final credits - dan curtis
Dan Curtis spent five decades in the television business and brought some of its finest moments to the screen. He also directed some noteworthy movies during a career that produced some sixty film and television credits.
Dan Curtis was born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After graduating from university he became a salesman for NBC and then MCA, selling syndicated TV programs.
A golf fanatic, Curtis created "Challenge Golf" (featuring Gary Player and Arnold Palmer) for ABC in 1962 and "The CBS Match Play Golf Classic" in 1963. The latter show ran for a decade and received an Emmy for achievement in sports.
Curtis had a passion for the dark side. He pitched an idea to ABC for a Gothic-flavoured day-time soap opera. The show proved to be a watershed.
In 1966 "Dark Shadows" debuted -- a daily saga about odd, supernatural goings-on at a family estate in Maine.
The show ran for 1,225 episodes and introduced a number of future stars including Kate Jackson, Marsha Mason and Harvey Keitel. The series ended in 1971.
The program spawned two feature film spinoffs -- "House of Dark Shadows" (1970) and "Night of Dark Shadows" (1971) -- which were both directed by Curtis. A 1991 NBC TV remake of the series starred Ben Cross but lasted only two months.
Working with "Twilight Zone" writer Richard Matheson, Curtis produced the sensational TV movies "The Night Stalker" in 1972 and "The Night Strangler" in 1973. Both movies broke rating records for television's long form.
The TV movies were followed by the ABC series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." The short-lived series starred Darren McGavin, who died February 25th, 2006.
While Curtis did not participate in the McGavin series, he served as a consultant-producer on the 2005 ABC remake, "Night Stalker."
Curtis' other TV movie work included "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekll & Mr. Hyde," "Trilogy of Terror," "The Turn of the Screw" and "Dracula" with Jack Palance.
On the big screen, Curtis directed and produced "Burnt Offerings," a 1976 haunted house film starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed and Bette Davis.
Curtis also was behind one of the most infamous flops of all time, "Supertrain." The 1979 NBC series was a pet project of network chairman Fred Silverman.
A super train, equipped with restaurants, pools and spas, theaters, ferries passengers cross-country "Love Boat" style. The show was cancelled after just nine episodes. Asked about it later in his career, Curtis usually answered, "Super what?"
Curtis' greatest achievement came after he was commissioned by Paramount TV head Barry Diller to produce, direct and co-write 1983's sweeping and Emmy-winning "The Winds of War" mini-series based on Herman Wouk's novel.
The 16-hour drama starred Robert Mitchum and Ali McGraw and remains among TV's higher-rated miniseries. ABC estimated that 140 million people tuned in to at least part of the series which took four years to complete.
Curtis was vehemently opposed to adapting a second Herman Wouk novel but ABC promised a big budget and free rein to accurately depict the horrors of the Holocaust.
The Emmy-winning, 29-hour sequel "War and Remembrance" cost $140 million and starred Jane Seymour and John Gielgud. Curtis won a Director's Guild Award (and four Emmy nominations) and the show won a Golden Globe for best miniseries or motion picture.
The production was the biggest, longest and most expensive project in television history. Script writing took more than a year, location scouting took two years, and production required 21 months with filming in 10 countries. Editing took two years and Curtis compared the experience to being in jail.
Curtis' last works were two 2005 made for TV movies, "Saving Milly" and "Our Fathers" which examined the Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal.
Norma Mae Klein, Curtis' wife of 54 years, died March 7th, 2006 of heart failure.
Dan Curtis died March 27th, 2006 at the age of 78 from a brain tumour.
Fans and the curious may wish to visit the "Dark Shadows" entry at Wikipedia.