Article Last Updated: Sunday, April 25, 2004 - 9:36:01 AM EST
A zombie among us
Local man recalls acting stint in Dawn of the Dead'
Local man recalls acting stint in Dawn of the Dead' By ERIN NEGLEY - Evening Sun Reporter
A terrified and impressionable young Jim Krut couldn't and wouldn't leave the theater when the credits of "The Thing" rolled across the theater screen.
Later he ran home six blocks, fleeing his memories of the film about a monster terrorizing the Arctic.
Little did Krut know his own 15 minutes of cinematic fame would come from 15 seconds in a horror film.
In the original "Dawn of the Dead," Krut portrayed "helicopter zombie," aptly named because helicopter blades chop off the top of his head.
At the end of the cult horror classic, bikers throw pies at zombies in front of a Hanover Shoes store in the Pittsburgh-area Monroeville Mall.
Krut, a Bonneauville resident, brings another local connection to the film.
While attending Pittsburgh's Point Park College, Krut met Tom Savini, the man behind the film's special effects. Both served in the Vietnam War and returned to Pittsburgh to join the same theater groups.
In 1978, Krut was on his way to see a movie when he encountered Savini again.
"How'd you like to be in a movie?" asked Savini the future Godfather of Gore.
"In five minutes I'll be in one," Krut quipped.
Director George Romero was making a zombie movie and asked Savini to create the makeup and special effects. Savini later became a special make-up effects artist in movies like "Friday the 13th" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2."
For "Dawn of the Dead," Krut's low forehead caught Savini's attention. He made a mold of Krut's head, added a little extra on top and dabbed on some gray make-up for his scene.
The Dawn of the Dead crew filmed Krut's scene at a nearby airport, minus the legions of zombies that populated the main set at the Monroeville Mall.
Krut didn't have a clue how to embody his zombie character, he said. He walked stiffly towards his potential meal one of the actors and made some "low growly sounds."
But "helicopter zombie" never saw the reason for his demise the rotating helicopter blades.
As the camera rolled, Krut climbed a pile of boxes. People off-screen ripped off the top of his fake head by pulling strings. Others hid behind the boxes and pumped blood to create the gushing effect.
The deadly helicopter blades were added in post-production.
Filming lasted two days and fit right into Krut's schedule as a theater actor.
He didn't realize his short role would take him to Europe to meet admiring fans in the future. After attending horror conventions in Pittsburgh and Cleaveland, Krut went to events in Germany, where the film has a large following.
"I thought no matter what happened, here's my 15 seconds," Krut said. "As soon as that comes up: (People say)Wow.'"
In fact, fans from Germany are visiting the Kruts, Jim and Linda, this weekend. One man makes life-sized statues of the film's characters. Another runs a German "Dawn of the Dead" website.
Zach Snyder's remake of "Dawn of the Dead" opened in theaters last month. The films share blood, guns and a mall setting.
But the new zombies run instead of shuffle, which doesn't allow the audience the chance to get to know the undead characters, Krut said.
"There's not that same type of personality development," he said. "It's a different movie."
Now as the manager of communications and community services at Adams Electric, Krut finds time to act with Gettysburg Stage, a local theater group. He will play the lead role in "Dracula" in the fall.
Scary movies didn't terrify the Kruts' daughters, Melissa and Angelica, when they were young. Still, their parents didn't allow them to watch "Dawn of the Dead" until they turned 16.
His youngest, Angelica, sat down on her 16th birthday with some pizza, wincing at the movie's initial gunshots and bloodshed.
When her father lost his head, she asked for a replay.
