Unearthing The Undead 43 - RICHARD FRANCE
Richard France played a ghoul in Night of the Living Dead.
He can be seen in shots of the ghouls entering and destroying the farmhouse towards the end of the film, as well as the wide shot of all the ghouls approaching Ben by the gas pump.Richard got involved in the movie when his neighbors, Jack and Glenda Rozzo, invited him to be an extra with them since Jack was an investor in the film. Jack and Glenda are also in the same scenes as Richard. Richard has stated in interviews as being in the film but couldn't be found because his face is often hidden and he also did not have his beard, making him even harder to spot.
Whilst researching for the Unearthing the Undead series, John Vullo discovered a batch of photos taken during the production of Night of the Living Dead, including the color photo seen here, featuring Richard at the farmhouse location in Ghoul Make-up.
Around that time, Richard was writing plays as well as teaching playwriting workshops around the area including Allegheny Community College. He also worked at WQED as a producer-director and reviewer, calling himself "Pittsburgh's Premiere Critical Intellect" from 1969 to 1973.
He received his Ph.D. in Theater History/Drama Literature in 1973.Richard also had his plays "A Sign of the Times" and "A Day in theLife" staged at the Salt City Playhouse in Syracuse NY at that time.
After his second daughter was born in 1973, he left Pittsburgh to teach drama for Rhode Island College. He also became the State University College of Arts and Science's playwright-in-residence in Geneseo, NY.
Richard was involved with George Romero after "Night of the Living Dead" appearing as himself in "There's Always Vanilla" and also as Dr. Watts in "The Crazies".
But Richard is much more well known and beloved as Dr. Millard Rausche in "Dawn of the Dead".
Richard has had an extraordinary life and most of it can not be summarised here properly, so visit his Wikipedia page for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_France_(writer)
Researched and compiled by John Vullo
Text and photos © Image Ten, Inc.
If you know of any family, friends or acquaintances that appeared as extras in the original Night of the Living Dead, please contact John Vullo at jmv3683@gmail.com
