George Andrew Romero was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His Night of the Living Dead series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the original Night of the Living Dead and is considered a major contributor to the image of the zombie in modern culture. Other films in the series include Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead . He later revived his attachment to the sub-genre with Land of the Dead , Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead , his final film. Aside from this series, his works include The Crazies , Martin , Knightriders , Creepshow , Monkey Shines , The Dark Half , and Bruiser . He also created and executive-produced the television series Tales from the Darkside from 1983 to 1988.