Director · Actor · Writer · Producer

S. William Hinzman

15 credited titles on WatchWise

Motion picture actor and director. Born Samuel William Hinzman, he was working in 1968 as an assistant cameraman on the low budget, black and white film, "Night of the Living Dead", when director George Romero cast him as the zombie in the opening sequence. The iconic role earned Hinzman the admiration of horror fans who have affectionately referred to him as "No. 1 zombie". Hinzman also went on to direct and star in the 1980s horror movies "The Majorettes" (1987) and "FleshEater" (1988). He died of cancer. He requested that his body be cremated because he jokingly said if he was buried he would come back.

S. William Hinzman in one minute

Strongest genre

Drama

$100K · 100% hit rate

Biggest hit

Hungry Wives

$250K

Standout efficiency

2.8x

Hungry Wives · gross ÷ budget

Commercial performance

Associated lifetime gross

$122K

Combined reported budget

$77K

Gross / budget

1.6x

Bankability Index

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All figures are associated, not attributed — box-office numbers are sourced from TMDB and Wikipedia (reused under CC BY-SA), shown in US$, and weighted by billing prominence. Coverage varies by title; figures are estimates, not audited trade data.