David Emge only appeared in a handful of films – but still achieved worldwide fame as Stephen “Flyboy” Andrews in George A. Romero’s “Zombie – Dawn Of The Dead”. The actor has now died at the age of 77.
David Emge is dead. As the actor’s family announced to the Evansville Courier & Press, Emge passed away on January 20, 2024 at the age of 77. Details about the cause of death are not known.
The actor, who was born in Evansville, Indiana, only appeared in front of the camera a few times throughout his career, but with those exquisite performances he became a favorite of many horror fans – who will forever associate him with his most legendary roles.
David Emge: A zombie for eternity
Emge is known, among other things, from the mutant horror film “Hellmaster” (1992) and from the iconic horror film “Basket Case 2 – The Return” (1990). But above all, the actor owes his career to George A. Romero. The master director and founder of modern undead cinema once discovered Emge in a New York restaurant where he worked as a chef – and was keen to hire him for his spiritual successor to “Night of the Living Dead”. Said and done.
Emge became world famous for his role as pilot Stephen “Flyboy” Andrews in “Zombie – Dawn Of The Dead”. Not only because the film is still celebrated by many genre fans as the greatest zombie masterpiece of all time, but also because his character became the advertising face of the undead milestone in the 70s. While the later “Shaun Of The Dead” lead actor Simon Pegg remembers in his memoir “Nerd Do Well” how in his youth he “literally stared at the zombified Flyboy” because he was so fascinated by him and Romero’s film it was the role that shaped Emge for a long time afterwards.
“Flyboy” and the “Dawn Of The Dead” advertising campaign not only attracted people to movie theaters in droves, but also left a lasting impression. And so, over the decades, Emge was always a welcome guest at various events such as horror conventions, where he signed countless autographs and took photos with the many, many “Flyboy” fans from all over the world.
“Dawn Of The Dead” bei Paramount+*
“Dawn Of The Dead”, which was reissued by Zack Snyder in 2004 under the same title and was on the index in Germany for a long time in the uncut version, but can now be streamed completely uncut on Paramount+, among others, is “one of the best comments on the “Society and commercialization that has ever been made,” says filmmaker Ted Geoghegan, who also adds: “And ‘Flyboy’ holds the film together with heart and humanity.”
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2024-01-23 14:27:14
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