George A Romero has died at the age of 77, his family have confirmed.
The film-maker, who is widely regarded as the father of the modern zombie film after he created Night of the Living Dead, passed away in his sleep after a "brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer".
A statement provided to the Los Angeles Times by Romero's producing partner, Peter Grunwald, confirmed that Romero died while his wife, Suzanne, and daughter, Tina, were by his side.
Romero's Night of the Living Dead inspired countless later zombie movies, also spawning a number of official sequels such as Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead.
Away from the zombie world, Romero was also known for The Crazies and Knightriders.
His final credit as a writer came this year, in Hèctor Hernández Vicens' Day of the Dead. It was also announced back in May that he was working on a new project called George A. Romero Presents: Road of the Dead, with his long-term collaborator Matt Birman.
Birman had called the film's concept "Road Warrior meets Rollerball at a NASCAR race, with significant inspiration from Ben-Hur." It is unclear at this time whether that project will continue following Romero's death.
Well-known names from the worlds of film and beyond have already started paying tribute to the legendary film-maker:
