Did You Know...

This sinister genius, born Robert Cummings in Massachusetts, is a multi-talented artist, musician, and writer who began his unique career as a frontman for White Zombie, but also served as a production assistant on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, an animator for Beavis and Butthead, and a designer of horror displays for theme parks. Meanwhile he was slowly gaining a reputation for extreme dementia with such albums as La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Halloween Hootenanny, and Hellbilly Delux.

Zombie's extraordinary abilities were recognized by major Hollywood studios like Miramax and Universal -- but they had a habit of pulling out of deals with him at the last minute, scared off by his over-the-top, bad news vision. His first feature-length film, House of 1000 Corpses, elicited one of two responses from viewers: either they hated it -- turned off by the violence, the nudity, the language -- or they loved it, for its intelligence, wit, irony, technical virtuosity, and creative originality.

Released by MGM, HO1KC became an instant underground smash hit, as did its sequel, The Devil's Rejects, and made cult icons of characters Captain Spaulding, Otis Firefly, and Baby Firefly (who was played in both movies by Zombie's gorgeous wife, Sherri Moon).