The Fiftieth Anniversary of Kolchak: The Night Stalker

It was fifty years ago today, on Friday, September 13 1974, that Kolchak: The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin, debuted on ABC. It was not the first time the world had seen the character of Carl Kolchak. He had earlier appeared in the television movies The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973). Despite only running one season, Kolchak: The Night Stalker may be where most people today know the character from. And despite running only one season, the TV series would prove to be influential.

The origins of the TV movies and the TV series go back to an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice titled The Kolchak Papers or The Kolchak Tapes by Jeff Rice. Fittingly enough, Jeff Rice finished the novel at midnight on October 31  1970. The novel followed an intrepid reporter named Carl Kolchak as he investigated mysterious deaths in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, Jeff Rice could not find anyone willing to publish the book. It was agent Rick Ray who realized that the novel might have a better chance selling as a movie. The novel found its way to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), where among the people who read it was legendary writer Richard Matheson. Ultimately, Richard Matheson would write the teleplay for what was now titled The Night Stalker. It was produced by Dan Curtis, then best known as the creator and producer of the Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows. He had also produced a 1968 television movie based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Night Stalker proved to be a phenomenal success when it aired on January 11 1972. It earned a 33.2 rating and a 48 share, making it the highest rated television movie in the United States at the time. Its success led to a sequel, The Night Strangler, which aired on January 16 1973. It did nearly as well as the original movie. The success of The Night Strangler would lead to the planning of a third Kolchak film, The Night Killers, in which Kolchak uncovers a plot in which human beings are being replaced by androids. Ultimately, ABC elected to go forward with a weekly television series instead.

While Darren McGavin returned as Carl Kolchak for the series, neither Dan Curtis nor Richard Matheson would work on the show. Darr3en McGavin would serve as an executive producer on the show. The show's original producer was Paul Playdon, who had worked as a producer on the shows Cannon and Banachek. He left Kolchak: The Night Stalker after only two episodes due to disagreements with Dareen McGavin. He was replaced by Cy Chermak, who had served as executive producer and producer on Ironside, among other shows.

While ABC had elected to go forward to a weekly TV series, they had neglected to secure Jeff Rie's rights before doing so. As a result, Jeff Rice filed a lawsuit against ABC and Universal. The suit was settled before the show debuted, and Mr. Rice ultimately controlled the literary right to Carl Kolchaik.

For the most part the premise of Kolchak: The Night Stalker was the same as that of the two TV movies. Carl Kolchak was a reporter who had a knack for encountering supernatural or, at least, downright bizarre phenomena. One major difference is that in The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler he was a reporter for city newspapers (a Las Vegas paper in the former, a Seattle paper in the latter), while on Kolchak: The Night Stalker he worked for the wire service INS (the Independent News Service). In all three he reported to editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland).

Carl Kolchak and Tony Vincenzo were the only characters to appear in every single episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, but there were other recurring characters. Ron Updyke (Jack Grinnage) was Kolchak's rival, whom Carl referred to as "Uptight' due to his patronizing and high-strung personality. Emily Cowles (Ruth McDevitt) handle the advice column and crossword puzzles at INS. An older woman, she often sympathized with Kolchak and the two considered each other warmly. Several other characters, such as young, overly enthusiastic reported Monique Marmelstein (Carol Ann Susi) and city morgue attendant Gordon Spangler (John Fiedler) appeared in a few episodes.

Darren McGavin having been in television and film since the Forties, Kolchak: The Night Stalker featured several well-known stars from film and television among them were Julie Adams, Jim Backus,  Hans Conried, Scatman Crothers, Alice Ghostley, James Gregory, Dwayne Hickman, John Hoyt, Carolyn Jones, Victor Jory, and yet others. In the episode "Horror in the Heights," Phil Silvers, Murray Matheson, Benny Rubin, ane d Abraham Sofaer all appeared. Darren McGavin's wife, Kathie Browne appeared in the final episode, "The Sentry."

Ratings for Kolchak: The Night Stalker were perpetually low. Much of this was due to the fact that ABC scheduled on Friday night when many young people, for whom the show might appeal the most, tend to go out. Much of it was also due to stiff competition on other networks. In its original 10:00 PM Eastern/9:00 PM Central time slot, Kolchak:The Night Stalker aired against The CBS Friday Night Movie on CBS and the new hit series Police Woman on NBC. It was in the winter that it was moved to what might have been an even worse time slot, 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central. While its competition on CBS was weak (none of the shows the Tiffany Network scheduled in the time slot lasted the season), it faced no. 2 rated Sanford and Son and a brand new hit show, the no. 3 rated Chico and the Man on NBC. Ultimately, it only came in at no. 74 in the Nieslen ratings for the year.

As it was, Darren McGavin was growing tired of the series. He complained in an interview in February 1974, "This is not the show that I started out to do, and rather than try to pump  life with a hypodermic needle into something that just dying, I'd rather bury it and put it out of its misery." Initially ABC had ordered twenty-two episodes of the show for the season. Darren McGavin persuaded the network to cut that down to twenty episodes.

While Kolchak: The Night Stalker was cancelled by ABC, it was not the end of the show by any measure. It as in May 1979 that Kolchak: The Night Stalker joined the lineup of other reruns on The CBS Late Movie. The show proved popular on The CBS Late Movie, where it aired during the 1979-1980, 1981-1982, and 1987-1988 seasons. It would later air on the Sci-Fi Channel and has since aired on such outlets as MeTV. The complete series has also been released on DVD.

There have also been several Kolchak: The Night Stalker books published over the years. The original novel upon which The Night Stalker was based was published by Pocket Books in 1973. A novelization of The Night Strangler would also be published. In 2002 Moonstone began publishing a comic book based on the TV series. There have also been non-fiction books on the series.

The continued popularity of Kolchak: The Night Stalker resulted in a 2005 reboot television series created by Frank Spotnitz and starring Stuart Townshend. The series debuted on ABC on September 29 2005 and lasted only six episodes before the network cancelled it. Ultimately, all ten episode that had been produced would air on on the Sci-Fi Channel.

It is little wonder that Kolchak: The Night Stalker would develop a cult following. While it might seem odd after such shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, there was a time when horror television series with regular characters were rare. Prior to Kolchak: The Night Stalker, perhaps the only one was daytime soap opera Dark Shadows. As a pioneering show, Kolchak: The Night Stalker would also prove to be influential. In the 2019 article "The Omen: The Pedigree of a Classic," Jim Knipfel puts forth the idea that the episode "The Devil's Platform" (in which a politician sells his soul to the Devil) was a central source for the classic movie The Omen (1976). Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, has credited Kolchak: The Night Stalker as one of the influences on The X-Files, including The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. It seems likely Kolchak: The Night Stalker was an influence on yet other genre shows as well.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker ran for only one season, but has ultimately proven more memorable and more successful than shows that ran much longer. It is still available on DVD and streaming, and it is still airing on various broadcast channels. New books featuring Carl Kolchak are still being published. Kolchak: The Night Stalker has proven to be both a highly successful and influential show, so people will probably still be watching the adventures of Carl Kolchak 50 years from now.