His death was announced by his family to theEvansville Courier & Press.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
The film became something of an obsession for me.

David Emge at 2012 Son Of Monsterpalooza convention in BurbankGetty Images
Oh, this one hurts, tweetedBrooklyn 45screenwriter Ted Geoghegan today.
The great David Emge passed away Saturday in his hometown of Evansville IN at age 77.

David Emge in the iconic image from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1978)Everett Collection