“Mad” Ron Roccia, the projectionist and film collector who lent his name and trailer collection to the eponymous Mad Ron’s Prevues From Hell, passed away Monday, August 4, 2025. He was 74. The cause of death is listed as a heart attack.
Roccia achieved cult fame with generations of horror fans with Prevues, one of the first ever horror trailer compilations, which was released to VHS and Beta in 1987. Featuring a framing narrative shot on location at the historic Lansdowne Theater in Pennsylvania, Prevues depicts comedian Nick Pawlow and his zombie sidekick Happy entertaining hordes of the undead as they descend upon a grindhouse after-hours. Roccia appeared as “himself” in the movie, depicted as a feral monster who must be kept chained to the projector.
Prevues was conceptualized by Roccia along with producer James F. Murray Jr. and Pawlow. At the time, Roccia was employed as a theater projectionist in Pennsylvania but...
Roccia achieved cult fame with generations of horror fans with Prevues, one of the first ever horror trailer compilations, which was released to VHS and Beta in 1987. Featuring a framing narrative shot on location at the historic Lansdowne Theater in Pennsylvania, Prevues depicts comedian Nick Pawlow and his zombie sidekick Happy entertaining hordes of the undead as they descend upon a grindhouse after-hours. Roccia appeared as “himself” in the movie, depicted as a feral monster who must be kept chained to the projector.
Prevues was conceptualized by Roccia along with producer James F. Murray Jr. and Pawlow. At the time, Roccia was employed as a theater projectionist in Pennsylvania but...
- 8/11/2025
- by Preston Fassel
- DreadCentral.com
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