Curtis, Dan 1928–

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CURTIS, Dan 1928


PERSONAL


Full name, Daniel Mayer (some sources cite Meyer) Curtis; born August 12, 1928, in Bridgeport, CT; son of Edward Philip (a dentist) and Mildred Bernice Cherkass; married Norma May Klein, June 22, 1952; children: Linda, Cathy, Tracy (an actress and producer). Education: Attended University of Bridgeport, 1947; Syracuse University, B.A., 1950.


Addresses: Office Dan Curtis Productions Inc., 11766 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1410, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Agent Rick Rosen, Endeavor, 9701 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.


Career: Producer, director, and writer. National Broadcasting Co., head of sales in film division, 195261; MCA, New York City, network television program sales representative, 196162; Dan Curtis Productions, Los Angeles, founder and partner, 1962. CBS Golf Classic, owner, 196373. Military service: U.S. Naval Reserve, active duty, 194547.


Member: Directors Guild of America, Sigma Alpha Mu, Riviera Country Club.

Awards, Honors: Emmy Award nomination, outstanding dramatic program, 1968, for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Golden Scroll, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, and Medalla Sitges en Oro de Ley, Catalonian International Film Festival, both best director, 1977, for Burnt Offerings; Emmy Award nominations, outstanding limited series and outstanding directing in a limited series or special, both 1983, for The Winds of War; Emmy Award, outstanding miniseries (with Barbara Steele), Emmy Award nomination, outstanding directing in a miniseries or special, Golden Globe Award, best television miniseries or movie, Distinguished Service Award for the Performing Arts, Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Directors Guild of America Award nomination, outstanding directorial achievement in dramatic specials, all 1989, Directors Guild of America Award, 1990, and People's Choice Award, all for War and Remembrance; Golden Laurel Award, Hall of Fame for television programs, Producers Guild of America, 1998, for The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.


CREDITS


Television Director; Miniseries:

(And producer) The Winds of War, ABC, 1983.

(And executive producer) War and Remembrance, ABC, 1988.

(And creator and executive producer) Dark Shadows, NBC, 1990.

(And producer) Intruders, CBS, 1992.


Television Executive Producer; Series:

(And creator) Dark Shadows, ABC, 19661971.

Supertrain, NBC, 1979.

(And creator) Dark Shadows (also known as Dark Shadows Revival ), NBC, 1991.


Television Producer and Director; Pilots:

In the Dead of Night, ABC, 1969.

The Night Stalker (also known as Kolchak: The Night Stalker ), ABC, 1972.

The Night Strangler, ABC, 1973.

The Norliss Tapes, NBC, 1973.

Melvin Purvis: GMan (also known as GMan: The Legend of Machine Gun Kelly ), ABC, 1974.


Television Executive Producer; Pilots:

(And director) The Long Days of Summer, ABC, 1980.

The Big Easy, NBC, 1982.

Angie, the Lieutenant, ABC, 1992.

Dark Shadows, Fox, 2002.


Television Producer; Movies:

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (also known as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ), ABC, 1968.

Frankenstein, ABC, 1973.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, ABC, 1973.


Television Producer and Director; Movies:

Scream of the Wolf, ABC, 1974.

The Great Ice Ripoff, ABC, 1974.

Dracula (also known as Bram Stoker's Dracula ), CBS, 1974.

The Turn of the Screw, ABC, 1974.

The Kansas City Massacre, ABC, 1975.

Trilogy of Terror (includes "Julie," "Millicent and Therese," and "Amelia"; also known as Tales of Terror and Terror of the Doll ), ABC, 1975.

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July, NBC, 1978.

"The Love Letter," Hallmark Hall of Fame, CBS, 1998.


Television Executive Producer and Director; Movies:

(And director) Curse of the Black Widow (also known as Love Trap ), ABC, 1977.

(And director) The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang, NBC, 1979.

(And director) Mrs. R's Daughter, NBC, 1979.

(And creator) Johnny Ryan (also known as Against the Mob, GMen, and Ryan's Way ), NBC, 1990.

(And director) Trilogy of Terror II, USA Network, 1996.


Television Director; Episodic:

Dark Shadows, ABC, 1968.

Supertrain, NBC, 1979.

Dark Shadows (also known as Dark Shadows Revival ), 1991.


Television Work; Other:

Producer, CBS Golf Classic (special), CBS, annually, 19631973.

Producer, A Darkness at Blaisedon, 1968.

(Uncredited) Producer and director, The Invasion of Carol Enders, 1973.

Director, Express to Terror, 1979.


Television Appearances; Specials:

War and Remembrance: A Living History, ABC, 1988.

The 41st Annual Emmy Awards, Fox, 1989.

Interviewee, Intimate Portrait: Jane Seymour, Lifetime, 1998.


Film Producer and Director:

House of Dark Shadows, MetroGoldwynMayer, 1970.

Night of Dark Shadows (also known as Curse of Dark Shadows ), MetroGoldwynMayer, 1971.

Burnt Offerings, United Artists, 1976.

Dead of Night, 1977.

In Advance of the Landing (documentary), Cygnus Communications, 1993.

Film Executive Producer and Director:

Me and the Kid, Orion, 1993.


WRITINGS


Television Miniseries:

(With Earl Wallace) War and Remembrance (based on the novel by Herman Wouk), ABC, 1988.

Dark Shadows, NBC, 1990.


Television Pilots:

In the Dead of Night, ABC, 1969.

Dark Shadows, Fox, 2002.


Television Movies:

Frankenstein, ABC, 1973.

The Kansas City Massacre, ABC, 1975.

Trilogy of Terror II, USA Network, 1996.


Television Episodes:

(With others) Dark Shadows (also known as Dark Shadows Revival ), NBC, 1991.


Screenplays:

(With William F. Nolan) Burnt Offerings (based on a novel by Robert Marasco), United Artists, 1976.

Me and the Kid (based on the novel The Taking of Gary Feldman by Stanley Cohen), Orion, 1993.


Writings; Other:

Contributor of foreword to Dark Shadows Resurrected, by Jim Pierson, Pomegranate Press, 1993.


ADAPTATIONS


The film Night of Dark Shadows was based on a story by Curtis. The television movie When Every Day Was the Fourth of July, released by NBC in 1978, was based on a story by Curtis and Lee Huston.


OTHER SOURCES


Books:

Pierson, Jim, Dark Shadows Resurrected, Pomegranate Press, 1993.


Periodicals:

Hollywood Reporter, November 22, 1988, pp. 10, 40.