Robert B. Cummings

When you think of a hero, you normally think of people who have saved nations, big political heroes and people along those lines. But when it comes to me, for my hero I chose Rob Zombie. I chose Rob Zombie, because he is a very successful film maker, musician, comic’s writer and television host. I have respect for his creative genius. Rob has the ability to mix horror, humor, and heavy riffs to songs without a problem, he has created a new type of rock, and also his own record label. His first film he made was a major success. And he is coming out with a new cartoon this fall, along with the Halloween remake.

Robert Cummings was his real name given at birth, but for his future career he went by the name of Rob Zombie. He went by this name because he was going for a monster type look, and instead of Robert he shortened it to Rob, and for the monster theme he went by Zombie, Rob Zombie. He was born on January 12, 1966 in Haverhill Massachusetts. He has one brother, who is employed in the metal band Powerman 5000 which was once managed by Rob himself. Rob is a comic’s writer, film maker/director and a very successful musician. He has worked as a bike messenger and was production manager for Pee Wee’s Playhouse. He is currently married to Sheri Moon. He directs all his music videos, designs and applies his own tattoos, and during 1999 and 2000 he designed a maze for Universal Studios called Halloween horror Night. Rob is a huge fan of horror films and was inspired by Charles Manson’s gory films. His hero was Alice Cooper, and he is very close friends with Ozzy Osbourne. First I will talk about Rob Zombie’s music career, then go on to his filming/ directing career.

Rob Zombie was an active member with the band White Zombie, which was a band he created before he went solo using his band name as Rob Zombie. He started White Zombie in the late eighties (a New York group) and managed to go along with his music career for another eighteen years. He broke up the band of White Zombie, and went solo in 1998, releasing his debt album HellBilly Deluxe. It sold more copies in it’s first week than any other White Zombie album. Shortly after his debt album he started his own record label, Zombie-a-go-go records. Rob became inspired by metal legend Alice Cooper who has influenced most of Rob’s music. In 1996 he talked with Alice Cooper in making their first song together “Hands of Death/Burn Baby Burn.” During his solo career he got help from an old time friend Scott Humphrey. With Scott’s help his first album was modified and was a huge success. It sold over three million copies in the United States alone. Another important fact about this album release is that, during the making of this album he met his wife Sheri Moon. She became the iconic female in most of his Rob’s works, and designs. In 1999 one of his most popular songs, Dragula was released on the Matrix soundtrack. In 2001 Zombie reunited his former team of Tempestra, Riggs, Blasko and Humphrey to produce his second solo album, The Sinister Urge. He continued to experiment and combine horror, humor and heavy rhythms to his music. Some examples of these types of songs were Scum of the Earth, Feel so numb, and The sinister urge. Rob’s music was then taken and used all over, not only in movies but in sports, games and much more. Scum of the Earth was featured on the soundtrack for Mission Impossible II, and Never Gonna Stop Me was used as WWE superstar Edge’s entrance theme in 2003. In 2003 Riggs parted way with Rob Zombie and left to form his own band. In 2005 Rob released another remake of Hellbilly Deluxe, improving each and every time. In 2005 he headlined Ozzfest, and went back to the studio and began working on his new album Educated Horses. On March 28, 2006 Educated Horses was released to the public.

Rob has currently taken a leave from the music industry and is working on the remake of Halloween which is set for release on August 31, 2007. Rob is also a successful film maker/director. He began working on his first film in April 2000, which was funded by Universal Studios in as a gift for his construction of the maze. The film A House Of 1000 Corpses, which was followed by the sequel The Devils Rejects. These two films were a huge success, and they were a mixture of comedy, psychedelic, and extreme graphic violence. What really inspired Rob Zombie for his movie business was when he helped with the making Beavis and Butthead Do America. Rather than using the old fashioned style horror for his movies, Rob went back to using the grindhouse and gore influences that had always inspired him. Actors that helped him make his films were Karen Black, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig and his long time muse, Sheri Moon. He has contributed to the 2007 film GrindHouse and is currently working on the Halloween remake. Rob is working on a side project now, with Crossgen comics, on a project called SpookShow International. On October 13, 2006 Rob became a TV host for the show TCM Underground. A show on every night at two, and it is a horror series. I can not wait until Rob Zombie’s film Halloween comes out, I’m sure it’s gonna be a nightmare.

Rob Zombie is a creative genius; he has taken his music and movies to the limits and has been able to make it all a success. Rob Zombie has also set a new standard in music. He has created his own type of metal with elements that few can match. He had no education or experience in the film business. But Rob went above it all and he was able to make two very successful movies, House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects. The following quote I got will help sum up why my hero is Rob Zombie.

“Watching a Zombie concert is like seeing every drop of ink coming to life in a tattoo parlor. To be able to balance lyrics, Sonics, visuals, humor, horror, and make it work? Not many can do that. He has the uncanny ability to write musically clever hooks like Living Dead Girl, and Never Gonna Stop with a heavy handed industrial bottom which few can match. Anyone that would even think about writing a song about Herman Munster’s car Dragula is all right in my book. Rob is a true rock monster. There aren’t many of us left. So shut of the lights, light a candle, turn up the volume and be prepared to travel into the nightmare that is Rob Zombie.”- Alice Cooper/July 2003