Some very sad news is being reported today, as filmmaker John A. Russo revealed that Night of the Living Dead actor George Kosana has passed away at the age of 81.

Russo announced the sad news of Kosana's passing on his Facebook page, sharing this heartfelt message (as reported by Bloody Disgusting):

"GEORGE KOSANA, R.I.P. My close friend George Kosana, who played the sheriff in NOLD, has regrettably passed away after a long battle with various illnesses. He will be greatly missed by me, by his fellow NOLD cast and crew members and by his many fans. For the past few days, I have been constantly reliving my many good and often funny remembrances of him."

Kosana will forever hold a memorable place in horror history for his scene-stealing role as Sheriff McClelland in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. McClelland's sound advice on how to kill zombies has influenced decades of living dead films, and his epic line, "Yeah, they're dead. They're... all messed up," is infinitely quotable.

In addition to Night of the Living Dead, Kosana acted in Romero's romantic drama There's Always Vanilla as well as The Booby Hatch and Incest Death Squad. He returned to the character of Sheriff McClelland in 2012's Living Dead and the yet-to-be-released My Uncle John Is a Zombie!

Our thoughts go out to Kosana's family and friends during this difficult time.

*Above photo from John A. Russo's Facebook page

Source: John A. Russo via Bloody Disgusting
  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.