Walker Stalker Convention Guest Spotlight: Russ Streiner and Judith O'Dea

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

It's funny when you think about just how far the zombie genre has come in the past twenty years or so. If you go back in time to the late 1990's, it was all but forgotten. The living dead were just another footnote in horror trivia and men like George A. Romero were just noted as quality filmmakers in a genre that seemed to be ready to fade away into history.

But then something magical happened. In 2002, 28 Days Later hit the big screen and the zombie suddenly found new life at the box office. Fast forward to present day and it's a wonderful time to be a fan of the living dead. They dominate the ratings in AMC's The Walking Dead, George Romero is a household name and the need to consume all things zombie has grown to the point where it has spawned it's own con by way of Walker Stalker Convention.  

Now this brief lesson in zombie history is important for a particular reason. While I was already incredibly excited to go to Walker Stalker Con tomorrow here in Denver, my close friend Scotty pointed out something to me about the con this weekend that not only put a giant smile on my face, but helped WSC earn extra points in my mind as well when I learned that Russ Streiner and Judith O'Dea from Night of the Living Dead (1968) were coming to the convention as well, because this is quite frankly a huge deal.

For starters it shows that the folks behind the scenes at Walker Stalker have a deep respect for the zombie genre as a whole because Russ and Judith are well...icons from a film that more or less changed the landscape of the genre. These two actors were the first to encounter the modern zombie if you will, and their fine work in selling the terror of the moment helped draw us in to a new era of zombie storytelling and the rest as they say is history. But how cool is it that WSC is bringing these two horror legends to Denver to celebrate a weekend of all things living dead? 

It speaks to the fact that this is a show for the fans, by the fans and now I'm scrambling to decide what NOTLD collectible I'm bringing along to have these two zombie pioneers sign. Either way, it's going to be an incredible Saturday and Sunday, one filled with childhood memories of the first time we fell in love with the living dead and new ones we will forge with our friends and I can't wait to see all of you at the National Western Complex tomorrow for this unique and wonderful convention.

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