Tom Savini Biography

Fast Facts

• As a teen, performed in an acting troupe that entertained movie-theater patrons during intermissions; and worked for free as a makeup artist and monster designer for a Pittsburgh TV station's Chiller Theater show
• Spent three years as a combat photographer for the U
• S
• Army during the Vietnam War; says that his experiences there have influenced his films
• Made his feature-film directorial debut with a 1990 remake of Romero's horror classic Night of the Living Dead
• Released two books on creating makeup effects: Grande Illusions: A Learn-By-Example Guide to the Art and Technique of Special Make-Up Effects from the Films of Tom Savini in 1983, and Grande Illusions: Book II, in 1994
• Is an instructor in the Special Make-Up Effects program at the Douglass Education Center in Monessen, PA
• No longer creates special effects for movies, but continues to focus on his career as an actor and director