About
Robert Bartleh Cummings was born in 1965 in Haverhill, MA, but he entered the public sphere in the 1990s under the name Rob Zombie, with his techno metal group White Zombie. He went solo in 1998, and then diversified beyond music to direct movies and create artwork for a slate of projects that included album covers, animated films, and comic books.
In 2007, the city of Haverhill decided to update its “Welcome to Haverhill” signs. Previously, they had including names of famous or historic persons who had been born in the town. By the turn of the century, most of those people had slipped into obscurity. For the new, more modern round of famous sons and daughters of Haverill, Rob Zombie was included.
Rob Zombie’s sign can be found on the section of Route 110 called Amesbury Road, in front of the water treatment plant on Kenoza Lake. The large white sign sits close to the ground and bears the usual “Welcome” in large letters, along with a range of colorful sigils representing various local community organizations. Underneath the “welcome” in small text almost invisible at car speeds is the simple and slightly inaccurate declaratory sentence, “Rock/Movie Star Rob Zombie was born in Haverhill.”
Zombie has directed, and appeared in, several horror movies including his remake of the Halloween franchise.
Adapted with permission from The New England Grimpendium by J.W. Ocker
Update May 2019: The sign has been changed, and no longer features Rob Zombie.
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