Well 2017, that didn’t take long.

The name of George Kosana might not ring a bell with some movie fans. Or even the name Sheriff McClelland, which is what he’s known for. But if you say the line “Yeah, they’re dead. They’re… all messed up”, then they will know who you’re talking about. Kosana plays the sheriff in Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. He did appear in a few other films afterwards, such as There’s Always Vanilla (1971), another Romero film, as well as a couple other low budget titles. Kosana recently passed away after battling several different illnesses, according to lifelong friend, John Russo.

That is the sad part of a film that is almost 50 years old, that we are losing more and more people that were part of making that film so great. We had met George a few times over the years at different conventions. He was always so nice and friendly and loved talking to his fans. While he might be an icon, he is definitely and important part and will be missed.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.