with my previous Mel posts, I've used stock shots for clarity's sake, but believe me, the four cards I received are mint-amazing.

The timing couldn't have been better, since I recently re-watched the U.S. theatrical cut of "Dawn" to squash some Sunday- night anxiety. The flesh-feasting comfort it brought reminded me of how near to my heart this "Living Dead" sequel is, but then the original "Dawn" means lots to lots of folks. It's just that gosh-darn good. 

Once more, Mel proves she knows me inside out. Bless your gory heart, my sweet, zombie-seeking compatriot.