She became famous when she starred in George Romero's zombie classic Dawn of the Dead (1978), in which she plays Francine, a TV station worker who escapes from the zombies in a helicopter with a colleague and two SWAT team members from the Police Department.
I met Gaylen Ross at the NEC in Birmingham in November 2005. She signed my 'Dawn of the Dead' poster and then I had my photo taken with her. I know that she is not keen on conventions and doesn't attend many. She says this is because she doesn't really want to stay known just as "that chick from Dawn"!
Her TV documentary about New York's world of diamond dealers Dealing Among Dealers (1995) won a Gold Plaque from the Chicago Film Festival, and was named 'Best of Fest' in the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1995.
Gaylen Ross has been active behind the camera in several films. She was the casting director for Romero's third zombie film Day of the Dead (1985) and also director of the documentary film about an acclaimed Broadway star Listen to Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beechman (2003). Earlier, she had directed the TV documentaries Out of Solidarity (1989), Time For Art (1990) and
Her only other film role was in Madman (1982) in which she starred as Betsy, but under her other name 'Alexis Dubin'. Ross says, "I thought of the name in an elevator but I was in the actors' union then".
She followed this with another Romero film, Creepshow (1982) which was inspired by the 'Entertaining Comics' of the 1950s. This is really five short stories by Stephen King, and Gaylen Ross plays Becky Vickers in the tale entitled 'Something to Tide You Over'
Gaylen Ross was born Gail Sue Rosenblum, in 1950. In her early 20s, she worked for four years as co-editor for the poetry journal 'Antaeus', later going on to become a model.
Gaylen Ross signing my poster
They seek refuge in a shopping mall, where they eventually become overrun by zombies. This was the first time that Gaylen Ross had ever acted in a film.
. She is drowned after being buried up to her neck in the sand by her husband, Richard. She later returns as a seaweed-covered zombie to taunt Richard, and subject him to the same treatment!
Gaylen Ross as Francine in Dawn of the Dead
Gaylen Ross as Francine in Dawn of the Dead
Gaylen Ross as Becky Vickers meets her death
in Creepshow: Something to Tide You Over
Gaylen Ross signed my poster
of Dawn of the Dead
Not Just Las Vegas (1994).
Poster for Creepshow
Gaylen Ross
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