Tom Savini

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Thomas Vincent Savini is an American actor, stunt man, director and award-winning special effects and makeup artist. He is known for his work on the Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero, as well as Friday the 13th, Creepshow, The Burning, The Prowler, and Maniac. He directed the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead. Though officially retired from special effects, he has continued to direct, produce and star in several movies. Savini has been known to refer movie make-up effects projects to graduates of his school. He is a frequent and willing star and icon of typical "bad movies" and has built-up a cult fan base based on this turn in his career, appearing in films such as From Dusk Till Dawn and Grindhouse.

Savini is primarily known for his groundbreaking work in the field of special makeup effects. He got his breakthrough working with Pittsburgh filmmaker George A. Romero, providing a typical if rudimentary wrist slashing effect in the opening scenes of Martin (1977). The following year, working with an expanded budget on Dawn of the Dead, Savini created his signature palate of severed limbs and bite-marks. Some say the gore effects in Dawn have been widely imitated but never bettered for sheer visceral impact, with the only exception of Savini's own work in Day of the Dead (1985).

Savini has also worked on films by Dario Argento (Trauma, Two Evil Eyes) and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2). His signature realism livens otherwise plodding genre films such as Maniac (1980), which incidentally contains the infamous "shotgun" scene. Perhaps Savini's most noteworthy special effects occurred in the zombie epic Day of the Dead.

Savini has noted that most of the characters he has played are bikers. He played a relatively straight, innocuous character in Martin (1977), but played a menacing biker called 'Blades' in Dawn of the Dead (1978), a role he reprised with a brief cameo appearance in the 2005 continuation of the series, Land of the Dead. He also had a cameo as a sheriff in the 2004 remake of Dawn.

Savini did have a much more prominent role as biker/Renaissance fair participant Morgan in George Romero's Knightriders (1981), and had a small role as a biker in The Boy Who Loved Trolls in (1984). In 1985, he had a small part in Twisted Sister's video for their song Be Chrool to Your Scuel. He also played the whip-wielding, vampire-fighting biker 'Sex Machine' in the 1996 Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez film From Dusk Till Dawn. (This character was a riff on the "Blades" character Savini created for Dawn of the Dead replete with the same costume.)

As a director, Savini helmed episodes of the syndicated television series Tales from the Darkside, the aforementioned 1990 color remake of Night of the Living Dead and, House Call, the pilot of the proposed series The Chill Factor, which starred Pittsburgh actor Bingo O'Malley.

In 2006, Savini essayed the role of Prester John, the mythical villain in the dreamlike Sea of Dust. 2006 also saw the release of Johannes Roberts' Demonic (a.k.a. Forest of the Damned), in which Savini played a mad hermit surrounded by angels cast from heaven. In 2007, Savini took on a role in Planet Terror, one of two stories in the film Grindhouse. "Planet Terror" was directed by Robert Rodriguez; the other story, Death Proof was directed by Quentin Tarantino. He plays Deputy Tolo, who tries to save his town from an infestation of zombies. Currently Savini is filming a role in which he plays another vampire in the movie Lost Boys: The Tribe and has just completed the film The Dead Matter, also featuring Andrew Divoff and Jim O'Rear.

He also voiced himself on the "Worst Episode Ever" episode of The Simpsons. He was making an appearance at Android's Dungeon where he performed his "Gutbuster" gag in which he covered the crowd in "blood and guts" and humiliated the Comic Book Guy. He also made a brief appearance in Zack & Miri Make a Porno.

Savini runs the Special Effects Make-Up and Digital Film Programs at the Douglas Education Center in Monessen, Pennsylvania and is the author of several books on special effects including Grande Illusions I and II (1983, 1994) and Bizarro! (1984), detailing the production and mechanical workings of many of his famous film effects. He is also associated with other books in the horror genre including Book of the Dead and Horror 101 for which he wrote the foreword. Savini is an associate of Dick Smith, who incorporates an advanced professional make-up seminar into the last semester of the program. Among other projects, Smith is known for his groundbreaking work in The Exorcist.

Horror Filmography

Trivia

Has his own effects company Tom Savini Ltd.

Only man in Hollywood who can claim all four titles of stuntman, make-up artist, actor, and director. Only one man has come close: makeup artist, actor, stuntman Lon Chaney - Tom's influence and childhood idol.

For his stunt work, his reference is action legend Jackie Chan.

Turned down the chance to direct Pet Sematary (1989).

Has a haunted house, Terrormania, also located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The students from the classes he has perform and work in the haunted house.

Has a make-up/special effects school in Monesson, Pennsylvania (Douglas School of Business).

Vietnam veteran.

Is the only actor to star in three 'Dead' films; he first played the role of 'Blades', an outlaw biker in Dawn of the Dead (1978) and then in the 2004 remake of Dawn as a County Sheriff. He then reprised his 'Blades' role in Land of the Dead (2005), this time as an undead.

Is a skilled fencer.

Was originally supposed to be a special effects make-up artist on Night of the Living Dead (1968), but was drafted to Vietnam just before filming began.

Provided his voice to the horror game "City of the Dead" - a spin-off to George A. Romero's Dead films, but the game's distributor Hip Interactive went bankrupt, and the game was never released (2006).

Has a son named Lon and a daughter named Chaney in tribute to his hero Lon Chaney.

Huge fan of Professional Wrestling.

Click the image to go to Tom Savini's Official site.

“Film is a truly magical medium. You can create illusions of reality, make people think they've seen things that they really haven't -- like blowing a guy's head off with a shotgun.”
~Tom Savini