Dan Curtis

He also directed three feature films – the Dark Shadows spinoffs House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971), and the supernatural horror Burnt Offerings (1976). Curtis was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Limited Series for War and Remembrance at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, for which he also won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials at the 42nd Directors Guild of America Awards. He also won the Saturn Award for Best Director for Burnt Offerings.

• Name — Dan Curtis • Birth Name — Daniel Mayer Cherkoss • Born — 12 August 1927 • Birthplace — Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. • Died — 27 March 2006 • Place of death — Brentwood, California, U.S. • Notable Works — * Dark Shadows • The Winds of War • War and Remembrance • Education — Syracuse University (B.A., 1950) • Occupation — Director, screenwriter, producer • Children — 3 • Awards — See below

Curtis was born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss to a Jewish parents in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His father, Edward Cherkoss, was a dentist. His mother, Mildred, died when he was a 13-years-old. He studied Sociology at Syracuse University, where he met his wife Norma Mae Klein. After graduating in 1950, he worked as a syndicated television show salesman, before landing at NBC.

Curtis formed his own production company, and achieved his first notable success with the Emmy-winning golf program CBS Match Play Classic. In 1966, he created the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, which became a cult hit and ran until 1971. Curtis's series of macabre films include House of Dark Shadows, Night of Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker (for many years holding the record ratings of the most-watched TV movie—and inspired the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker), Intruders, The Night Strangler, Burnt Offerings, Trilogy of Terror and its belated sequel Trilogy of Terror II, The Norliss Tapes (a 1973 pilot for an unproduced series starring Roy Thinnes), Curse of the Black Widow, Dead of Night (1977), and Scream of the Wolf. He worked frequently with sci-fi/horror writers Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan. Curtis was producer and/or director of several television adaptations of classic horror texts including The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968), Frankenstein (1973), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), Dracula (1974), and The Turn of the Screw (1974). In 1978, Curtis made a departure from his usual macabre offerings, when he wrote, produced, and directed the sentimental NBC television film When Every Day Was the Fourth of July. Although fictionalized, the film was semi-autobiographical, based on his childhood growing up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the 1930s. The film was originally intended to be a pilot for a potential series, but when the series was not picked up by the NBC network, Curtis produced and directed the 1980 television movie sequel The Long Days of Summer, this time airing on the ABC network. His 1983 miniseries The Winds of War, the most watched miniseries in American television history, was nominated for four Emmy Awards at the 35th Primetime Emmy Awards. Curtis also directed the War and Remembrance miniseries, which was the continuation of The Winds of War. The program was 30 hours in length, split into two segments. Chapters I-VII aired in November 1988. The remaining five parts, Chapters VIII-XII, were billed as "The Final Chapter", and aired in May 1989. The miniseries received 15 Emmy Award nominations at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, including for Best Actor (John Gielgud), Best Actress (Jane Seymour), Supporting Actor (Barry Bostwick), and Supporting Actress (Polly Bergen). The show won Emmys for Best Miniseries, Special Effects, and Single-Camera Production Editing. The New York Times profiled Curtis while in post-production on War and Remembrance. Curtis's rights to Dark Shadows remain with his estate, which signed a deal with Warner Bros. for a 2012 Dark Shadows movie. The film stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, was directed by Tim Burton, and was released in May 2012. After the film's end credits, there is a dedication to Dan Curtis. In 2023, Curtis was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.

Curtis and his wife Norma had three daughters – Cathy, Tracy and Linda (died 1975).

Curtis died of a brain tumor on March 27, 2006 at age 78, at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, 20 days after the death of his wife by Alzheimer's disease. He was buried at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery.

• Year — Title — Functioned as — Notes • Director — Writer — Producer — Exec. Producer • | 1966–71 — Dark Shadows — Creator — * Director; 21 episodes * Exec. Producer; 1225 episodes • 1973 — ABC Movie of the Week — Episode: "The Picture of Dorian Gray" • 1973–74 — The Wide World of Mystery — * Director; 1 episode * Writer; 2 episodes * Producer; 2 episodes * Exec. Producer; 4 episodes • 1979 — Supertrain — * Director; 1 episode * Exec. Producer; 5 episodes • 1991 — Dark Shadows — Creator — 12 episodes • 2005–06 — Night Stalker — Consulting — 10 episodes

• Year — Title — Functioned as — Notes • Director — Writer — Producer • | 1970 — House of Dark Shadows — Characters • | 1971 — Night of Dark Shadows — Story • | 1976 — Burnt Offerings • 1986 — St. John in Exile • | 1993 — Me and the Kid • 2012 — Dark Shadows — Characters — Posthumous release

• Year — Title — Functioned as • Director — Writer — Producer — Exec. Producer • 1968 — The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde • 1969 — Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon • 1972 — The Night Stalker • 1973 — Frankenstein • The Night Strangler • The Norliss Tapes • The Invasion of Carol Enders • 1974 — Scream of the Wolf • Bram Stoker's Dracula • Melvin Purvis: G-Man • The Turn of the Screw • The Great Ice Rip-Off • 1975 — Trilogy of Terror • The Kansas City Massacre • 1977 — Dead of Night • Curse of the Black Widow • | 1978 — When Every Day Was the Fourth of July — Story • 1979 — Mrs. R's Daughter • The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang • | 1980 — The Long Days of Summer • 1982 — The Big Easy • | 1983 — The Winds of War • | 1988 — War and Remembrance • 1992 — Angie, the Lieutenant • Intruders • | 1993 — Me and the Kid • | 1996 — Trilogy of Terror II • 1998 — The Love Letter • 2004 — Dark Shadows — Creator • 2005 — Saving Milly • Our Fathers