John A. Russo (born 1939), sometimes credited as Jack Russo or John Russo, is an American screenwriter and film director most commonly associated with the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead. As a screenwriter, his credits include Night of the Living Dead, The Majorettes, Midnight, and Santa Claws the latter two he also directed. He has also performed small roles as an actor, most notably the first zombie who is stabbed in the head in Night of the Living Dead as well as cameos in There's Always Vanilla and House of Frankenstein 1997.
Filmography[]
As screenwriter and director[]
- Saloonatics (2002)
- Santa Claws (1996) (as John Russo)
- aka 'Tis the Season
- Scream Queens' Naked Christmas (1996)
- aka Naked Christmas (USA)
- Heartstopper (1993)
- aka Dark Craving (USA: video title)
- Midnight 2 (1993)
- Midnight (1982) (also novel)
- aka Backwoods Massacre
- The Booby Hatch (1976) (screenplay) (story)
- aka Dirty Book Store
- aka The Liberation of Cherry Janowski
As screenwriter only[]
- Voodoo Dawn (1990)
- aka Strange Turf (USA)
- The Majorettes (1986) (also novel) (as John Russo)
- aka One by One
- Night of the Living Dead (1968) (screenplay; co-written by George A. Romero) (as John Russo)
- aka Night of Anubis
- aka Night of the Flesh Eaters
As director only[]
- Scream Queens Swimsuit Sensations (1992) (V) (as John Russo)
As an actor[]
- House of Frankenstein 1997 (1997) (miniseries) .... Honor Guard
- Santa Claws (1996) (as John Russo) .... Detective
- aka 'Tis the Season
- The Inheritor (1990) ...Unknown role
- The Majorettes (1986) (as John Russo) .... Coroner (Dr. Gibson)
- aka One by One
- There's Always Vanilla (1971) (uncredited) .... Music producer
- aka The Affair
- Night of the Living Dead (1968) (uncredited) ...Washington military reporter/Ghoul in house
As producer[]
- Children of the Living Dead (2001) (executive producer)
- Santa Claws (1996) (producer)
- aka 'Tis the Season
- Night of the Living Dead (1990) (producer)
- The Majorettes (1986) (producer)
- aka One by One
- There's Always Vanilla (1971) (producer)
- aka The Affair
Documentary appearances[]
- UnConventional (2004) .... Himself
- The Dead Walk: Remaking a Classic (1999) (V) .... Himself
- Note: this is a "making-of" special featured on the DVD edition of the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead.
- A-Z of Horror (1997) (mini) TV Series .... Himself
- aka Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror (UK: complete title)
- Night of the Living Dead: 25th Anniversary Documentary (1993) (V) .... Himself
- Note: this is a 25th Anniversary special featured on a video release of the original Night of the Living Dead film.
- Horror F/X (1989) (V) .... Himself
- Note: Russo interviews frequent collaborator and fellow Pittsburgh horror movie maker, Tom Savini, in this low-budget shot-on-video documentary.
- Drive-In Madness! (1987) .... Himself
- aka Screen Scaries (USA: video title)
Bibliography[]
- Majorettes (1979) ISBN 0-671-82315-9
- Limb to Limb (Pocket Books, mass market paperback original, 1981) ISBN 0-671-41690-1
- The Awakening (Pocket Books, mass market paperback original, 1983) ISBN 0671-45259-2
- Making Movies (1989) ISBN 0-440-50113-X
- Return of the Living Dead ISBN 1-55197-508-4
- Scare Tactics (1992) ISBN 0-440-50355-8
- Hell's Creation (Ravenmor Publications, mass market paperback original, 1995) ISBN 1-55197-060-0
- How to Make Your Own Feature Movie for $10,000 or Less (1995) ISBN 0-935016-10-4
Comics[]
With Avatar Press he is writing a number of comic books:[1]
- Escape of the Living Dead[2]
- George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead[3]
- Plague of the Living Dead[4]