Legendary horror film director George A. Romero is dead at the age of 77. The "Los Angeles Times" reports that the "Night of the Living Dead" filmmaker died in his sleep after a brief battle with lung cancer. Romero spawned the zombie film craze with his 1968 cult classic. The film resulted in several sequels, including "Dawn of the Dead," "Day of the Dead" and "Land of the Dead." Among the New York native's other film projects were 1973's "The Crazies" and 1981's "Knightriders."