Dan Curtis

Biography

Daniel Mayer Cherkoss (August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006), known by his pen name Dan Curtis, was an American director and producer of television and film, best known for creating the horror soap Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows ran from 1966 to 1971 for a record-setting 1,225 episodes. Curtis also produced the 1991 revival, which was canceled after twelve episodes due to low ratings. He also served as executive producer for a WB reboot; however, it was canceled before the pilot episode aired. 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), Curse of the Black Widow, Dead of Night, Scream of the Wolf, and others. He worked frequently with sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson. Curtis was producer and/or director of a number of television adaptations of horror-related productions including Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Turn of the Screw, all made between 1968 and 1975. In 1978, Curtis made a departure f…

Movies & TV Shows

1. Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004) — Self
2. Prisoners of Gravity (1989) — Self

Directed

1. Burnt Offerings (1976) — Director
2. Trilogy of Terror (1975) — Director
3. Dark Shadows (1966) — Director
4. House of Dark Shadows (1970) — Director
5. The Night Strangler (1973) — Director
6. Dracula (1974) — Director
7. Night of Dark Shadows (1971) — Director
8. Trilogy of Terror II (1996) — Director
9. Dead of Night (1977) — Director
10. The Winds of War (1983) — Director
11. Dark Shadows (1991) — Director
12. War and Remembrance (1988) — Director
13. The Love Letter (1998) — Director
14. Intruders (1992) — Director
15. The Norliss Tapes (1973) — Director
16. Curse of the Black Widow (1977) — Director
17. The Turn of the Screw (1974) — Director
18. Our Fathers (2005) — Director
19. Scream of the Wolf (1974) — Director
20. Melvin Purvis G-Man (1975) — Director
21. Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) — Director
22. The Invasion of Carol Enders (1974) — Director
23. The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979) — Director
24. Supertrain (1979) — Director
25. The Kansas City Massacre (1975) — Director
26. Me and the Kid (1993) — Director
27. Saving Milly (2005) — Director
28. The Great Ice Rip-Off (1974) — Director
29. St. John in Exile (1986) — Director
30. When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978) — Director
31. Mrs. R's Daughter (1979) — Director
32. Express to Terror (1979) — Director
33. The Long Days of Summer (1980) — Director