Dan Curtis Has Died

His passing was on the WENN News on the imdb.  It did not mention Dark Shadows.  http://imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-03-29/

It was on the CNN ticker on Monday and still on Tuesday.  They mentioned "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance," but also that he created Dark Shadows.  They referred to it as the "offbeat soap opera Dark Shadows."

I find it VERY disconcerting  that the death of Dan Curtis was not mentioned on my local ABC television and radio station news programs.  I think the passing of Dan Curtis is VERY IMPORTANT, and deserves to be mentioned by them.  Especially since Dark Shadows, Winds of War, and War and Rememberance originally aired on ABC TV. 

----- Sally -----[/size]

Wow.  I'm just learning of this.  So sorry....
Don't know if it's me or what, but doesn't it seem like a lot of people in the entertainment industry have been dying over the last few months?

Well, he gave us a great gift - the gift of Dark Shadows.  And what with tapes and DVD's, it's a gift that keeps on giving.

I've never seen either of the War mini-series.  Are they good?  Anyone?

Yeah, I think it's probably more common than we realize - one spouse dying shortly after the other - particularly in long-time, happy marriages.   My father went a few short weeks after his wife died.

Thank you Mr. Curtis  

"Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis production" -- something we heard every day.  At some point they stopped doing that at the end of the show.  Don't remember when though.

Very sad news.  He can certainly say that he lived his life to the fullest, and left a legacy for all of us to enjoy.

Thanks Dan.

I find it VERY disconcerting  that the death of Dan Curtis was not mentioned on my local ABC television and radio station news programs.  I think the passing of Dan Curtis is VERY IMPORTANT, and deserves to be mentioned by them.  Especially since Dark Shadows, Winds of War, and War and Rememberance originally aired on ABC TV.  [/size]

I have been disappointed by the lack acknowledgement of Dan's passing. I don't think Entertainment Tonight even mentioned it. It took two days to get the brief bottom of the news column on IMBD, I was so frustrated with them I emailed them yesterday to remind them of their omission. Honestly, I think Hoyt Curtain's passing got better notices.  (He was the compoer of themesongs and music for Hannah Barbera cartoons. All the radio news stations were playing the "Scooby Doo" theme.) Dan's work is too significant for the scant mentions.

Michael  

New York Newsday I thought wrote an obituary fitting for a person of Dan's stature. They wrote of his five decade career as a producer,director and writer. Also mentioned was the fact that The Winds of War remains among TV's highest rated miniseries. They went on to mention his two TV movies Saving Milly and Our Fathers which aired in 2005.           Elmont...

Meanwhile, in our local paper--- in the city where Dan Curtis was born and grew up and later made a couple of TV movies about--- there were only 3 measly paragraphs in the bottom right-hand corner of the obituary page, the first three of the AP obit.  The gals whose obits mentioned their passions for bingo and knitting, and the dudes whose compelling interests included ESPN got more space.  Oh well, at least the paragraphs mentioned the WW2 minis and "the offbeat soap opera" DS.

When I recall that in the days of WINDS OF WAR, this same paper gave him like an entire page and 1/2 article (which I am now so sorry I didn't clip and save!) it's rather sad.  Dan Curtis could be seen as the modern equivalent of P.T. Barnum (whom this paper is always printing articles about, over 100 years after his death)  but more gifted and who, thanks to TV, made a bigger national splash in his heyday, yet with some real messages to impart.  A true showman in point of self-promotion, but SO much more--- there was much worthwhile besides just entertainment, thought there was plenty of that too.

Even in the growing world of the Internet, I don't believe there are that sort of driving force anymore--- that kind of individual just doesn't seem to be out there.  The "freedom" of the 'net more or less eliminated the need for mavericks (a word often used in refernce to Mr. Curtis) or pioneers.  And, granted, television fare has become more sophisticated or profane, depending on your PoV, perhaps due in part to Mr. Curtis's contributions.  But face it, unless one not only is paying for cable, but also extra for Showtime, HBO, etc., immediate access is  limited to those willing to pay for it (or run up their credit cards.)

The height of the miniseries era was still accessible to anyone who could afford a regular TV set with the 3 major networks.  When they showed the highlights of WAR AND REMEMBRANCE at last year's convention, I was reminded for the first time in many years how really GOOD it (and WINDS OF WAR) was (IMO, many of their flaws were largely due to the original books upon which they were very faithfully based), and available, back in the day, to anyone willing to put in the time.   Dan Curtis spent the better part of a decade on the WW2 minseries projects, a television achievement untried before then, and probably not equalled since.  Between that and the ongoing popularity of DS in all its incarnations, while not as ubiquitous as the "Star Trek" franchise--- he left a fine legacy of having having created and fostered these, and some other "good stuff"...  Well OK, not everything he ever did was a masterpiece, but so what?  Win some, lose some, but when he did win, Dan Curtis won BIG.

A second, paid obituary appeared in today's LA Times.  It's archived at legacy.com, though the final 1/3 appears to not have made it online.  However, as his wife's did, the page has a link to a Guest Book.

http://www.legacy.com/latimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=17265555

Death of a TV Horror Master is at E-Online.   This was pretty good.

Alas I had already heard about this from a friend.  Sad news anyway.  Not much I can add to what everyone has said here.    It's a great loss and your heart goes out to their two daughters for their double loss.

I find it VERY disconcerting  that the death of Dan Curtis was not mentioned on my local ABC television and radio station news programs.  I think the passing of Dan Curtis is VERY IMPORTANT, and deserves to be mentioned by them.  Especially since Dark Shadows, Winds of War, and War and Rememberance originally aired on ABC TV.[/size]

This is a very good point, Sally.  I think that Trilogy of Terror was also an ABC production, though I may well be wrong about that.  Guess ABC is not too appreciative.  A pity when they are quick to trumpet Winds of War and War and Rememberance as major prestige and moneymaking projects for them.  Just as a point of interest, the only TV station I saw note this in any way was the crawl on CNN.  To the best of my knowledge, NONE of the entertainment news shows gave this so much as a ten second blurb.

I do hope he is given mention at the Emmeys and the TVLAnd awards

RIP Dan & Norma

LdyAnne

Oh, this news is just too sad!!!  I learned about it via a phone call from one of my oldest friends (also a Dark Shadows fan).  Haven't been able to post until just today. 

But whoever said DC lived his life to the fullest - isn't that the true measure of a life well lived?!

My condolences to the Curtis's daughters, and to the legions of fans... 

I can't believe he's died...from all the interviews I've seen, he seemed like such a strong, willful person who would live past 100.  Truly a terrible loss.

Several more links to articles:


These first two are mostly noteworthy for the fact they appear on the Internet edition of Malaysia's leading English-language newspaper, The Star, and the North Korea Times, respectively. Curtis' passing is apparently international news:

TV producer Dan Curtis dies

'Dark Shadows' Dan Curtis dead at 78


An extremely nice article from E! Online (which also features an extremely recent photo taken during the Our Fathers publicity):

Death of a TV Horror Master


From Fangoria:

RIP Dan Curtis