[News] Dan Curtis Dead at 78

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:55 am

He was the producer and sometimes director of, among other things, Dark Shadows (and its movies), the two Kolchak movies, Trilogy of Terror, and the Jack Palance TV movie of Dracula. (Also Winds of War and Winds of Remembrance, but I'm not sure people here would care as much about those

)

Yahoo! News obit

IMDB entry

Catman Jim · Post by **Catman Jim** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:31 pm

Dark Shadows had so much effect on me growing up. Yes, I was one of those that ran home from school every day in the 60's to watch Dark Shadows. Sorry to hear of Dan Curtis's passing.

Steve Miller · Post by **Steve Miller** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:41 pm

The Curtis/Palance "Dracula" remains my favorite version. If I could getmy hands on a copy to see if it holds up now that I'm an adult (I saw it on TV when I was a kid), I'd probably rate it a 10 over on my Rotten Tomatoes review page.

My dealings with Curtis and his staff in 1997n on the fated-to-never-happen "Dark Shadows Roleplaying Game" still remains one of the most pleasant of my career so far, so I'm sad to hear this.

Catman Jim · Post by **Catman Jim** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:58 pm

Steve Miller wrote:The Curtis/Palance "Dracula" remains my favorite version. If I could getmy hands on a copy to see if it holds up now that I'm an adult (I saw it on TV when I was a kid), I'd probably rate it a 10 over on my Rotten Tomatoes review page.

I saw that not too long ago (I checked it out free at the local library), yeah pretty darn corny now.

But I do still enjoy those Night Stalker movies!

order99 · Post by **order99** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:07 pm

Don't forget the Curtis/Palance adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde...while Palance's Dracula had a few flat spots, his Jekyll was dead brilliant!
The two can be found on two-sided DVD at MPI, BTW(www.mpihomevideo.com). Some Dark Shadows material too!

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:31 am

order99 wrote:Don't forget the Curtis/Palance adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde...while Palance's Dracula had a few flat spots, his Jekyll was dead brilliant!

I enjoyed that film-- the stories by makeup artist Dick Smith about trying to come up with a suitable Hyde makeup for Palance are also pretty funny (apparently Palance has a FRICKIN' HUGE head, and doing much buildup on it at all would've made him look like a sideshow exhibit-- not that there isn't some precedent for that in Jekyll and Hyde films...).

order99 · Post by **order99** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 6:36 pm

Gotta love the look they finally went with...Palance looks like he's literally following the Track of the Satyr there.

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 8:18 pm

order99 wrote:Gotta love the look they finally went with...Palance looks like he's literally following the Track of the Satyr there.

Yeah, supposedly Smith did base the makeup on a carving of a satyr he had, which had been done as a bas-relief on a cylinder; its rather broad, flat appearance gave him an idea of where to go with Palance (who also has a rather broad, flat face).

It's interesting just how much changing his nose and lips changed his appearance!

Le Noir Faineant · Post by **Le Noir Faineant** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:06 am

Café de Nuit

Welcome, friends, to our establishment.

[News] Dan Curtis Dead at 78

[News] Dan Curtis Dead at 78