Romero’s Legacy, Laughter, And Lasting Community

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Horror history feels different when you’re standing where it happened. We sit down at Living Dead Weekend 2024 to celebrate George A. Romero, trade stories with longtime friends, and trace how a single location—the Monroeville Mall—became a cultural landmark that still pulls fans from the UK, Germany, and beyond. It’s part reunion, part field study in why certain films never fade: they attach to places, people, and rituals that outlast trends.

Our conversation dives into Creepshow and why it remains a high-water mark for anthology horror. We talk about the EC Comics DNA baked into the film’s design, the craft of threading five stories without losing momentum, and the joy of working with icons like Hal Holbrook, Fritz Weaver, and Leslie Nielsen. The set memories are unforgettable, from performance notes to Nielsen’s infamous “fart box,” a perfectly timed prank that says everything about his comic instincts. That story becomes a lens on his career arc—from early heavy in dramatic TV to deadpan genius in Police Squad and The Naked Gun—showing how Creepshow acted as a bridge between two distinct personas.

We widen the lens to celebrate genre shapeshifters like George Kennedy and Christopher Walken, exploring how great actors manage tension, timing, and tone whether they’re playing menace or mirth. There’s a loving nod to Walken’s under-the-radar comedic turn in Envy, plus reflections on why malls and movie locations function as living archives for fans. If you care about Romero’s legacy, the evolution of anthology horror, or the alchemy that lets actors cross from drama to comedy, you’ll feel right at home here—surrounded by stories, laughter, and a community that keeps the flame alive.

If this conversation made you smile or sparked a new watchlist, follow the show, share it with a horror-loving friend, and leave a quick review to help more fans find us.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
Sam Fished the Fishbowl here at Living Dead
Weekend 2024 with longtimefriend, former Quinn Park
teacher, and friend MartySchiff.

SPEAKER_00 (00:13):
It's great to be here, Sam.
How are you?

SPEAKER_01 (00:15):
I'm doing great.
How are you?

SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
I'm doing fantastic.
Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 (00:18):
We're on the last day of the con here.
Another great turnout, anothergreat weekend.

SPEAKER_00 (00:24):
Celebrating the memory of George Romero and uh
the films that the impact of hisfilms and everything and any
stories that we are I maybehaven't heard or probably it's
hard for me to know what we haveand haven't even heard of these
years, but you know, just beinghere every year is I look

(00:46):
forward to this because to meit's a family reunion.
Right.
Together with people that youknow I don't get to see except
this time of the year, peoplelike Tom Crutt, you know, Lee's,
uh you know, the people thatmade this movie happen 45 years
ago.
Right.
Right.
Um that's what's special aboutthis movie.

(01:09):
And of course, you know, onceyou get the dimension of famous.
Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 (01:20):
And I lost pretty much enough.

SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Movies don't give up and say, I just think the future
years.
You know, moves.

SPEAKER_01 (01:50):
Right, and then one of the other things that I heard
is that not just the fact thatwe have like, you know, fourth
generation fans where we havefans coming to this home from
you know the UK, but Germany andI've had fans about it.

SPEAKER_00 (02:10):
Because it's malls, it's not only about the film
itself, which is great.
But it's malls, you know, it'suh a stand-in motivation.
Exactly.
And uh you know how long aremalls gonna be around, including
this one.
So I think people are takingadvantage of it while it's

(02:30):
they're coming, they're takingthe same as they did back in
1977.
But it's close enough.

SPEAKER_01 (02:40):
Right, right.
Awesome.
Um, any, of course, you gottabring up Creep Show.
Yeah, yeah.
First of all, my favorite GeorgeRomero movie.
I love anthologies.
Yeah.
And like I like to think thatGeorge really was the one that

(03:01):
brought like anthologies.
Like, I mean, besides like theTwilight Town, you know, and out
of limits, you know, but but forI want to say like movie cinema,
you know, I I I can't quite likethink of anybody that did as
much like anthology stuff as hedidn't, ironically working with

(03:23):
Stephen King.

SPEAKER_00 (03:24):
Well, you know, it's interesting.
There were horror anthologiesprior to Keep Show, but they
were like two stories, you know,right.
Uh like the black cry black cat,and I didn't, you know, a couple
of those.
But to take five stories and putit together that was really
quite a unique part.

(03:46):
And um, and it really was ademolished to the comic books of
the 50s that we know.
Yeah, I you know, so even thoughit was uh it definitely paid
tribute to horror films.
Right, right.
That was the cool thing about itbecause uh it had nothing to do

(04:09):
with so it was really that wasanother opportunity to work on
what I think.
Uh Stephen Keene, you have allthose amazing actors like Hal
Holbrook, Fritz Weaver, youknow, Leslie Nielsen.
I actually ended up working withLeslie a few more times after on

(04:30):
some TV shows, and uh, you know,I became good.
But not a lot of work with thosethose actions that were just
totally iconic.
Right.
It was absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_01 (04:44):
We we just uh talked to John Ampliss and and he
ordered a little more.

SPEAKER_00 (04:49):
But it says Mike Gornick.
Look, look, it it says it saysMike Gornick.
Sorry, Tom Savini is asking youa question and I'm answering.
So go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
We just talked to John Ampliss and Michael
Gornick.

SPEAKER_00 (05:04):
And Tom Savini has just said that I looked at David
Burkle.
That's okay.
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (05:14):
So go ahead and let it say.

SPEAKER_00 (05:31):
And we'd be getting ready to do a take, and he'd
squeeze that, and of course, Iwent through his crack on him.
But he had that with him all thetime.
And if if you Google LeslieNielsen, the the fart box is
like the first thing that comesup, you know.
Um but uh I did an episode of227 with him on television and

(05:52):
he had it there.
He had it with him all the time.
It was made for him.
Uh a prop guy made that for him.
It was just a piece of rubberhose and two baby food jar
calfs, and one of the calfs hada hole in it.
And so when he squeezed itagainst the palm of your hand,
it made a partners.

SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
See, we didn't we didn't hear that.
All we heard was like a whoopeecushion that it that he wouldn't
show anybody.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
So he could comb it, you know, he could keep it
concealed in his hand so thatyou wouldn't see it, and then
all of a sudden, you know, standby, hammer rolling, sound, and
you knew it was Leslie.

SPEAKER_01 (06:29):
Right, right.
I was just saying that uh to toyou know promote some of
Leslie's greatest work, HBO isplaying the trilogy of the naked
gun movies right now.
And I was telling Michael thatafter he told me that story, he
said that kind of makes totalsense how if you look at Police
Squad and the Naked Gun moviesand just all the spoof movies

(06:54):
that he did, you know, with likethe Zucker brothers, it shows
like he really had like comedictiming.

SPEAKER_00 (07:02):
Well, you know, it's interesting.
Leslie had one of these sort oftwo-sided careers because if you
look at his his stuff that hedid in the 50s and the
television work he did in hislike he was a bad guy, and
right, right.
All these serious roles.
And then Creep Show kind of wasthe bridge because his role in
Creep Show, you could see comictiming there, right, and then

(07:23):
all of a sudden started doingall these other movies who were
your comedy, and he washilarious, absolutely on and off
screen.

SPEAKER_01 (07:31):
It was the same thing with uh George Kennedy,
yeah, who was obviously in CreepShow 2, yeah, old Chief Wooden
Head, and then went to policesquad and the naked gun movies
and was his chief.
Yeah, and to see the two ofthem, like two old school you
know actors, George Kennedy,Cool Han Luke, you know, so many
films.

SPEAKER_00 (07:51):
And to see them like in their you know old age kind
of doing the exact opposite ofwhat a lot of actors I think
it's really a testament to thethe uh talent of those guys
because a lot of actors can'tbridge genre.
Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 (08:08):
And but they both, you know, George Kennedy and
Leslie Nielsen both were able todo it and did it well.
One actor that is is still aliveand I think has done the exact
same thing that George Kennedyand Leslie Nielsen did, is
Christopher Walken.

SPEAKER_00 (08:24):
Oh we need more cowboy.
Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 (08:28):
You know, uh there's there's one movie that I
honestly think is his bestcomedic performance, and it's
with Ben Stiller and Jack Black,and it's called Envy.

SPEAKER_00 (08:39):
Okay, I don't have to see that.

SPEAKER_01 (08:40):
You have to see this movie.
It's it's so fun.
It's like a dark black comedy.
Okay.
Basically, Ben Stiller and JackBlack are best friends, and they
live across the street from eachother.
Ben Stiller hates his job, andhe works at some like I think
it's a it's a sandpaper factor.

(09:02):
And Jack Black has this likeidea to basically create this
spray that you spray on dog poopand it disappears.

SPEAKER_02 (09:12):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (09:14):
And he he basically creates the the spray and
offers, you know, Ben Stiller tohis best friend to like go 50-50
on him.
Ben Stiller thinks it's a stupididea and turns it down.
Lo and behold, he becomes like amulti like billionaire overnight
and builds like a mansion acrossthe street from Ben Stiller, and

(09:39):
Ben Stiller basically is likeliving with like regret.
Okay, you know, I'll have tocheck it out.
And Christopher Walken playsthis character, I believe his
name is like the G-Man orsomething, and probably the the
most funny comedic performancethat I've seen him in.
Totally underrated.

(10:00):
The film is like they used toplay it on Comedy Central every
once in a while.
I don't know how often now, butdefinitely track that down.
Envy.
Envy, yeah.
Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 (10:11):
Very cool.

SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
Awesome.
Well, Marty, thank you so muchfor taking the time to swim in
the bowl with me.

SPEAKER_00 (10:18):
I have my pen.
Right.
I have my fishbowl pen.

SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Official fishbowl pen.
Off for Merch soon.

SPEAKER_00 (10:24):
I can put this on eBay, I think.

SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (10:27):
What do you think it's worth?

SPEAKER_01 (10:29):
You know, if you were to autograph, it'd probably
be worth a little more.

SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
Oh man.
Yeah.
So look for this on eBay.
Marty Schiff selling hisfishbowl pen.
Probably for a couple of bucks.
Right.
Many, many more to come.
Anyway, thanks Sam.
Thank you so much.
You too.
Take care.
You too.
Thank you.