Today in Blerd History, we remember Duane Jones, born on this day in 1937. A graduate of the Sorbonne in Paris and a professor of English lit, Jones also acted and directed for the stage and served as artistic director at the Richard Allen Center in his native New York City. When cast as the lead in George Romero’s indie classic “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), Jones broke pop culture ground in the horror genre by portraying an African American as the hero. As the indefatigable “Ben,” Jones brought a craftsmanlike artistry to the film that would set it far apart from its B-Movie contemporaries.
While continuing to pursue academia and theater, Jones would become iconic in indie horror throughout the 1970s and ’80s, but his life was cut tragically short when, in 1988, he passed from heart failure at age 52.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TAGtIQvebs
To learn more about Jones’ onscreen work, see his profile @ IMDb: Duane Jones
A native of Las Vegas, Rutina comes from talent- her dad, Ivery, is a tap dancer and mom, Cassandra, is a showgirl. Born on February 1, 1979, Rutina’s best-known blerdy acting credit is doubtlessly her 2008–2014 stint as Tara Thornton on HBO’s vampire series True Blood. Also in the horror genre, Rutina appeared in last year’s 13 Sins and in 2015 fans look forward to seeing her portray Reba McClane on NBC’s Hannibal.
To learn more hit up: Rutina’s IMDb
Dark Matters 
You must be logged in to post a comment.