"[2] Stavrakis's older brother Taso was studying at Carnegie-Mellon University when he met Tom Savini, who was teaching a stage makeup course.

[4] Inspired by his brother's work with the iconoclastic filmmaker, Christian pursued a career in film and art, deeply influenced by Romero's legacy.

[5] Stavrakis's family moved from Pittsburgh to Rockville, Maryland in 1977, where he attended Wheaton High School and befriended classmate Eduardo Sánchez, who offered him a role in Falling Down a Mountain, an uncompleted film project.

[9] In 1998, Stavrakis served as assistant director to Romero on a proof-of-concept pilot for a reality TV series to be called Iron City Asskickers.

[13] The Second Sight 2010 Dawn of the Dead 4K DVD box set includes a bonus feature entitled Memories of Monroeville, in which the artist speaks about his inspiration for creating the sculpture,[14] which honors Romero's significant impact on the horror genre and popular culture as a whole.