Dan Curtis

[RoRo]

Dan Curtis was an director and producer of television and film, probably best known for the afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, which originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication for the last thirty years. He also did the 1991 remake of Dark Shadows, but was cancelled due to low ratings. And was the executive producer, for Dark Shadows (2004) , for the The WB Television Network . However was canceled before airing the pilot.
His series of macabre films include The Night Stalker (which inspired the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker), Intruders, The Night Strangler , House of Dark Shadows, Night of Dark Shadows, Burnt Offerings, Trilogy of Terror, The Norliss Tapes (a 1973 pilot for an unproduced series starring Roy Thinnes), and others. He worked frequently with sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson.
His miniseries The Winds of War was nominated for four Emmy Awards.
He also directed the War and Remembrance mini-series which was the continuation of The Winds of War. This mini-series was so long that it had to be broken up into two segments. Chapters 1-Vll and Vll the final chapter. The whole mini-series was 30 hours in all. This series received 15 Emmy Award nominations and won for best miniseries, special effects and single-camera production editing. The miniseries was nominated for Emmy Awards for best actor (John Gielgud), actress (Jane Seymour) and supporting actress (Polly Bergen).
He died of brain cancer on March 27, 2006, twenty days after the death of his wife Norma. He was 78.

[Morbid1]

Dark Shadows was awesome!

Nice one RoRo!


-Morbid1

[Serendipity09]

great thread RoRo!!

[Snoopy]

Oh Dark Shadows was so cool! Thanks for the post!

[Jack-O-Lantern]

Dan Curtis' filmography reads like a 'must see' list for me in the 70s...I saw every single one of the movies & series listed below, and now own about half of them on DVD. He was awesome, and his stuff STILL scares me LOL !!!

[Reecy]

And Now Johnny Depp will be playing Barnabus. Let's see how he does.

[RoRo]

Thanks ya'll..I loved Dark Shadows

[Danny62]

And Now Johnny Depp will be playing Barnabus. Let's see how he does.

They are doing a remake? Wow, didn't hear that. But I think Johnny Depp might do a good job as Barnabus?

Dark Shadows was no doubt a unique soap opera.

[cindyt]

They are doing a remake? Wow, didn't hear that. But I think Johnny Depp might do a good job as Barnabus?

Dark Shadows was no doubt a unique soap opera.

You nailed it, Danny. Johnny Depp as Barnabus, oh my my my.

[Linnie]

Some other little factoids about Dan Curtis:

He was born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss. (Believe it or not, I don't recall this mentioned anywhere until after his death. I once asked a well-regarded DS "expert" about this obviously synthetic name, and he insisted that "Dan Curtis" WAS his birth name.) His father was a dentist.
Young Daniel's mother died when the boy was 13, which may have had an influence on his later choice of material, vis-a-vis the dead coming back to life.
Dan married fellow Syracuse U. student Norma Rae Klein in 1952, and they remained together for almost 54 years, until her death from heart disease. Before that, Norma had been suffering from Alzheimer's.
They had 3 daughters, Cathy, Tracy, and Linda. Tracy and Linda appeared in a couple of their father's movies. Linda died in the 1970s.
Before "Dark Shadows", Curtis, a golf enthusiast, produced a couple of highly-rated golf programs. He was known for using a putting set in his office.
Dan Curtis was born in Bridgeport, Conn., as were 2 actors he later directed: Robert Mitchum and Brian Dennehy. Two of Curtis's TV movies, "When Every Day Was the Fourth of July" and "The Long Days of Summer" were very loosely autobiographically based on his memories of his Bridgeport youth.

[SomeChick]

They are doing a remake? Wow, didn't hear that. But I think Johnny Depp might do a good job as Barnabus?

Dark Shadows was no doubt a unique soap opera.

You nailed it, Danny. Johnny Depp as Barnabus, oh my my my.

Great choice

[TheMysterian]

Dan Curtis was great in his day,The Wind's of War was Excellent!

[RoRo]

I look forward to seeing johnny Depp as Barnabus....he is a great actor....I still have some 21 Jumpstreet shows on video that I taped off tv..lol

[MagnusDippytack]

The theme song of Dark Shadow is the spookiest music I have ever heard. Even if you are jaded, try listening to it in the dark. If you dare.

[Norma Desmond]

The theme song of Dark Shadow is the spookiest music I have ever heard. Even if you are jaded, try listening to it in the dark. If you dare.

YES! That music STILL gives me goosebumps when I hear it!

[cherryghost]

Anyone got a pic, Dan Curtis was very good looking if my memory serves me right!

As a kid in Australia we got sporadic episodes or my parents only realised I was watching, sporadically haha!

Still I have a strong memory sense of the show and it was scary and great!

[Jack-O-Lantern]

This is the only one I could find, don't know when it was taken. I was SUCH a big fan! Still am!

[More Cheese Please]

I'm a HUGE fan as well!!!! Here's some additional pics...

[Linnie]

The recent death of champion miniseries producer David Wolper has inspired me to bump this old thread. Dan Curtis did two of the most major minis of the 1980s, the WINDS OF WAR and WAR AND REMEMBRANCE, as well as "DARK SHADOWS." So I'm dedicating this bump to Nvr_Sk_to_Tll.

[TIMB1967]

I was reading this thread and was a little confused by the name of his wife. I thought that I had read that Barbara Steele was his wife?..Probably wrong since I often confuse stuff but just thought that becauses he was in the Dark Shadows remake and some of his other stuff.

[cindyt]

I knew about Dark Shadows, of course, but not Winds of War and War and Remembrance, neither of which I saw, except for the end of the last one (I read the books though, and have been hoping to see both minis.) I wish there was a cable channel just for showing mini series.

[TIMB1967]

Thought I was the only one who had read both of those "War' books. They were extremly long but very well written and the miniseries were both spectacular...You'd love them, Cindy, if you liked the books..lost of big names in both of them.

[cindyt]

I read both books twice. Lol. Might read 'em again, soon. I love anything about WWII.

[Linnie]

The "War" minis DVDs can be bought, but ARE available through Netflix-- that's how we got to see them again--- and probably other services by now.

[james1977]

Oh Dark Shadows was so cool! Thanks for the post!

He knew what great scripts were and how to tell great stories. The 2 Night Stalker T.V. Movies among the greatest horror movies ever made. T.V or movies. He gives a great interview on The Extras for one of The Night Stalker T.V movies. The one that was based in Seattle. Great producer. We need great Dan Curtis style productions now. Trilogy Of Terror, unbeatable. No C.G.I could even come close to the original Dan Curtis productions . R.I.P. Dan

[tarsier]

I loved Trilogy of Terror! Creeped me out as a kid.

[Greg King]

Barbara Steele, the original "Scream Queen" (see Black Sunday, Pit and the Pendulum Long Hair of Death, An Angel for Satan, Horrible Dr. Hichcock, The Ghost, etc...) was an executive producer on Winds of War if I recall correctly. She also returned to horror, briefly, in the 1991 revival of Dark Shadows on NBC, playing Dr. Julia Hoffman. But she was Dan Curtis's producing partner, not his wife.

[TIMB1967]

Thanks, Greg. I don't know how I got my lines crossed on that one. I knew there was a connection of sorts.