This week I bought John A. Russo’s new book titled How I Gave Birth to The Return of the Living Dead. At only 58 pages, it’s a quick read that can easily be done in one sitting.
As the title says, it’s the story of how John Russo ushered The Return of the Living Dead into the world. The book doesn’t go into extensive detail, but it does give a good overview of Russo’s perspective from the creation of Night of the Living Dead through to the creation and release of The Return of the Living Dead.
One story that I didn’t know about was how Russo was incredibly close to having Frank Sinatra fund his version of Return, but tragedy stepped in and changed everything. Apparently Russo has written about this before, but this was my first time seeing it.
It happened in 1977. At this point Russo had been trying for years to get his Return of the Living Dead script financed for production. One day, his attorney called him up and told him that Sinatra was interested in funding the movie. His attorney, Louis Grippo, had gotten in with some of Sinatra’s guys, and apparently word of Russo’s script had gotten to Sinatra himself.
Russo and Grippo were flown out to Las Vegas where Sinatra was scheduled to perform. Russo was assured that the deal was all set, but, sadly, this was the day that Sinatra’s mother Dolly died in a plane crash. Sinatra didn’t meet with Russo that night, and the deal to finance The Return of the Living Dead disappeared.
Eventually Russo and his partners were bought out of the rights to the script, and the Dan O’Bannon version of The Return of the Living Dead eventually got made and released. Russo’s version would have been completely different (I’m in the middle of reading his script for that original version right now) .
If you want to check out Russo’s book, it’s on sale now. My only gripe is that it uses generative AI for the cover art and all of the images in the book. But I trust that Russo actually wrote the words because he is a writer with screenplays and novels to his name. Also, I had to get it because I’m doing research for a bigger project, so, yeah.
For more on The Return of the Lving Dead:
- Beverly Randolph Asked to Be Taken Out of ‘The Return of the Living Dead: Aftermath’
- So, That “Official Sequel” to ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ Did Come Out This Weekend
- ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ in Legal Battle Ahead of Its 40th Anniversary: An Explainer
- The Case Against the ‘Return of the Living Dead’ Cast is Dismissed! So What’s Next?
- Two ‘Return of the Living Dead’ Movies are Being Made in 2025…
