What Was George A. Romero's Net Worth?
George A. Romero was an American-Canadian film director, writer, producer, and editor who had a net worth of $35 million at the time of his death in 2017. George A. Romero is most notable for reviving the zombie film genre. His 1968 movie "Night of the Living Dead" would inspire generations of future film makers and dozens of zombie knockoffs. That movie, with an often imitated but never completely recaptured blend of art and schlock, has gone on to be considered one of the most influential horror movies ever made, completely changing the genre forever. George had more than 20 directing credits to his name, including "Season of the Witch" (1973), "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), "Creepshow" (1982), "Day of the Dead" (1985), "Monkey Shines" (1988), "The Dark Half" (1993), and "Diary of the Dead" (2007), and he wrote, produced, edited, and appeared in several of the projects he directed. Romero created and executive produced the syndicated horror anthology series "Tales from the Darkside" (1983–1988), and he wrote four episodes of the show. George died on July 16, 2017, at the age of 77 after a brief battle with lung cancer.
Early Life
George A. Romero was born George Andrew Romero on February 4, 1940, in New York City. He was the son of Anne Dvorsky and commercial artist George Romero. His mother was of Lithuanian descent, and his father, who was born in Spain, immigrated to Cuba when he was a child. George grew up in the Bronx and often rode the subway into Manhattan in order to rent film reels. Romero and Martin Scorsese were reportedly the only two people to rent the 1951 film "The Tales of Hoffmann" multiple times. George studied at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, graduating from the College of Fine Arts in 1960.
Career
After college, Romero began making short films and shooting television commercials, and his early work included a segment for "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" that involved Fred Rogers undergoing a tonsillectomy. In the late '60s, George and nine of his friends formed Image Ten Productions. His first feature film was 1968's "Night of the Living Dead," which he also co-wrote, edited, and appeared in. The film was preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 1999 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," and in 1990, a remake of the movie was released, which was written and executive produced by Romero and directed by Tom Savini. In the '70s, George directed and edited "There's Always Vanilla" (1971) and "The Amusement Park" (1975), and he wrote, directed, and edited "Season of the Witch" (1973), "The Crazies" (1973), "Martin" (1977), and "Dawn of the Dead" (1978). A remake of "The Crazies" starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell was released in 2010, and Romero executive produced the film. "Dawn of the Dead," George's second zombie movie, was remade by Zack Snyder in 2004, and it starred Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer, and Ty Burrell and grossed $102.3 million at the box office.
Romero directed and executive produced the documentary series "The Winners" (1973–1974), and he directed the 1974 documentary "O. J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose." In the '80s, he wrote, directed, and edited "Knightriders" (1981), directed and edited Stephen King's "Creepshow" (1982), wrote "Creepshow 2" (1987), and wrote and directed "Day of the Dead" (1985) and "Monkey Shines" (1988). George wrote the "Cat from Hell" segment in "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" and wrote and directed "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" segment of "Two Evil Eyes," which were both released in 1990. He wrote, directed, and executive produced the 1993 film adaptation of the 1989 Stephen King novel "The Dark Half," then he wrote and directed the 1994 short film "Jacaranda Joe." Around this time, Romero also had a small role as an FBI agent in the 1991 Academy Award-winning film "The Silence of the Lambs."
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In the 2000s, George wrote and directed the horror-thriller film "Bruiser" (2000) and the zombie movies "Land of the Dead" (2005), "Diary of the Dead" (2007), and "Survival of the Dead" (2009). Romero hosted and executive produced "Deadtime Stories" (2009) and "Deadtime Stories 2" (2011), and he voiced Zombie George A. Romero in the 2011 video game "Call of Duty: Call of the Dead." In 2014, Marvel Comics released a 15-issue miniseries called "Empire of the Dead," which was written by George. Before his death, Romero wrote the treatment and the beginning of the script for a zombie film called "Twilight of the Dead," and in April 2021, it was announced that the movie was going back into development under his widow's supervision.
Personal Life
George was married to his first wife, Nancy, from 1971 to 1978, and in 2014, their son Cameron launched a crowdfunding campaign to make a "Night of the Living Dead" prequel. Romero wed actress Christine Forrest, who he met on the set of his film "Season of the Witch," in 1981, and they had two children, Tina and Andrew, before divorcing in 2010. George married his third wife, Suzanne Desrocher, in September 2011, and they remained together until his death in July 2017. The couple lived in Toronto, and Romero held dual citizenship between Canada and the U.S.
Death
Romero passed away on July 16, 2017, at the age of 77 after a "brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer," according to his producing partner Peter Grunwald. George died with Suzanne and Tina at his side while listening to the score of 1952's "The Quiet Man," which was one of his favorite movies. Romero was laid to rest at the Toronto Necropolis Cemetery, and his headstone reads, "HE LOVED, AND WAS LOVED." In 2018, Suzanne founded the George A. Romero Foundation, which is "dedicated to honoring the life work and cultural influence of George A. Romero, and supporting a new generation of filmmakers and artists inspired by his legacy."
Awards and Nominations
In 2009, George received the Mastermind Award at the Scream Awards (aka Scream 2009), and in 2017, he was honored with The Lon Chaney Award for Excellence in Independent Horror at FANtastic Horror Film Festival, San Diego. He won a "Fangoria" Chainsaw Award for Best Screenplay for "The Dark Half" in 1993, and he was also nominated in that category for "Land of the Dead" in 2006. At the 1993 Fantafestival, Romero received a Career Award, and "The Dark Half" was named Best Film. He earned Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award nominations for Best Film for "Land of the Dead" (2005) and "Diary of the Dead" (2008), and he was inducted into the Monster Kid Hall Of Fame in 2010. At the Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival, George won the Best Screenplay award, the Best Director award, and the Prize of the Catalan Screenwriter's Critic and Writer's Association for "Monkey Shines" in 1988, and he received an Honorary Grand Prize in 2007. "Monkey Shines" also earned awards from the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival (Antennae II Award) and Fantasporto (Best Film and Critics' Award).
Romero received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 New York City Horror Film Festival and the Vanguard Director award at the 2005 CineVegas International Film Festival, and "Diary of the Dead" won the Critics Award at the 2008 Gérardmer Film Festival. George also earned an Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Grand Prize nomination for "Two Evil Eyes" (1991), a Saturn Award nomination (from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films) for Best Director for "The Dark Half" (1994), and a Venice Film Festival Golden Lion nomination for "Survival of the Dead" (2009). In 2017, Romero posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
