Norman Mailer Passes

Controversial, quarrelsome, Pulitzer winning author Norman Mailer died today of kidney failure at the age of 84.

Mailer was born Norman Kingsley on January 31, 1923 in Long Branch, New Jersey. At the age of 9 the family moved to Brooklyn, where Mailer spent the rest of his childhood. He attended Harvard, where he started out as an aeronautical engineering major and wound up a literature major. Following graduation he was draughted and served in the United States Army. He ended his military career as a cook in occupied Japan; however, he did see some combat, the experience of which provided the basis for his first novel The Naked and the Dead. The novel followed an American platoon facing Japanese forces on an atoll in the Pacific. It was published in 1948 to universally great reviews.

Mailer would never match the critical reception for The Naked and the Dead, although he continued to write the rest of his life. Immediately following The Naked and the Dead, Mailer wrote two more novels, Barnaby Shore and The Deer Park. Neither saw the success of his first novel.

Following The Deer Park, Mailer would not write another novel for ten years, In 1955, he founded The Village Voice with friends Daniel Wolf and Edwin Fancher. He also entered the field of nonfiction with the essay The White Negro. First published in 1956 in the magazine Dissent, The White Negro addressed the phenomenon of European Americans adopting African American culture as their own. It was reprinted in his book Advertisements for Myself in 1959. Arguably, Mailer had a greater impact as a non-fiction writer than as novelist. Along with Tom Wolfe and Truman Capote, he was one of the pioneers of the genre called creative nonfiction. Although factually accurate, creative nonfiction seeks to apply the the artistry of fiction to nonfiction.

Over the years Mailer would write several works of nonfiction, including both essays and books. Among his more important works were The Armies of the Night (a Pulitzer prize winner about the October 1967 rally against the Vietnam War in Washington DC), Of a Fire on the Moon (about the Apollo 11 lunar mission), and Oswald's Tale, essentially a biography of Lee Harvey Oswald. Perhaps his best known work was The Executioner's Song, which detailed the trial and subsequent execution of murderer Gary Gilmore.

Mailer did continue to write novels. In 1965, after an absence from the genre of ten years, he published the novel An American Dream, a work which came under harsh criticism from feminists for its portrayal of women. He would publish eight more works of fiction, including the Ancient Evenings, Harlot's Ghost, and his final work, The Castle in the Forest.

Mailer also worked in film. Several of his books provided the basis for motion pictures, including The Naked and the Dead and American Dream. He also wrote screenplays for the movies Beyond the Law and Maidstone. He tried his hand at directing with such films as Beyond the Law, Maidstone, and Tough Guys Don't Dance.

I cannot say that I have ever been a huge fan of Norman Mailer. And I must disagree with many who believe he was the most influential writer of his generation (I think that title belongs to either Kurt Vonnegut or Joseph Heller instead). Still, I appreciated much of what he wrote, even if I disagreed with many of his sentiments (he was a public opponent of feminism). And I think there can be no doubt that he was very influential. The Naked and the Dead is often counted, quite rightly, as one of the greatest war novels of all time. And I think there can be little doubt that The Executioner's Song is one of the best works of nonfiction published in the last fifty years. Mailer was certainly a colourful character, with multiple marriages, run ins with the law, and outspoken, often controversial opinions, but in the end I think it is his writing that will be remembered.

The Writer's Strike 2007

I doubt very seriously that many of you remember the TV series Frank's Place. Frank's Place was a comedy created by Hugh Wilson (creator of WKRP in Cincinnati), starring Tim Reid as Boston professor Frank Parrish who found himself trapped in continuing the family business. That business was the restaurant Chez Louisiane, which Frank inherited and henceforth had to run. The series received high marks from critics, but unfortunately it also received low ratings. It only ran for 22 episodes on CBS in '87-88 season. My favourite episode of the show was "Frank's Place--the Movie," in which a movie is being shot on location at the Chez Louisiane. Among the subplots on that episode was one concerning a poor bloke, clearly connected with the production, who received no respect from the director, had difficulty in getting on the set, and was generally persona non grata with the film crew. In the end Frank strikes up a conversation with the fellow and learns that he is none other than the movie's screenwriter.

Sadly, writers get no more respect in Hollywood now than they did in 1988 when this episode first aired. In fact, I rather suspect that is the primary reason that the Writer's Guild of America has had to undertake its first strike in nineteen years. The last time the WGA went on strike was in 1988. That strike lasted from March 7 to August 8 of that year. The primary concerns of that strike were reduced residuals for reruns of TV shows overseas and reduced residuals for hour long television series. That strike ended the run of several TV shows, delayed the start of the new fall TV season, and forced the studios to postpone production of feature films. In the end the 1988 cost the film and television industries $500 million.

This strike has already had an impact on the television industry. As in the case of the 1988 writers strike, the late night talk shows have been the first to be hit. For the coming week both NBC and CBS announced that their late night talk shows will air entirely reruns. The majority of sitcoms have shut down production. The strike has even produced its first causality--Back to You, the Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton comedy, will not return from a planned hiatus. Hour long series have also been hit. The season debut of 24, which depends heavily upon its tightly plotted scripts, has been postponed due to the strike. Desperate Housewives has shut down production. Grey's Anatomy, ER, and other hit shows are running out of episodes. Lost, set to return in February, may not be able to resolve this season's plots, with fewer than 16 episodes in the can. What this essentially means is that reruns will start sooner and we could see many more reality shows. It will take longer for the film industry to feel the effects of the strike, although if it lasts as long as the 1988 strike, production on various films will inevitably be delayed.

The fact that there may be no new episodes of individuals' favourite shows and that major motion pictures may even be delayed may cause the average person to resent the WGA. I rather suspect that there are many out there who believe that writers in the film and television industries are overpaid people too lazy to get a real job. This is hardly the truth. The average person often hears about million dollar deals inked for screenplays, but this is hardly the norm. As little as $20,000 may be paid out for a screenplay, not a particularly large amount of money, especially if one is unlucky enough to only sell one screenplay a year. And work weeks for writers in Hollywood can vary from the 40 hour week to which the rest of us are accustomed to a stagger 80 hours a week. The average screenwriter is not a multi-millionaire. He or she is often an overworked individual with the same concerns about money that the rest of us have.

Indeed, it is money that is at the heart of this strike. Or rather, the fair distribution of money. Under the current WGA contract, writers only earn four cents out of every DVD and VHS tape sold. This contract was created in 1985 when VHS sales were not particularly great and DVDs were just a dream of the future. Since then things have changed and DVDs are a big business. While the studios are making money hand over fist, the writers are still just earning four cents out of every DVD sold. Of course, the other bone of contention between the writers and the studios is residuals from the Internet. Currently movie and TV show sales (through venues such as ITunes and AOL Video) over the Internet are less than that of DVD sales. And contrary to the belief of many pundits, I suspect it will always be that way (I think many are not savvy enough to download movies and TV shows from the Net and I also think people will always prefer a physical object, such as a DVD, to a digital download). Still, there is money to have from the Internet. As of March 31, 2007, Disney had already sold around 2 million movies and 23.7 million TV show episodes through Apple's iTunes (Disney and Apple had just signed their deal in October 2005). It seems only right that writers should get their fair share of the money that movies and TV shows generate on the Internet.

Indeed, even though writers have never been treated with any particular respect in the film and television industries, even though they don't enjoy the sort of celebrity that some actors and directors do, it must be pointed out that the vast majority of movies and TV shows would be impossible without writers. The vast majority of movies and TV shows must begin with the written word, a script. And for there to be a script there must be a writer to write it. What is more, writers many times have to expend an inordinate amount of time on a script, not simply writing it, but rewriting it and revising it even as a movie or TV show episode is being shot. They often work long hours for very little in return. Given their importance to the industry and given the fact that they are largely responsible for what we see on both movie and TV screens, I think it is only fair they share in the money made from the products created using their scripts.

It is for that reason that I am not going to gripe when there are no new episodes of 30 Rock and when Lost does not last its full 16 episodes. As a writer myself I not only sympathise with the screenwriters, but I can identify with them. They are only asking for what is fair, and if that means I miss new episodes of my favourite shows, then so be it.

Screenwriter and Author Peter Viertel Passes On

Peter Viertel, who collaborated on the screenplay for Beat the Devil and wrote the novel White Hunter Black Heart died at the age of 86 on November 4 from lymphoma.

Peter Viertel was born in Dresden, Germany on November 16, 1920. His parents were writer Berthold Viertel (who wrote the screenplays for such films as Nora and Man Trouble and actress Salka Viertel (who appeared in the films Anna Karenina and Queen Christina). It was in 1928 that his parents moved the family to California. As a youngster Viertel was exposed to the rich and famous in Hollywood. During World War II Viertel served in the Marines in an office position and later worked with the O.S.S. in Europe.

Viertel broke into film as a screenwriter by co-writing the movie Saboteur, directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself. He went onto write or co-write the screenplays for The Hard Way, We Were Strangers, Decision Before Dawn, The African Queen, Beat the Devil, and The Old Man and the Sea.

Of course, Viertel also had a career as a writer of books. He sold his first book, The Canyon (a novel about youth in California) in 1940. He would go onto write such novels as Line of Departure, Love Lies Bleeding, Bicycle on the Beach, and American Skin. He drew upon his experiences on the movie The African Queen for his novel White Hunter Black Heart. The novel, like the 1990 movie based upon it, dealt with a director who becomes more obsessed with hunting than shooting the film upon which he was working. In all, Viertel wrote 9 novels.

Peter Viertel was a talented writer who produced classics in both the cinema and literature. His novel White Hunter Black Heart is a classic in 20th century literature. And there can be no argument that The African Queen and Beat the Devil are not classic films. He was a man who excelled in two different media, a feat only accomplished by a few. It is sad to know that he has passed.

Cyrkle Co-Founder Thomas Dawes Passes On

Thomas Dawes, co-founder of folk rock group The Cyrkle, passed on October 13 from a stroke. He was 64 years old.

Dawes was born in Albany, New York on July 25, 1943. He attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. It was there that bassist Dawes met guitarist Don Dannemann. They formed a band called The Rhondells in 1961, mostly playing covers of Four Seasons songs and similar groups. They eventually changed their style and began playing resorts around Atlantic City. It was in 1964 that Nat Weiss, entertainment lawyer and partner to Beatles manager Brian Epstein, heard them at the Alibi Lounge. Weiss began booking The Rhondells' shows. The band was set for further success when Don Danneman had to leave for military service. In the meantime Dawes played bass for Simon and Garfunkel when they were on tour. It was while playing with them that Paul Simon played for Dawes his song "Red Rubber Ball."

When Dannemann returned from service, The Rhondells reformed. They found themselves managed by Brian Epstein. They also found a new name, The Cyrkle, the unusual spelling being suggested by none other than John Lennon. They would have a hit with "Red Rubber Ball," which climbed to #2 on the Billboard singles charts. The Cyrkle would eveb open for The Beatles on their last tour through the United States. Unfortunately, The Cyrkle would have only one more hit. "Turn Down the Day" went to #16 on the Billboard charts.

Their third single, "Please Don't Ever Leave Me," did not even break the top 40, only going to #59 on the singles chart. Following singles also performed poorly. The Cyrkle provided the soundtrack to the movie The Minx, but neither the movie nor the soundtrack album nor any songs from the album were hits. Their last single, "Where Are You Going" did not even chart. Tom Dawes had left the band in 1968. The Cyrkle disbanded not long afterwards.

No longer part of a rock group, Dawes turned to writing commercial jingles in the Seventies and Eighties. His most famous compositions may well be "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" for Alka-Seltzer and "7Up, the Uncola," He also wrote jingles for L'Eggs, American Airlines, MacDonalds, and Coca-Cola. His wife, Ginny Redington Dawes, was also a jingle writer when they met. Together they wrote several jingles (including the famous "Coke is It" jingle). Dawes also produced an album for Foghat in the Seventies and with his wife wrote the musical Talk of the Town, about the Algonquin Round Table. The Cyrkle briefly reunited in 1986 for one last time.

Although The Cyrkle turned out to be a two hit wonder, Thomas Dawes was a very talented composer and musician. The Cyrkle's music still stands up today. Indeed, "Red Rubber Ball" is still a standby on oldies stations everywhere. Dawes also contributed considerably to pop culture as a jingle writer. "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" is arguably one of the best known jingles of all time, a tribute to Dawes' skill as a writer. He will certainly be missed.

Robert Goulet R.I.P.

Robert Goulet, the handsome baritone who appeared in everything from Broadway musicals to movies to commercials, died this past Tuesday, October 30. He had been diagnosed with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and was waiting for a lung transplant. He was 73.

Goulet was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to French Canadian family. Following his father's death, his mother and the family moved to Girouxville, Alberta, Canada and later Edmonton. In Edmonton he studied voice with Herbert G. Turner and Jean Létourneau (founders of the light opera of Edmonton). Goulet also became a radio announcer for CKUA in Edmonton. He graduated from Victoria Composite High School and attended Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music on a scholarship. In 1952 he competed on the talent show Pick the Stars on CBC television. Goulet was a regular on the Canadian version of Howdy Doody, appearing as Trapper Pierre (for a time alongside William Shatner as Ranger Bob). From 1955 to 1959 he was one of the co-hosts on the Canadian series The Leslie Bell Singers.

It was in 1959 that there came the turning point in Goulet's career that would turn him into a star. He found himself cast as Lancelot in the Lerner and Loewe musical Camelot, opposite Richard Burton as Arthur and Julie Andrews as Guenevere. The musical opened in Toronto in October 1960 before playing in Boston for four weeks and then on Broadway. Goulet appeared in Camelot from October 1960 to January 1963.

As a Broadway star Goulet appeared regularly on television in the Sixties. He appeared on both The Jack Paar Programme and The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. He made many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. He also made appearances on The Jack Benny Programme, The Jerry Lewis Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Dean Martin Show, and The Hollywood Palace. He guest starred on the shows The Patty Duke Show, The Big Valley, and The Name of the Game. He appeared in television adaptations of Brigadoon and Kiss Me Kate. He also starred in the short lived 1966 World War II spy drama The Blue Light.

Goulet also had a film career in the Sixties. He was the voice of Jaune-Tom in the animated feature Gay Purr-ee, and appeared in the films Honeymoon Hotel, I'd Rather be Rich, and Underground. He also returned to Broadway in The Happy Time in 1968.

The Seventies saw Goulet's career in film slow down, although he appeared in many TV shows. He made guest appearances on Mission: Impossible, Laugh In, The Flip Wilson Show, The Tonight Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Cannon, Police Woman, and Love Boat. In 1980 he would appear in Atlantic City and in 1988 in Beetle Juice as Maxie Dean. He made guest appearances on Police Squad, Matt Houston, Murder She Wrote, and Fantasy Island. The Nineties saw Goulet appear in the films The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear and Mr. Wrong. He provided the singing voice for Wheezy the Penguin in Toy Story 2. He guest starred on the shows The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Boy Meets World, In the Heat of the Night, and Burke's Law. He also returned to Broadway in a revival of Camelot, this time as King Arthur.

The Naughts saw Goulet appear in the films The Last Producer and G-Men from Hell. He provided Mikey's singing voice on the series Recess. He guest starred on The Simpsons, TV Funhouse, Gary the Rat, Las Vegas, and The King of Queens. He also appeared in a very funny Emerald Nuts commercial as someone who plays pranks on unsuspecting office workers. He would appear on Broadway one last time in La Cage aux Folles.

Throughout his career, Robert Goulet recorded over 60 albums.

Later in his career Robert Goulet often parodied himself as the ultimate lounge singer. In truth, however, he was actually a very talented singer and a performer of considerable charm. It was his singing, as much as the writing talents of Lerner and Loewe, that established "If Ever I Leave You" from Camelot as a romantic standard. Aside from a voice that evoked the days of chivalry and love worth dying for, Goulet was a beloved performer because of a remarkable, often self effacing sense of humour. Not many singers of his era would have appeared in that Emerald Nuts advert or gust starred on The Simpsons. They certainly would not have parodied themselves as the ultimate lounge singer. In the end, Goulet was not the ultimate lounge singer, but a man with an impressive voice and considerable talent.

Happy Halloween 2007

Today is Halloween. Having written some pretty heavy duty, Halloween oriented posts the past few days, I thought I would take it easy today and post two bits of poetry suitable for the holiday. One is "Ulalume" by Edgar Allan Poe. The other is "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult. So without further ado, here they are.

"Ulalume"
by Edgar Allen Poe

The skies they were ashen and sober;
The leaves they were crisped and sere -
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year:
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty mid region of Weir -
It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

Here once, through and alley Titanic,
Of cypress, I roamed with my Soul -
Of cypress, with Psyche, my Soul.
These were days when my heart was volcanic
As the scoriac rivers that roll -
As the lavas that restlessly roll
Their sulphurous currents down Yaanek
In the ultimate climes of the pole -
That groan as they roll down Mount Yaanek
In the realms of the boreal pole.

Our talk had been serious and sober,
But our thoughts they were palsied and sere -
Our memories were treacherous and sere, -
For we knew not the month was October,
And we marked not the night of the year
(Ah, night of all nights in the year!) -
We noted not the dim lake of Auber
(Though once we had journeyed down here) -
Remembered not the dank tarn of Auber,
Nor the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

And now, as the night was senescent
And star-dials pointed to morn -
As the star-dials hinted of morn -
At the end of our path a liquescent
And nebulous lustre was born,
Out of which a miraculous crescent
Arose with a duplicate horn -
Astarte's bediamonded crescent
Distinct with its duplicate horn.

And I said: "She is warmer than Dian;
She rolls through an ether of sighs -
She revels in a region of sighs:
She has seen that the tears are not dry on
These cheeks, where the worm never dies,
And has come past the stars of the Lion
To point us the path to the skies -
To the Lethean peace of the skies -
Come up, in despite of the Lion,
To shine on us with her bright eyes -
Come up through the lair of the Lion,
With love in her luminous eyes."

But Psyche, uplifting her finger,
Said: "Sadly this star I mistrust -
Her pallor I strangely mistrust:
Ah, hasten! -ah, let us not linger!
Ah, fly! -let us fly! -for we must."
In terror she spoke, letting sink her
Wings until they trailed in the dust -
In agony sobbed, letting sink her
Plumes till they trailed in the dust -
Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.

I replied: "This is nothing but dreaming:
Let us on by this tremulous light!
Let us bathe in this crystalline light!
Its Sybilic splendour is beaming
With Hope and in Beauty tonight! -
See! -it flickers up the sky through the night!
Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,
And be sure it will lead us aright -
We safely may trust to a gleaming,
That cannot but guide us aright,
Since it flickers up to Heaven through the night."

Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
And tempted her out of her gloom -
And conquered her scruples and gloom;
And we passed to the end of the vista,
But were stopped by the door of a tomb -
By the door of a legended tomb;
And I said: "What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legended tomb?"
She replied: "Ulalume -Ulalume -
'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!"

Then my heart it grew ashen and sober
As the leaves that were crisped and sere -
As the leaves that were withering and sere;
And I cried: "It was surely October
On this very night of last year
That I journeyed -I journeyed down here! -
That I brought a dread burden down here -
On this night of all nights in the year,
Ah, what demon hath tempted me here?
Well I know, now, this dim lake of Auber -
This misty mid region of Weir -
Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber,
This ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."

"Don't Fear the Reaper"
by Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser

All our times have come,
Here but now they're gone.
Seasons don't fear the reaper,
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain.
We can be like they are...

Come on baby... Don't fear the Reaper,
Baby take my hand... Don't fear the Reaper,
We'll be able to fly... Don't fear the Reaper,
Baby I'm your man...

Valentine is done.
Here but now they're gone,
Romeo and Juliet,
Are together in eternity...
Romeo and Juliet

40,000 men and women everyday... Like Romeo and Juliet,
40,000 men and women everyday... Redefine happiness
Another 40,000 coming everyday...We can be like they are...

Come on baby... Don't fear the Reaper,
Baby take my hand... Don't fear the Reaper,
We'll be able to fly... Don't fear the Reaper,
Baby I'm your man...

Love of two is one.
Here but now they're gone.
Came the last night of sadness,
And it was clear she couldn't go on,
Then the door was open and the wind appeared,
The candles blew then disappeared,
The curtains flew then he appeared,
Saying don't be afraid

Come on baby... And she had no fear,
And she ran to him... Then they started to fly.
They looked backward and said goodbye.
She had become like they are.
She had taken his hand,
She had become like they are,

Come on baby...don't fear the reaper.

Happy Halloween!

Dan Curtis, Television's Master of the Macabre

Most purveyors of the horror genre work in literature (Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King) or motion pictures (James Whale, Val Lewton, Guillermo del Toro), but there was one man who did most of his work in the horror as a television producer. That man was Dan Curtis, the man probably responsible for more hours of scary programming than any other.

Curtis did not start in television as a producer. Instead he began by selling syndicated programming for both NBC and MCA. When he did enter production, it was as the producer of golf programmes. Curtis created Challenge Golf for ABC and The CBS Match Play Golf Classic for CBS. His fortunes would change in 1965, however, when he created a produced a soap opera called Dark Shadows.

The inspiration for Dark Shadows were the Gothic romances so popular in book stores and drugstores at the time. Initially it was a rather straight forward Gothic soap opera, but it was not long before it took a turn into the supernatural. It began initially with the appearance of two ghosts on the show, who played no major role in any of the series' plot lines. It was on December 12, 1966 that Dark Shadows turned from Gothic romance to Gothic horror. On that day a story arc began concerning the return of one of the character's estranged wives. As it turns out, she was an entity called a phoenix--every 100 years she was reborn in fire. This plot line was only the beginning, as on March 22, 1967 would become a fully fledged Gothic horror series. It was on that day that the vampire Barnabas Collins made his first appearance.

Barnabas Collins soon became the show's most popular character. And Dark Shadows became something of a fad. It perhaps produced more merchandise than any soap opera before or since. There were Dark Shadows books, games, posters, and more. It even produced two major motion pictures (House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows). The show's popularity perhaps rested with the fact that it explored territory which no other show with continuing characters had ever done before. In fact, it exploited every Gothic horror cliche there was. In addition to the vampire Barnabas Collins, werewolves, a Frankensteinian creation, witches, warlocks, ghosts, and even Lovecraftian entities appeared on the show. Sadly the fad eventually passed and Dark Shadows in the ratings. It went off the air on April 2, 1971.

Dark Shadows was only Dan Curtis' first venture into the horror genre, and it would not be his last. In 1968 he produced an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. It aired in the States on ABC. This adaptation starred Jack Palance as the unfortunate doctor and his less benevolent counterpart.

Curtis' next television project in the horror genre would also be his biggest success besides Dark Shadows. The television movie The Night Stalker (first aired in 1972) centred on tabloid reporter Carl Kolchak (Darin McGavin), who has the misfortune to cross paths with a vampire. The Night Stalker was based on an unpublished novel by Jeffrey Grant Rice, with a teleplay by writing legend Richard Matheson (one of many projects on which Curtis worked with the writer). At the time it was one of the most successful telefilms of all time. In fact, it was so successful that a sequel was even made and aired in 1973, The Night Strangler. In that film Kolchak faced off against a murderous immortal. Richard Matheson also wrote the teleplay. The two movies would provide the basis for the TV series Kolchak: the Night Stalker. Sadly, Curtis was not involved with the series and it retained little of the quality of the two movies.

Nineteen seventy three seems to have been a very active year for Curtis when it came to producing horror movies for television. One was The Invasion of Carol Enders involved a ghost taking possession of a living woman in order to expose her murderer. Curtis also produced a pilot for a TV series that never sold. The Norliss Tapes centred on investigative reporter David Norliss (played by Roy Thinnes) who uncovers a coven of vampires. Although it is well remembered, NBC did not buy it as a series.

Curtis's other projects that year were based on classic works of horror. One was a telefilm based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, perhaps one of his most famous television movies. Dracula featured Jack Palance as the famous vampire. In many respects it was more loyal than many major motion picture adaptations of the novel, including actual parts of the dialogue from the novel. It was among Curtis's most lavish productions, being shot in both England and Yugoslavia. His other film based on a classic horror work that year was an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray aired. It was also in 1973 that Dan Curtis produced an episode of the anthology Wide World of Mystery--Frankenstein Part I.

In 1974 Curtis ventured into the realm of werewolves. Scream of the Wolf centred a big game hunter tracking a murderous wolf who may or may not also be human. That same year Curtis produced a TV movie based on Henry James' Turn of the Screw. Like his version of Dracula it was more loyal to its source material than most movies. It was also critically acclaimed.

It was in 1975 that Dan Curtis produced one of his most popular TV movies, Trilogy of Terror. The film featured actress Karen Black in three different roles in three different stories. One concerned a student's unhealthy obsession to his teacher. Another centred around two sisters, one was good and another who was evil. The third involved an unfortunate woman terrorised by an African tribal object. In 1977 Curtis would produce another horror anthology movie. Dead of Night also told three stories. In one concerns a man who buys a car which can travel through time, with frightening results. Another centred on one of Curtis's favourite subjects, vampires. The third concerned a mother who asks that her drowned son be returned to life, learning all too well one should be careful what she wishes for.

That same year Dan Curtis produced the television movie Curse of the Black Widow. The film featured Anthony Franciosa hunting a killer who encases her male victims in silk cocoons. Sadly, Curse of the Black Widow would be the last time that Curtis would venture into the realm of horror with original material. The Eighties saw him produce such miniseries as War and Remembrance and The Winds of War.

When Curtis did venture back into the horror genre, it would be through his first work of horror, Dark Shadows. In 1990 Curtis produced a pilot for a new, primetime Dark Shadows. The series itself, placed in a Friday night death slot on NBC, only lasted a few months in 1991. In 2004 Curtis was the executive producer on another Dark Shadows movie, this one a pilot for a new show being considered by the WB. Sadly, the WB did not pick it up as a seires.

It is quite possible that Dan Curtis is responsible for more hours of horror programming than any other television producer in the history of the medium. At the very least he was the man behind what could be the two most famous horror TV shows of all time--he created and produced Dark Shadows and produced the TV movies that led to Kolchak: the Night Stalker. Many of the horror films that Dan Curtis produced for television are well remember to this day. The reasons for this is that Curtis tried to insure that every one of his telefilms were done with quality. Indeed, he worked with such writers as Richard Matheson, William F. Nolan, and Earl W. Wallace. The actors with whom worked with were among the best in the business: Darren McGavin, Jack Palance, and Karen Black among them. Dan Curtis was not simply a producer of horror TV movies, but a producer of good horror TV shows. He has had a lasting influence on individuals ranging from writer Stephen King to producer Joss Whedon. If horror TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural have met with success, it is largely due to Dan Curtis having paved the way.