Dan Curtis, RIP

Dan Curtis, known best as the creator of Dark Shadows, died March 27 of brain cancer at the age of 78. Daniel Mayer Cherkoss was born Aug. 12, 1927, in Bridgeport, Conn. He produced and directed the Golden Globe-winning The Winds of War (1983) and the Emmy award-winning War and Remembrance (1988). The original Dark Shadows (1966-1971) ran for 1,225 episodes and sparked a 35-issue comic-book series from Gold Key (Mar 69-Feb 76). Curtis’ TV movies included Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1968), The Night Stalker (1972), The Night Strangler (1973), Trilogy of Terror (1975), The Turn of the Screw (1974), Dracula (1973), Our Fathers (2005), and Saving Milly (2005). Curtis’ theatrical films included Burnt Offerings (1996) and two Dark Shadows features, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). He is survived by two daughters, Cathy and Tracy, and a stepbrother, Myron Ballen. His daughter Linda died in 1975, and his wife Norma, an Alzheimer’s victim, died of a heart attack March 7.


(Thanks for the notice, Phil!)