Romero’s Legacy, Laughter, And Lasting Community

Horror history feels different when you’re standing where it happened. We sit down at Living Dead Weekend 2024 to celebrate George A. Romero, trade stories with longtime friends, and trace how a single location—the Monroeville Mall—became a cultural landmark that still pulls fans from the UK, Germany, and beyond. It’s part reunion, part field study in why certain films never fade: they attach to places, people, and rituals that outlast trends.

Our conversation dives into Creepshow and why it remains a high-water mark for anthology horror. We talk about the EC Comics DNA baked into the film’s design, the craft of threading five stories without losing momentum, and the joy of working with icons like Hal Holbrook, Fritz Weaver, and Leslie Nielsen. The set memories are unforgettable, from performance notes to Nielsen’s infamous “fart box,” a perfectly timed prank that says everything about his comic instincts. That story becomes a lens on his career arc—from early heavy in dramatic TV to deadpan genius in Police Squad and The Naked Gun—showing how Creepshow acted as a bridge between two distinct personas.

We widen the lens to celebrate genre shapeshifters like George Kennedy and Christopher Walken, exploring how great actors manage tension, timing, and tone whether they’re playing menace or mirth. There’s a loving nod to Walken’s under-the-radar comedic turn in Envy, plus reflections on why malls and movie locations function as living archives for fans. If you care about Romero’s legacy, the evolution of anthology horror, or the alchemy that lets actors cross from drama to comedy, you’ll feel right at home here—surrounded by stories, laughter, and a community that keeps the flame alive.

If this conversation made you smile or sparked a new watchlist, follow the show, share it with a horror-loving friend, and leave a quick review to help more fans find us.

Chapters

• 0:01 Reunion At Living Dead Weekend
• 0:24 Honoring Romero And Fan Generations
• 2:26 The Mall As A Cultural Time Capsule
• 2:43 Why Creepshow Still Hits
• 3:38 Working With Horror Icons
• 5:14 Leslie Nielsen’s Comic Genius
• 7:03 Crossing From Drama To Comedy
• 8:13 Christopher Walken And Envy
• 10:12 Sign-Off And Inside Jokes

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:01

Sam Fished the Fishbowl here at Living Dead Weekend 2024 with longtime friend, former Quinn Park teacher, and friend Marty Schiff.

SPEAKER_00: 0:13

It's great to be here, Sam. How are you?

SPEAKER_01: 0:15

I'm doing great. How are you?

SPEAKER_00: 0:16

I'm doing fantastic. Excellent.

SPEAKER_01: 0:18

We're on the last day of the con here. Another great turnout, another great weekend.

SPEAKER_00: 0:24

Celebrating the memory of George Romero and uh the films that the impact of his films and everything and any stories that we are I maybe haven't heard or probably it's hard for me to know what we have and haven't even heard of these years, but you know, just being here every year is I look forward to this because to me it's a family reunion. Right. Together with people that you know I don't get to see except this time of the year, people like Tom Crutt, you know, Lee's, uh you know, the people that made this movie happen 45 years ago. Right. Right. Um that's what's special about this movie. And of course, you know, once you get the dimension of famous. Right, right.

SPEAKER_02: 1:20

And I lost pretty much enough.

SPEAKER_00: 1:28

Movies don't give up and say, I just think the future years. You know, moves.

SPEAKER_01: 1:50

Right, and then one of the other things that I heard is that not just the fact that we have like, you know, fourth generation fans where we have fans coming to this home from you know the UK, but Germany and I've had fans about it.

SPEAKER_00: 2:10

Because it's malls, it's not only about the film itself, which is great. But it's malls, you know, it's uh a stand-in motivation. Exactly. And uh you know how long are malls gonna be around, including this one. So I think people are taking advantage of it while it's they're coming, they're taking the same as they did back in 1977. But it's close enough.

SPEAKER_01: 2:40

Right, right. Awesome. Um, any, of course, you gotta bring up Creep Show. Yeah, yeah. First of all, my favorite George Romero movie. I love anthologies. Yeah. And like I like to think that George really was the one that brought like anthologies. Like, I mean, besides like the Twilight Town, you know, and out of limits, you know, but but for I want to say like movie cinema, you know, I I I can't quite like think of anybody that did as much like anthology stuff as he didn't, ironically working with Stephen King.

SPEAKER_00: 3:24

Well, you know, it's interesting. There were horror anthologies prior to Keep Show, but they were like two stories, you know, right. Uh like the black cry black cat, and I didn't, you know, a couple of those. But to take five stories and put it together that was really quite a unique part. And um, and it really was a demolished to the comic books of the 50s that we know. Yeah, I you know, so even though it was uh it definitely paid tribute to horror films. Right, right. That was the cool thing about it because uh it had nothing to do with so it was really that was another opportunity to work on what I think. Uh Stephen Keene, you have all those amazing actors like Hal Holbrook, Fritz Weaver, you know, Leslie Nielsen. I actually ended up working with Leslie a few more times after on some TV shows, and uh, you know, I became good. But not a lot of work with those those actions that were just totally iconic. Right. It was absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_01: 4:44

We we just uh talked to John Ampliss and and he ordered a little more.

SPEAKER_00: 4:49

But it says Mike Gornick. Look, look, it it says it says Mike Gornick. Sorry, Tom Savini is asking you a question and I'm answering. So go ahead.

SPEAKER_01: 5:01

We just talked to John Ampliss and Michael Gornick.

SPEAKER_00: 5:04

And Tom Savini has just said that I looked at David Burkle. That's okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 5:14

So go ahead and let it say.

SPEAKER_00: 5:31

And we'd be getting ready to do a take, and he'd squeeze that, and of course, I went through his crack on him. But he had that with him all the time. And if if you Google Leslie Nielsen, the the fart box is like the first thing that comes up, you know. Um but uh I did an episode of 227 with him on television and he had it there. He had it with him all the time. It was made for him. Uh a prop guy made that for him. It was just a piece of rubber hose and two baby food jar calfs, and one of the calfs had a hole in it. And so when he squeezed it against the palm of your hand, it made a partners.

SPEAKER_01: 6:11

See, we didn't we didn't hear that. All we heard was like a whoopee cushion that it that he wouldn't show anybody. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:16

So he could comb it, you know, he could keep it concealed in his hand so that you wouldn't see it, and then all of a sudden, you know, stand by, hammer rolling, sound, and you knew it was Leslie.

SPEAKER_01: 6:29

Right, right. I was just saying that uh to to you know promote some of Leslie's greatest work, HBO is playing the trilogy of the naked gun movies right now. And I was telling Michael that after he told me that story, he said that kind of makes total sense how if you look at Police Squad and the Naked Gun movies and just all the spoof movies that he did, you know, with like the Zucker brothers, it shows like he really had like comedic timing.

SPEAKER_00: 7:02

Well, you know, it's interesting. Leslie had one of these sort of two-sided careers because if you look at his his stuff that he did in the 50s and the television work he did in his like he was a bad guy, and right, right. All these serious roles. And then Creep Show kind of was the bridge because his role in Creep Show, you could see comic timing there, right, and then all of a sudden started doing all these other movies who were your comedy, and he was hilarious, absolutely on and off screen.

SPEAKER_01: 7:31

It was the same thing with uh George Kennedy, yeah, who was obviously in Creep Show 2, yeah, old Chief Wooden Head, and then went to police squad and the naked gun movies and was his chief. Yeah, and to see the two of them, like two old school you know actors, George Kennedy, Cool Han Luke, you know, so many films.

SPEAKER_00: 7:51

And to see them like in their you know old age kind of doing the exact opposite of what a lot of actors I think it's really a testament to the the uh talent of those guys because a lot of actors can't bridge genre. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01: 8:08

And but they both, you know, George Kennedy and Leslie Nielsen both were able to do it and did it well. One actor that is is still alive and I think has done the exact same thing that George Kennedy and Leslie Nielsen did, is Christopher Walken.

SPEAKER_00: 8:24

Oh we need more cowboy. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01: 8:28

You know, uh there's there's one movie that I honestly think is his best comedic performance, and it's with Ben Stiller and Jack Black, and it's called Envy.

SPEAKER_00: 8:39

Okay, I don't have to see that.

SPEAKER_01: 8:40

You have to see this movie. It's it's so fun. It's like a dark black comedy. Okay. Basically, Ben Stiller and Jack Black are best friends, and they live across the street from each other. Ben Stiller hates his job, and he works at some like I think it's a it's a sandpaper factor. And Jack Black has this like idea to basically create this spray that you spray on dog poop and it disappears.

SPEAKER_02: 9:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 9:14

And he he basically creates the the spray and offers, you know, Ben Stiller to his best friend to like go 50-50 on him. Ben Stiller thinks it's a stupid idea and turns it down. Lo and behold, he becomes like a multi like billionaire overnight and builds like a mansion across the street from Ben Stiller, and Ben Stiller basically is like living with like regret. Okay, you know, I'll have to check it out. And Christopher Walken plays this character, I believe his name is like the G-Man or something, and probably the the most funny comedic performance that I've seen him in. Totally underrated. The film is like they used to play it on Comedy Central every once in a while. I don't know how often now, but definitely track that down. Envy. Envy, yeah. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00: 10:11

Very cool.

SPEAKER_01: 10:12

Awesome. Well, Marty, thank you so much for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.

SPEAKER_00: 10:18

I have my pen. Right. I have my fishbowl pen.

SPEAKER_01: 10:21

Official fishbowl pen. Off for Merch soon.

SPEAKER_00: 10:24

I can put this on eBay, I think.

SPEAKER_01: 10:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 10:27

What do you think it's worth?

SPEAKER_01: 10:29

You know, if you were to autograph, it'd probably be worth a little more.

SPEAKER_00: 10:32

Oh man. Yeah. So look for this on eBay. Marty Schiff selling his fishbowl pen. Probably for a couple of bucks. Right. Many, many more to come. Anyway, thanks Sam. Thank you so much. You too. Take care. You too. Thank you.