Unearthing The Undead 35 - ROBERT MCCABE
Badge #: 35
Robert McCabe was a Pittsburgh Police officer who was on set for "Night of the Living Dead". Although not seen in the finished film, there is a photograph of Robert talking to the Sheriff McClelland while George Romero films. His son Robert, also recalls his father mentioning that he recalled being filmed while shooting ghouls in the field. He also was invited to the premiere along with his wife.
Even though he was cut from "Night of the Living Dead", it wasn't his last appearance on screen. Robert also appears in the horror-comedy "Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh" as the officer that turns down the loud music coming from the police car.
After graduating from Central Catholic High School in 1961, Mr. McCabe served in the U.S. Army Reserves and worked as a city surveyor until joining the police force in 1967. Over the years, he walked a beat, battled civil unrest as part of the Tactical Patrol Force, worked undercover in robbery and eventually landed in the homicide unit in 1979. His wife said his favorite part of police work was solving mysteries. Supervisors called him Flipper for his uncanny ability to "flip" a suspect, "to confess" in police parlance.
Like his father before him, also a Pittsburgh police officer of 29 years, Mr. McCabe was a stone sculptor. He began using his father's old chiseling tools in earnest in 1993 after his supervisor, Cmdr. Ronald Freeman, suggested he take a sculpting class at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
Two of Mr. McCabe's sculptures were displayed in the lobby of the City County Building
in August 1999 as part of a National Arts Program exhibit of city employees' artwork. Mr. McCabe received an honorable mention for his sculpture "Gargoyle with Grapes". Also in the exhibit was one of his father's pieces. Robert said, "That's the nice thing about these pieces: They last forever. When you're gone, they're still there."
Robert was also a marathon runner and had graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in criminology. His most recent avocation was riding motorcycles with other police officers in the Blue Knights, a motorcycle club made up of law enforcement officers. In October 2000, he was diagnosed with leukemia after a minor accident on his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Robert retired from the detective bureau in June of 2001 and while his disease was in remission, became the police chief of Verona. He saw the job as a new challenge saying "Maybe I can teach them some things, help make them better police officers."
Mr. McCabe was also an active member of the Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1 of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Verona Lodge 1550, and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Plum.
Special thanks to the Heinz History Center for their help and information.
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
