"Dark Shadows," "Winds of War" producer dies at 78

[Onyx]

Wow. Hadn't thought about this in years.

Has anyone here ever seen the old Dark Shadows soap opera from the sixties? It was the ultimate in gothic cheeeese. They have aired some of them on SciFi channel in the past.

I can remember in grade school (upper grades, what would now be called middle school) we used to roleplay DarkShadows at recess. I ran with an "unusual" crowd even back then. :laughing

Being in the midst of the bible belt in Tennessee, watching the show was viewed as scandalous! In my school here were whispered rumors that the Collins family were *real* and the series was based on fact, but that in real life they were a family of evil warlocks and witches who dabbled in satanic rituals and that you didn't want to piss off any Collins. (this made kids in our neighborhood run fearfully past the Collins' house at night). :grin

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LOS ANGELES The creator of the cult favorite "Dark Shadows" has died.

Dan Curtis was a producer and director whose wide-ranging career embraced some of T-V's highest-rated mini-series, like "The Winds of War," and innovative sports shows like the Emmy-winning "C-B-S Match Play Golf Classic."

In the 1960's, Curtis struck gold when he pitched a gothic-flavored soap opera to A-B-C. "Dark Shadows" soared to cult classic status on the fangs of heroic vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid.

A spokesman for Curtis' family and production company says Curtis was diagnosed with a brain tumor four months ago. His wife of 54 years died earlier this month of heart failure.

Curtis was 78.

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059978/

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4...33&nav=menu44_1

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http://www.darkshadowsonline.com/

Remembering Dark Shadows Creator Dan Curtis

The man who created Collinwood and its cursed crew of inhabitants has died, just weeks after the death of his wife of more than fifty years.

Dan Curtis died around 6 a.m., March 27, at his California home after a brief battle with cancer. He was 78. Curtis' wife, Norma, died twenty days earlier of heart failure. They had been married for 54 years.

Forty years ago, Dan and Norma had a fateful conversation at their breakfast table which set in motion a series of events that forever changed the face of daytime television, launched the careers of many TV stars, and impacted the lives of millions of fans around the world.

Dan had a spooky nightmare, which he told his wife about at their breakfast table.

Later, he described the dream to 16 magazine: "I saw a girl with long, dark hair. She was about 19, and she was on a train that stopped in the dark, isolated town. She got off the train and started walking and walking. Finally, she came to a huge, forbidding house. She turned and slowly walked up the long path towards the house. At the door, she lifted a huge brass knocker and gently tapped it three times. I heard a dog howl, and then--just as the door creaked open--I woke up!"

When Dan, already a television producer, recounted the nightmare to Norma, she replied that it sounded like a good opening scene for a TV series. Dan agreed, and soon he pitched the idea to ABC network executives, who gave him a green light to assemble a creative team to flesh out the basic story from his dream.

The dream team developed a Gothic-toned soap opera called Dark Shadows. Its first episode, which aired in the afternoon of June 27, 1966, focused on a young woman with long, dark hair, who arrived at a isolated Maine mansion called Collinwood, home to the Collins family. Ratings for the show were fairly low until Curtis took a creative gamble and introduced supernatural members of the Collins family tree. A Phoenix, played by Diana Millay first goosed the ratings. Later a melancholy, heroic vampire named Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) catapultedDark Shadows into television history.

That fateful morning at the breakfast table, neither Dan nor Norma could have imagined the impact Dark Shadows would have. It attracted a rabidly loyal army of fans, ranging from college professors to housewives to grade-school children -- many of whom still meet at annual Dark Shadows Festivals in New York and California. The main Barnabas Collins storyline, which includes a love triangle between Barnabas, a naive young woman named Josette (Kathryn Leigh Scott) and a vengeful witch named Angelique (Lara Parker) kept fans enthralled, and fired their creativity, inspiring many to create their own books, websites, and fanzines dedicated to the show.

The series went into syndication in the 1970s, most recently airing on the Sci-Fi channel and attracting a whole new legion of fans. Episodes have also been released on VHS and DVD, an extremely rare occurrence for a soap opera. Other DS-related memorabilia has been on the market since the show originally aired -- including novels, board games, puzzles, a View-Master set, and bubblegum cards. While such merchandising of TV shows and movies is commonplace today, in the 1970s it was relatively unusual, and was especially unprecedented for a daytime drama.

[Mikielikesit]

Wow that really brings back memories....my mom used to watch it so in turn means i used to watch it before my cartoons in the afternoon.......Oh the simple life

[Miranda]

Dan Curtis was great. He did one of my favorite movies too "Burnt Offerings". The DVD has his commentary on it , so it's nice to be able to hear him describe his work.