'Night of the Living Dead' director George Romero makes Hollywood Walk of Fame

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Filmmaker George Romero just scared up a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Romero pioneered the zombie movie genre with his very first feature film, the classic "Night of the Living Dead."

"One of the reasons his work resonates is because of this fierce intelligence and humor behind it, and his horror films, especially his zombie films, I think, are the work of a major satirist," said fellow filmmaker Edgar Wright.

"They're highly vivid metaphors, and in a lot of ways his films are better records of the years they were made than serious dramas of the time."

Fans nominated Romero for the walk of fame star, proof of how much he was loved for his work in horror films.

Romero died of lung cancer in July at age 77.

His widow Suzanne was on hand to talk about his career.

"If George were here, he would be the first to point out the irony of him being given a star today -- a celestial object that is firmly planted on the ground," she said.

Romero's star is located right in front of the Hollywood Toy and Costume Shop.

"It's very apt, isn't it, that George's star would be outside a magic shop? The fact is, of course, that George made magic," said actor Malcolm McDowell.