"We may not enjoy living together, but dying together isn't going to solve anything." - Helen Cooper
1968/10/01 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The American independent black-and-white zombie film, Night of the Living Dead, directed by George A. Romero, premiered at the Fulton Theatre. The lead role of Ben was played by unknown stage actor Duane Jones. His performance depicted Ben as a comparatively calm and resourceful Negro. ...
... Casting Jones as the hero was, in 1968, potentially controversial. At that time, it was not typical for an African American man to be the hero of a film when the rest of the cast was composed entirely of white actors and actresses. Social commentators saw that casting as significant; on the other hand, Romero said that Jones "simply gave the best audition".
