I’VE UPDATED THE LINK WITH EVEN MORE PHOTOS!
You’ll find a whole Gallery of my ZombieWalk photos from 2012 Spooky Empire May-Hem in Orlando, FL CLICK HERE. I greatly enjoyed meeting and chatting with so many zombie enthusiasts and the wonderful makeup magicians who helped to create them, and admit that even I succumbed to the desire to “play undead” for a little while … I’ll have a story and pics on that later! Enjoy!
Spooky Empire’s May-Hem horror convention got off to a growling good start Friday afternoon as legions of the undead were seen congregating at Uno’s Chicago Grill before advancing down International Drive towards the Wyndham Orlando Resort in search of, what else? Brains!!
Here is a LINK to a video of the 2012 Zombie Onslaught!
Bill Hinzman in 1968′s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
This year The Deadite Empire organized a special May ZombieWalk in honor of Bill Hinzman, known to horror aficionados everywhere as the first onscreen zombie in George A. Romero’s original 1968 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Sadly, Bill passed away in February of this year at 75 years of age, but his family courageously decided to continue his longstanding tradition of appearing at his favorite convention as a tribute to the actor’s memory. Multiple members of the Hinzman family were in attendance Friday at the ZombieWalk to celebrate Bill’s life and to share with others just how much Bill appreciated the devotion of his fans over the years.
Bill Hinzman at the 2011 Spooky EMpire convention.
“Being here is bittersweet,” Bill’s daughter Heidi Hinzman told me today while she was waiting her turn for zombie makeup application. “My niece is here as well with me. We were supposed to come here with him last October, but my father was diagnosed with cancer in August and started chemo in October, so unfortunately he had to call and cancel. But the plan was for the whole family to attend together, because this was for him, he was all about his fans. And Spooky Empire was his favorite convention. Petey (Mongelli) who runs Spooky Empire and Ed Asbury have been such great friends to my father, they even came to the funeral. When they invited us to May-Hem we couldn’t help but come and carry the torch for dad as best we can. I am looking forward to talking to his many fans, because he was all about his fans.”
Halfway through Heidi Hinzman’s transformation into one of the undead.
“His fans kept him going,” Heidi went on to say. “I mean, the film (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) was shot in 1968. It was a cheap movie. They shot in black and white because they couldn’t afford color film. And it was something that they got together and did as documentarists. They never expected it to become a cult classic! And even at 74 years old my father was still coming here, and walking and leading the ZombieWalk, because he enjoyed it so much.”
Heidi Hinzman and her niece Kristin pose in full zombie mode.
“But this is actually our first ZombieWalk! I wish now that I had been able to come and share this just once with my father. I work in the film industry in California, and my niece lives in Pittsburgh, so we’ve never been able to come to this with him. Then unfortunately he became ill.”
“I grew up in the business and was a zombie in 4 or 5 movies. And I was in every movie dad made, of course!” she laughed. “So I was a “zombie”, I was “shot” at eight years old, I was “run over by a car” in my twenties, I’ve had it all happen! But as for this experience (ZombieWalk), no, I hadn’t done it before. I haven’t “dressed up in zombie” since I worked with dad. It’s been 10 years since I wore this costume. So, yes, this weekend is really bittersweet.”
Members of the Hinzman family at the ZombieWalk, all wearing shirts honoring Bill, pose for a family portrait that he definitely would have appreciated.
To the delight of Central Florida horror fans, the ghoulies and ghosties of Spooky Empire are bringing even more May-Hem back to the Wyndham Orlando Resort this Memorial Day weekend. Due to the success of their Ultimate Horror Weekend held every October, Spooky Empire organizers were prompted to host an additional event in May of last year. This was such a hit with fans that it is being repeated again in 2012.
May-Hem kicks off on Friday, May 25th with a ZombieWalk in tribute of the late, great Bill Hinzman, beloved Spooky Empire event regular who played the “Graveyard Zombie” in 1968′s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. A framed photo of Hinzman in zombie character makeup from a previous ZombieWalk has been donated by Sid Graves of Cemetery Prints, and is being raffled off to raise money for Scares That Care, a nonprofit organization that provides money, toys and other items to help sick children. The $1 raffle tickets will be available at the Zombie Walk pre-events at Uno’s Chicago Grill on International Drive across from the Wyndham on Friday afternoon, and all weekend long at the Scares That Care booth.
I will be attending the con starting with the ZombieWalk pre-festivities on Friday afternoon, and look forward to snapping pics of both the wandering undead and the masters of FX makeup at Uno’s Restaurant. Post Mortem FX and Dr. SkuLL are teaming up again this year to bring the dead to life and pack International Drive with ravaging zombies. Their special FX makeup prices range from $15 for just the face to $35 for full-body zombie makeup including arms and legs. Makeup is done on a first-come, first-served basis from 11am until 5pm, so it’s recommended that zombie wannabes arrive early.
The lineup of celebrity guests for the weekend includes Linda Hamilton (Sarah Conner in the TERMINATOR series, BEAUTY & THE BEAST); Kristanna Loken (TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES, PAINKILLER JANE); several cast members from the original Addams Family TV series, including John Astin (Gomez) and Lisa Loring (Wednesday); Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause (Piper and Leo on CHARMED); James Marsters (Spike on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER); and more than a dozen others. As a special treat, movie monster creator Cleve A. Hall and his daughter Constance will also be on hand to discuss their Syfy original series, MONSTER MAN.
May-Hem takes place all weekend, May 25-27, and also features live bands, a tattoo festival, seminars, a large and diverse dealer room, celebrity autograph signings and photo opportunities, lively pool parties, an incredible array of artists, and other special activities sure to please any horror TV and movie fan. I’ll be the gal in the SciFi4Me.com t-shirt, so be sure to say hello if you see me there!
