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Gaylen Ross (born August 15, 1950) is an American director, writer, producer and actress, best known for playing Francine Parker in the 1978 horror film '' Dawn of the Dead'' and also noted for directing the 2008 documentary '' Killing Kasztner''.


Background

Ross was born and raised in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, Indiana, where she graduated from Broad Ripple High School in 1967. She studied at Monterey Peninsula College in California, and later received her BA from
The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...
for Social Research in Literature. She was managing editor of the literary journal ''
Antaeus Antaeus (; , derived from ), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Traditional Berber religion, Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Hercules. Family In Greek sources, he was ...
'' and
Ecco Press Ecco is a New York–based publishing imprint of HarperCollins. It was founded in 1971 by Daniel Halpern as an independent publishing company; Publishers Weekly described it as "one of America's best-known literary houses." In 1999 Ecco was acquir ...
from 1975 to 1977. Ross holds citizenship in the United States and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. In 2015, she was named to the Indianapolis Public School Education Foundation’s Hall of Fame.


Career

Ross's documentary films include 2008's '' Killing Kasztner'' and ''Dealers Among Dealers'', a documentary of New York’s 47th Street diamond trade. Ross's company, GR Films, has produced ''Listen To Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beechman''; ''Not Just Las Vegas'', about the rise of nationwide gambling in the USA; ''To Russia For Love'', about the Russian Mail-order bride business; ''Selling The Dream: Stock Hype and Fraud''; ''Dealers Among Dealers'' and the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-winning ''Blood Money: Switzerland's Nazi Gold''. Ross, along with John Connolly co-authored ''Married To A Stranger'', about the Russian mail order bride business, published by Berkeley Publishing Group. In 2009, Ross released '' Killing Kasztner'' on the life and assassination of Rezso Kasztner. Ross' other films include ''Dealers Among Dealers'' (1995) Ross wrote ''Blood Money: Switzerland’s Nazi Gold'' (1997), co-produced with Stephen Crisman; ''After Solidarity: Three Polish Families in America'' and ''Caris' Peace'', which documents film and stage actress Caris Corfman. Other films and television projects have focused on bank fraud, gambling in America, and Russian mail-order brides. She has directed productions for “The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous" and the "UJA Federations of North America." Ross starred as "Francine" in George A. Romero's 1978
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
'' Dawn of the Dead'', followed by her portrayal of "Betsy" in the 1981
slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...
'' Madman'' then as
Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...
's adulterous wife "Becky Vickers" in George Romero and
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
's 1982 film '' Creepshow''. Current projects include professional boxing documentary ''TitleShot''. With co-director Andy Cohen, projects in post-production include films on the Village Gate, and human rights activists. Ross is collaborating with Cohen on ''Beijing Spring'', a documentary about artistic freedom and the democracy movement between 1978 and 1982 in China. Ross and Cohen directed the 2019 documentary '' Ximei'', produced by
Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei ( ; , IPA: ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been ...
. The film premiered at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva.


Filmography

As a director: * 1989 ''Out of Solidarity'' * 1990 ''Time for Art'' * 1991-2011 '' Investigative Reports'' * 1994 ''Not Just Las Vegas'' * 1995 ''Dealers Among Dealers'' * 1999 ''To Russia for Love: Mail-Order Brides'' * 2003 ''Listen to Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beeckman'' * 2008 ''Killing Kasztner'' * 2011 ''Caris' Peace'' * 2019 ''Ximei'' * 2021 ''
Beijing Spring The Beijing Spring () refers to a brief period of political liberalization during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It began as the Democracy Wall movement in Beijing, which occurred in 1978 and 1979, right a ...
'' * 2023 ''TitleShot'' * ''Aaron Sapiro: The Jew Who Sued Henry Ford'' As an actress: * 1978 '' Dawn of the Dead'' as Francine "Fran Flygirl" Parker * 1981 '' Madman'' as Betsy * 1982 '' Creepshow'' as Becky Vickers


References


External links

*
GR Films Inc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Gaylen 1950 births American film actresses Film directors from Indiana Jewish American actresses Jewish American film people Living people Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers American women film producers American women non-fiction writers Monterey Peninsula College alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women