“Svengoolie” to showcase “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals from coast-to-coast will be interested in the return of a made-for-network TV killer bee thriller with several familiar faces.

Svengoolie presents the return of “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978)

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Tovah Feldshuh in “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978).

Opening title element for “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978).

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based horror film host will showcase the return of “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978), this Sat., Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The 1978 made-for-TV bee thriller was directed by veteran television director Lee H. Katzin.  “Terror Out of the Sky” was co-produced by veteran television production executive Alan Landsburg’s production company and veteranzzdszdsfl  music mogul Don Kirshner (who also hosted his own syndicated rock/pop music showcase series, “Rock Concert”/”Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” from 1974-79).   The Katzin-Landsburg-Kirshner telefilm originally aired on the CBS television network.

“Terror Out of the Sky” was the sequel to an earlier Landsburg-Kirshner made-for-TV bee thriller, “The Savage Bees” (1976, directed by Bruce Geller of “Mission: Impossible” and “Mannix” fame, the Emmy-award telefilm thriller for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing originally aired on the NBC television network).  The screenplay was written by veteran Landsburg screenwriter Guerdon Trueblood (of “Ants!”/”It Happened at Lakewood Manor” and “Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo” fame), along with Doris Silverton and Peter Nelson.

This will mark Sven’s second showcase of “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978) on Me-TV.  He previously showcased the killer bee film back in Feb. 2018.

Who was in “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978)?

The players who appeared in the Katzin/Landsburg/Kirshner made-for-TV bee thriller were Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (as David Martin, the junior Zimbalist was best known for his roles in two popular Warner Bros. television series, his role of Stuart Bailey in “77 Sunset Strip from 1958-64 and his role of Inspector Lewis Erskine in “The F.B.I.” from 1965-74), Tovah Feldshuh (as Jeannie Devereux, Feldshuh later appeared in the role of Danielle Melnick in “Law & Order” from 1991-2007 and the role of Naomi Bunch in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” from 2015-17),  Dan Haggerty (as Nick Willis, Haggerty appeared in the title role of Grizzly Adams in the 1974 feature “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams” and in the 1977-78 TV series of the same title), Richard Herd (as Col. Magnus), Lonny Chapman (as Earl Logan), Ike Eisenmann (as Eric Mangus), Ellen Blake (as an agent),  Joe E. Tata (as Groves), Charles Hallahan (as the senior Tibbles), Gwen Van Dam (as Ms. Logan), Poindexter Yothers (as Mike, who received screen credit as “Poindexter” in the Katzin/Landsburg/Kirshner feature), Bruce French (as Eli Nathanson), Steve Franken (as Paul Gladstone, both French and Franken appeared in Landsburg’s “Ants!”/”It Happened at Lakewood Manor”), Philip Baker Hall (as Starrett) and Norman Gary (as Finley Dermott).

“Svengoolie” to premiere “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals will be interested in his upcoming premiere of a 1978 bee thriller from Alan Landsburg Productions.

“Svengoolie” presents: “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978)

Late 1980s VHS trailer/promotional/preview reel for “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978).

The iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based horror host will present his premiere of “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978), this Sat., Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

“Terror Out of the Sky” was directed by Lee H. Katzin, who also worked on eleven episodes of “Mission: Impossible” from 1967-68.  The screenplay was written by Guerdon Trueblood (who also wrote the screenplay for “Ants!”/”It Happened at Lakewood Manor” and “Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo”), Doris Silverton and Peter Nelson.

Katzin’s film was originally shown on the CBS television network in Dec. 1978, according to IMDB.

Who was in “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978)?

Dan Haggerty, Tovah Feldshuh and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in “Terror Out of the Sky” (1978).

The players who appeared “Terror Out of the Sky” were Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (as David Martin), Dan Haggerty (as Nick Willis), Tovah Feldshuh (as Jeannie Devereux), Lonny Chapman (as Earl Logan), Richard Herd (as Col. Magnus), Ike Eisenmann (as Eric Mangus), Joe E. Tata (as Groves), Charles Hallahan (as the senior Tibbles), Bruce French (as Eli Nathanson), Steve Franken (as Paul Gladstone), Ellen Blake (as an agent), Gwen Van Dam (as Ms. Logan), Norman Gary (as Finley Dermott), Philip Baker Hall (as Starrett) and  Poindexter Yothers (as Mike, Yothers was credited as “Poindexter” in the film).

“Svengoolie” to premiere “Ants!” (1977, a.k.a. “It Happened at Lakewood Manor”), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be excited about a premiere of a cult made-for-TV thriller with a cast of iconic personalities from film and television.

“Svengoolie” presents: “Ants!” (1977, a.k.a. “It Happened at Lakewood Manor”)

Late 1980’s compilation trailer for the VHS release of “Ants!”/”It Happened at Lakewood Manor” (1977).

1977 TV Guide/newspaper ad for ABC’s “Friday Night Movie” presentation of “It Happened at Lakewood Manor” (a.k.a. “Ants!”).

The legendary Berywn/Chicago-based horror film host will be premiering the 1977 made-for-television horror feature, “Ants!” (a.k.a. “It Happened at Lakewood Manor”), this Sat., Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

“Ants!” originally aired as a made-for-TV motion picture on the ABC television network (under the title of “It Happened at Lakewood Manor” in Dec. 1977, according to IMDB).

“Ants”/”It Happened at Lakewood Manor” was directed by Robert Scheerer.  Scheerer later worked on 11 episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1989-93), one episode of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (“Shadowplay” in 1994) and two episodes of “Star Trek: Voyager” (“State of Flux” in 1995 and “Rise” in 1997).

The screenplay was written by Guerdon Trueblood, who wrote several episodes of Jack Webb’s “Adam-12” series from 1969-70.

The 1977 thriller was produced by veteran television series producer Alan Landsburg, whose production company also produced “In Search of Ancient Mysteries” (1973, narrated by Rod Serling),  “In Search Of…” (1977-82, hosted by Leonard Nimoy) and “That’s Incredible!” (1981-84).

Who was in “Ants!”/”It Happened at Lakewood Manor” (1977)?

Robert Foxworth and Lynda Day George in “Ants!” (1977, a.k.a. “It Happened at Lakewood Manor”).

The players who appeared in Scheerer’s telefilm were Myrna Loy (as Ethel), Robert Foxworth (as Mike Carr), Lynda Day George (as Valerie Adams), Suzanne Somers (as Gloria), Bernie Casey (as Vince),  Gerald Gordon (as Tony Fleming), Karen Lamm (as Linda Howard), Barry Van Dyke (as Richard Cyril), Brian Dennehy (as a fire chief), Anita Gillette (as Peggy Kenter), Steve Franken (as White), Bruce French (as Tom), Barbara Brownell (as Marjorie), Stacy Keach Sr. (as Doc) and René Enríquez (as Luis).