George A Romero, director of 'Night of the Living Dead' passes away

Director of horror classic 'Night of the Living Dead' George A Romero passed away at the age of 77 after a long battle with lung cancer.

A micro-budget zombie film combining horror and social satire, Night of the Living Dead, which Romero co-wrote with John Russo, was released in the year 1968 and became a cult classic, The Guardian reported.

The writer and director, pioneer of zombie horror was born in the Bronx, in New York City, on February 4, 1940 to a Cuban father and a Lithuanian-American mother.

Romero began his filmmaking career as a commercial director before discovering his forte in the horror. Permanently associated with the zombie movie, he came to be seen as a master of the whole genre.