“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957) with Grant Williams & Lola Albright, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing for joy his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi masterpiece feature production.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957) with Grant Williams & Lola Albright

A snippet from John Sherwood’s classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi masterpiece production of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957), prepared for the Eureka! Entertainment/Universal Blu-Ray edition in Great Britain.

“Mammoth Skyscrapers of Stone Thundering Across the Earth!” Original 1957 Universal Studios Australian poster art for “The Monolith Monsters,” with an Australian “General Exhibition” notice.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based monster/sci-fi feature film host will present his big broadcast of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957), this Sat.; June 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1957 Universal sci-fi creature-monster masterpiece production was directed by veteran director John Sherwood, who worked for Universal Studios for the majority of his motion picture career and also served as an assistant director/second-unit director for numerous studios, along with Universal throughout his years in the film industry.

Earlier in his assistant directorial/second-unit directorial career, Sherwood worked with Samuel Goldwyn and veteran director Sam Wood for their classic mammoth Academy Award-winning critically-acclaimed biopic masterpiece production on baseball player Lou Gehrig with Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan, Dan Duryea, Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stössel and Bill Stern, “The Pride of the Yankees” (1942).  Sherwood also served as an assistant director for Anthony Mann’s classic mammoth Universal biopic masterpiece on bandleader Glenn Miller with James Stewart, June Allyson, the legendary Louis Armstrong, Harry Morgan (later of TV’s “Dragnet: 1966–70” fame and of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), Barton MacLane (of Warners’ “Torchy Blane” detective film series fame and later of TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” fame), Charles Drake, Irving Bacon and Kathleen Lockhart; “The Glenn Miller Story” (1954).

Sherwood’s other feature film productions in his Universal directorial career  include his classic mammoth Universal western masterpiece production “Raw Edge” (1955) with Rory Calhoun, Yvonne De Carlo (later of Universal/TV’s “The Munsters” fame),  Mara Corday (of Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth 1955 Universal sci-fi arachnid creature masterpiece production, “Tarantula” fame), Neville Brand, Rex Reason (of Joseph M. Newman’s classic mammoth 1955 Universal sci-fi masterpiece production, “This Island Earth” fame) and John Gavin.  Sherwood also directed the finale feature in Universal’s classic mammoth “Creature From the Black Lagoon” monster masterpiece trilogy series; “The Creature Walks Among Us” (1956) with Ricou Browning, Leigh Snowden, Jeff Morrow,  and  Don Megowan.

Sherwood died in 1959 after serving in  an uncredited position as a second unit director for the classic mammoth Universal-Michael Gordon–Ross Hunter Academy Award-winning comedy masterpiece production of “Pillow Talk” (1959) with Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter and Hayden Rorke (later of 1964’s “The Night Walker” fame and later of TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” fame); according to IMDB.

The screenplay for Sherwood’s classic mammoth 1957 Universal sci-fi creature/monster masterpiece production was written by veteran screenwriters Robert M. Fresco and Norman Jolley.  Fresco also co-wrote the original story treatment for “The Monolith Monsters” (1957) with veteran Universal feature film director Jack Arnold.  Arnold directed the classic mammoth Universal 3-D sci-fi masterpiece production (and the studio’s first 3-D feature film production) of  “It Came from Outer Space” (1953) with Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush,  Russell Johnson, Charles Drake, Kathleen Hughes, Joseph Sawyer, Alan Dexter, Kermit Maynard, Robert ‘Buzz’ Henry, Ralph Brooks, Robert Carson and Ned Davenport; the original classic mammoth Universal monster masterpiece production of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954) with Julie Adams, Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman, Richard Carlson, Bernie Gozier, Richard Denning, Nestor Paiva, Whit Bissell and the vocal stylings of Art Gilmore and the sequel, “Revenge of the Creature” (1955) with  Ricou Browning, Lori Nelson, Tom Hennesy, Ginger Stanley, Nestor Paiva, John Agar, young Clint Eastwood, John Bromfield, Grandon Rhodes, Dave Willock, Charles Cane, and Robert B. Williams.

Fresco also wrote the screenplay for Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal sci-fi arachnid creature masterpiece production of “Tarantula” (1955) with  John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, young Clint Eastwood, young Bing Russell, Edwin Rand, Steve Darrell, Dee Carroll, Ross Elliott, Hank Patterson, and Raymond Bailey (later of TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” fame).  Jolley mostly worked on scripts for numerous television productions in his career, including 36 episodes of the classic mammoth MCA-Revue-Universal-NBC TV western masterpiece series, “Wagon Train” from 1958-64 and a story consultant/screenwriter for Quinn Martin’s classic mammoth detective masterpiece series with Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether, “Barnaby Jones” from 1977-80.

This will mark Sven’s sixth big coast-to-coast broadcast of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957) on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased Sherwood’s Universal classic cult monster masterpiece back in Jan. 2014* as a big coast-to-coast broadcast premiere and as regular coast-to-coast big broadcasts back in Feb. 2015*, Oct. 2016*, Feb. 2020* and June 2022.

In Sven/Rich Koz’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois during his days as the “Son of Svengoolie,” Sven/Son of Sven previously showcased John Sherwood’s classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi creature/monster masterpiece production of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957) as part of his 150^th Son of Sven Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast on WFLD back in June 1982; according to a video segment that was unearthed via Berwyn/Chicago television archivist Rick Klein’s official FuzzyMemoriesTV: The Museum of Classic Chicago Television YouTube site.

Who was in John Sherwood’s Universal production of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957)?

The players who appeared in John Sherwood’s Universal production of “The Monolith Monsters” (1957) were Grant Williams (as Dave Miller), Lola Albright (as Cathy Barrett), Les Tremayne (as Martin Cochrane), Trevor Bardette (as Prof. Arthur Flanders), Phil Harvey (as Ben Gilbert), William Flaherty (as Police Chief Dan Corey), Harry Jackson (as Dr. Steve Hendricks), Richard H. Cutting (as Dr. E.J. Reynolds), Linda Scheley (as Ginny Simpson), Dean Cromer (as a highway patrol officer), Steve Darrell (as Joe Higgins), young  Paul Petersen (in an uncredited role as Bobby the paperboy), young Troy Donahue (in an uncredited role as Hank Jackson), young William Schallert (in an uncredited role as a weatherman) and young Paul Frees (in an uncredited role as the narrator).

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey, Jennifer Salt and Cornel Wilde, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his big broadcast of a classic mammoth award-winning made-for-TV creature masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey, Jennifer Salt and Cornel Wilde

Fan-made compilation trailer for Bill Norton’s “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey. Jennifer Salt and Cornel Wilde.

“They’re Coming For You!” Cover art for the out-of-print DVD edition of “Gargoyles” (1972), featuring Bernie Casey.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi/creature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Gargoyles” (1972), this Sat., March 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV sci-fi/supernatural/creature feature masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” was directed by veteran director Bill Norton, who received screen credit under the name of “B.W.L. Norton.”  After directing his own short feature film at the UCLA School of Film, Theatre and Television, titled “Coming Soon” (1966) and one year before production began on “Gargoyles,” Norton directed his own classic mammoth Columbia Pictures drama masterpiece production, “Cisco Pike” (1971) with Kris Kristofferson, Gene Hackman, Gene Hackman, Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton, Roscoe Lee Browne, a pre-“WKRP In Cincinatti” Howard Hesseman, Allan Arbus and Wavy Gravy.   Norton worked primarily for television throughout the majority of his directorial career after working on his classic mammoth made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972).  Other productions that Norton worked on throughout his directorial career alongside “Gargoyles” (1972) include several episodes of “Tour of Duty” (from 1987-89), “SeaQuest: DSV” (two episodes in 1993) with Roy Scheider and the brief Sci-Fi Channel (pre- “SyFy”) cable miniseries adaptation production  of H.G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man” (Norton directed three episodes in 2001).

The script for Norton’s classic mammoth made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972) was written by the husband-and-wife screenwriting duo of Stephen Karpf and Elinor Karpf.  The Karpfs also worked on the script of Gordon Hessler’s Universal Studios–ABC television made-for-TV thriller production with George Kennedy, Joanna Pettet, Lee Montgomery and Bing Russell, “A Cry in the Wilderness” (1974), one episode of the brief Paramount Pictures TV adaptation of “Love Story” (1973’s “The Youngest Lovers,” adapted from the classic mammoth 1970 Paramount feature film masterpiece production of the same name).  Later in their career, the Karpfs created a television soap opera production for the CBS television network with Constance Towers, Debrah Farentino and Rory Calhoun; “Capitol” (1982-87).

Norton’s classic 1972 creature telefilm masterpiece was produced by veteran television producers Robert W. “Bob” Christiansen, Roger Gimbel and Rick Rosenberg.

Bill Norton’s classic mammoth sci-fi/supernatural creature feature masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972) premiered on the CBS television network as part of the “New CBS Tuesday Night Movies” on Nov. 21, 1972; according to IMDB and a segment from  Broadcasting (Broadcasting and Cable) Magazine.  For the original CBS premiere of “Gargoyles,” Norton’s classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV supernatural creature masterpiece production aired after an episode of “Hawaii Five-O,” according to the Nov. 21, 1971 edition of the Hanover Evening Sun Newspaper of Hanover, Pennsylvania.

For the original CBS television network premiere of “Gargoyles” (1972): Norton’s classic mammoth made-for-TV supernatural creature masterpiece production aired on CBS-owned WBBM-TV Channel 2 in Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois.  and on a regional scale around the home region/home office of “Silver Screen Reflections;” according to the Nov. 21, 1972 edition of the Hanover Evening Sun from Hanover, Pennsylvania; the classic mammoth 1972 Bill Norton made-for-TV supernatural creature masterpiece production was showcased on WTOP-TV Channel 9 (which later became WDVM in 1978 and became W*USA 9 in 1986) in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland/Northern Virginia region and on the “Keystone Network” trio of CBS-affiliated TV stations for the Hanover/Gettysburg/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania viewing area at the time- the now-former WLYH-TV 15 (which was affiliated with CBS until 1995), WHP-TV 21 (which became the primary CBS affiliate for the Hanover/Gettysburg/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area after 1995) and WSBA-TV 43 (once linked to Pennsylvania’s Pfaltzgraff pottery business– which lost its CBS network affiliation after the station was sold in 1983 and became WPMT-43).  

The original CBS network airing of “Gargoyles” (1972) was pre-empted in Baltimore, Maryland by then-CBS affiliate WMAR-TV 2.  Since it was near the then-ninth anniversary of the tragic Nov. 22, 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a syndicated movie airing of the filmed memorial tribute to President Kennedy, “John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums” (1964/65, released theatrically by Joseph E. Levine’s Embassy Pictures, syndicated to television in the early 1970s by Embassy’s then-successor, Avco-Embassy) aired in its place.    CBS later switched affiliations with Hearst-owned (and future Me-TV affiliate) WBAL-TV 11 in 1981 (WBAL returned to NBC in 1995)– CBS later moved to Westinghouse/Group W-owned WJZ-TV 13 in Jan. 1995– shortly before Westinghouse/Group W (which also bought Chicago’s WXRT-FM 93.1/93XRT that same year) merged with CBS. 

Sidebar: Since the original Nov. 1972 CBS airing of “Gargoyles” (1972) competed with a re-airing of another major network made-for-TV feature film that same evening, that will be mentioned in a section of this blog in this week’s “Silver Screen Reflections.” -C.H.

1973 production logo for General Electric’s TV production subsidiary at the time, Tomorrow Entertainment with the familiar GE “monogram” script logo byline. This was introduced about a year after their production of “Gargoyles” (1972).

“Gargoyles” (1972) was produced by Tomorrow Entertainment, the film & TV production arm of industrial giant General Electric at the time; according to IMDB and Broadcasting (Broadcasting and Cable) Magazine; the production firm was set up by GE in 1970 for the three major television networks’ original “movie of the week” series of big broadcasts, along with broadcasts that were entirely sponsored by GE and for television syndication purposes that were either self-syndicated programs and/or syndicated by other studios/distribution firms for local stations.  GE’s “Tomorrow Entertainment” subsidiary was spearheaded by former ABC television network executive Thomas W. Moore.

GE’s Tomorrow Entertainment unit was also involved in Rankin/Bass Productions (a.k.a. Videocraft International); the legendary animation studio that was founded by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass; both the junior Rankin and Bass were known for their classic mammoth “Animagic” stop-motion animation holiday masterpiece specials on television for many years.

13 years after the original network television premiere of “Gargoyles” (1972), GE later acquired rival network National Broadcasting Company (NBC) as part of their acquisition of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1985 and would later acquire Universal Studios from France’s Vivendi Group in 2004 to form NBCUniversal in 2004; GE later sold off their NBCUniversal broadcast and entertainment properties to cable conglomerate Comcast in 2013, according to the Washington Post  and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

GE’s Tomorrow Entertainment and GE’s Rankin/Bass library was later acquired by veteran producer Lorne Michaels (of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” fame) and his Broadway Video Enterprises firm.  Michaels’ Broadway Video firm later sold the Tomorrow Entertainment-Rankin/Bass holdings to Golden Books (the former Western Publishing Company) in 1996, the Tomorrow-Rankin/Bass holdings were then sold to Classic Media after Golden Books’ financial problems in 2001.  Dreamworks Animation acquired Classic Media in 2012 to form Dreamworks Classics, Dreamworks Animation/Dreamworks Classics was later acquired by Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit in 2016; according to the Associated Press, CNN, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety.  Universal Studios/Universal Television/NBCUniversal Syndication Studios handles the Dreamworks Animation/Dreamworks Classics/Tomorrow Entertainment holdings under the “Dreamworks Classics” and/or “Classic Media” monikers.

Sidebar: In an ironic twist, “Gargoyles” (1972) eventually wound up with a major studio (Universal) that was once owned by the former industrial conglomerate (GE) that produced the aforementioned made-for-TV feature film production. -C.H.

This will mark Sven’s sixth big broadcast of Bill Norton’s classic mammoth made-for-TV supernatural creature movie masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972) on the airlanes of Me-TV. Sven previously showcased the classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV creature/supernatural movie masterpiece production as a Sven big broadcast premiere on the airlanes of Me-TV back in May 2017 and as regular Sven/Me-TV big broadcasts back in Nov. 2018, May 2020, April 2022 and Sept. 2022.

Who was in Norton’s classic mammoth made-for-TV sci-fi/supernatural/creature masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972)?

The players who appeared in Bill Norton’s made-for-TV movie production of “Gargoyles” (1972) were Bernie Casey (as the lead Gargoyle), Jennifer Salt (as Diana Boley), Cornel Wilde (as Dr. Mercer Boley), Scott Glenn (as James Reeger), Grayson Hall (as Mrs. Parks), Woody Chambliss (as Uncle Willie), John Gruber (as Jesse), Mickey Alzola, Rock Walker and Greg Walker (the three aforementioned actors played other Gargoyle creatures in the 1972 made-for-TV feature), Timothy “Tim” Burns (as Morris Ray), Vic Perrin (in an uncredited role as the voice of the lead Gargoyle, dubbing in Bernie Casey’s dialogue) and Jim Connell (as Buddy).

Safe, Healthy and Happy Holidays/Season’s Greetings 2023 from the writer-author of “Silver Screen Reflections”

“Hooray for ‘Sventa Claus’!” Safe, Peaceful, Healthy & Happy Holidays/Season’s Greetings to all my fellow wonderful Super Svengoolie & Sventoonie SvenPals, Super ‘Toon In With Me” Tooners, Super “Mystery Science Theater 3000” MSTies, Super classic film/TV aficionados & Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere from the author/writer of “Silver Screen Reflections!” 

In order of the calendar of Dec. 2023 Holidays: Safe, Healthy and Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy early New Year’s & Season’s Greetings to all fellow Super SvenPals/fellow Super Tooners everywhere who celebrate/observe the winter Holidays!

Fellow wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super MSTies/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere!  Whether you watched your favorite classic/cult classic mammoth Holiday feature film, cartoon and/or TV masterpieces earlier in the day, various Holiday festivities everywhere, enjoying the Chicago/Berwyn Holiday festivities- along with fellow wonderful Chicago/Berwyn/Volo Super SvenPals/Super Tooners & fellow wonderful coast-to-coast Super SvenPals/Super Tooners visiting & enjoying Chicago, Berwyn, Volo and/or anywhere within the Chicago area- we fellow wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super MSTies/Super classic film/cartoon/TV aficionados/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere hope you all had wonderful, fantastic, safe and healthy Holiday(s)!   Looking forward to more Svengoolie, Sventoonie and “Toon In With Me” big broadcast adventures with all my fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners everywhere in the New Year of 2023 and beyond! -C.H.

^From the classic “Toon In With Me” 2021 primetime holiday special! -C.H.^

Nothing puts us in the Christmas spirit more than an original song by The Caroling Party featuring yours truly 😍🎄🎶 pic.twitter.com/zB2Qdh1mXR

— Toon In With Me (@tooninwithmetv) December 22, 2023

Update/Fellow wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners! I will be sharing a Sven Holiday moment surprise with all of you on the Live-Tweeting airlanes on the evening of Dec. 26!  The Sven Holiday moment/surprise will also be featured as a cameo mention in the upcoming “Silver Screen Reflections” article on Svengoolie’s upcoming big broadcast of “The Undead” (1957) in the Late-Late Wed., Dec. 27-early Thurs., Dec. 28 airlanes! -C.H.

Svengoolie presents his twinset of “The Night Strangler” (1973) & “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Super Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his big classic mammoth double-feature masterpiece festival of a big premiere of a classic mammoth 1973 made-for-TV supernatural movie masterpiece sequel & the return of another classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror anthology movie masterpiece for “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023!”

“Svengoolie” presents his twinset of “The Night Strangler” (1973) & “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)

A snippet from Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth 1973 ABC (American Broadcasting Company) “Kolchak/Movie of the Week” supernatural made-for-TV movie sequel masterpiece, “The Night Strangler” with Darren McGavin.

Compilation trailer for Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC (American Broadcasting Company) made-for-TV movie horror/thriller masterpiece, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black.  Sidebar: This snippet was originally prepared/licensed by ABC for the latter MPI Home Video VHS release (MPI had most home entertainment rights to select ABC-produced programs and ABC News programs/specials/compilations at the time).  Due in part to the earlier success of the MPI VHS release of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV horror anthology masterpiece, MPI licensed the DVD home entertainment distribution rights to “Trilogy of Terror” from ABC/Disney in 2006 for a brief amount of time under MPI’s Dark Sky Films imprint.  Viewer discretion is advised.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth supernatural/horror feature film masterpiece host will present his big coast-to-coast made-for-TV supernatural/horror feature film masterpiece double-feature twinset showcase of “The Night Strangler” (1973) and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975). The aforementioned Sven double-feature twinset of “The Night Strangler” (1973) and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) will begin this Sat., Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV!

Sven’s upcoming Sat., Oct. 28 2023 “Halloween Boo-nanza” twinset showcase of “The Night Strangler” (1973, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central) and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central) will be the finale in Sven’s month-long “Halloween Boo-nanza” twinset feature film showcases.

At 12:30 a.m. Eastern/11:30 p.m. Central, another bonus episode of Rod Serling’s classic mammoth CBS-TV supernatural masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” will also be showcased- along with anoher festival of bonus episodes of another classic mammoth supernatural masterpiece TV series that’s connected to one of the feature films that Sven will be showcase for this week’s twinset festival- additional details will be revealed momentarily in this week’s edition of “Silver Screen Reflections.” -C.H.

VHS Cover art for the 2000 Anchor Bay (under license from ABC/Disney) VHS edition of Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel pilot masterpiece with Darren McGavin, “The Night Strangler” (1973).

Early 1980s MPI Home Video/ABC Video Enterprises VHS cover art for Dan Curtis’ ABC production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black & the Zuni figurine.

Both “The Night Strangler” and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) were directed and produced by veteran TV and feature film director-producer Dan Curtis. Curtis was best-known for producing and directing his own classic mammoth ABC television network gothic horror series masterpiece production, “Dark Shadows” (1966-71) with Jonathan Frid (in the lead role of vampire Barnabas Collins) and Grayson Hall (in the lead role of Dr. Julia Hoffman, also of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame).  Curtis also directed two classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gothic horror feature film masterpiece adaptations of his ABC-TV “Dark Shadows” series; “House of Dark Shadows” (1970) with Frid and “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971, produced around the same time that ABC cancelled “Dark Shadows”).  20 years after the final ABC broadcast of “Dark Shadows,” Curtis reunited with MGM to produce a newer, short-lived primetime “Dark Shadows” series for rival network NBC in 1991 with Ben Cross in the role of Barnabas Collins in the latter/brief “Dark Shadows” series revival.

Alongside his “Dark Shadows” productions, the two ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movies and the 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie production of “Trilogy of Terror,”  Curtis’ other productions include his classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning Paramount Pictures/ABC made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk‘s “The Winds of War” (1983) with Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Ralph Bellamy, John Houseman, Topol of 1971’s “Fiddler on the Roof” fame, Polly Bergen and Peter Graves and a follow-up classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece sequel miniseries adaptation that was produced entirely by ABC, Herman Wouk’s “War and Remembrance” (1988-89) with Mitchum, Bellamy, Topol, Bergen, Sami Frey, Robert Hardy, Jane Seymour and William Schallert.

“The Night Strangler” (1973) was a sequel to the earlier classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie masterpiece production of “The Night Strangler” (1972), which was produced by Curtis and was directed for the ABC television network by veteran director John Llewellyn Moxey and featured Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Claude Akins, Larry Linville (of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), Simon Oakland and Barry Atwater.

1990s VHS cover art for the Columbia House-MCA/Universal (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) VHS series collection of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75), part of Columbia House’s mail-order VHS cassette club.

The two classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece pilots served as the inspiration for the classic mammoth brief Universal Studios supernatural TV series masterpiece that also aired on the ABC television network,  “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75) with McGavin and Oakland reprising their roles from the two earlier ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie production pilots. For Svengoolie’s “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023,” Me-TV will be presenting an all-night festival of extra classic episodes of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” this latenight Sat., Oct. 28 at 1:00 a.m. Eastern/Midnight Central on most Me-TV stations!

The screenplay for Curtis’ classic mammoth 1973 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel pilot masterpiece production of “The Night Strangler” and the stories for Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie production of “Trilogy of Terror” was written by veteran screenwriter Richard Matheson. For “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), Matheson’s original story idea for the “Julie” segment were adapted into a teleplay by veteran screenwriter William F. Nolan.

Matheson previously wrote the screenplay for Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey (of TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” fame) and William Schallert and also wrote 16 episodes of Rod Serling‘s classic mammoth critically-acclaimed CBS television supernatural sci-fi/thriller/fantasy masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” (Matheson wrote for Serling’s series from 1959-64).   Matheson previously wrote the screenplay for Curtis and Moxey’s earlier classic mammoth 1972 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV move masterpiece with veteran writer-producer Max Hodge.  The two aforementioned ABC “Kolchak” features were adapted from an original idea by veteran author Jeffrey Grant Rice.

Curtis’ “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel, “The Night Strangler” (1973) originally aired on the ABC television network on Jan. 16, 1973 as part of the network’s “Tuesday Movie of the Week” series of feature-length productions produced and/or financed by ABC along with made-for-TV productions produced for the network by major studios/production firms, according to IMDB. Fun Fact: 15 years  after the original 1973 ABC TV network airing of “The Night Strangler,” yours truly/the writer-author of “Silver Screen Reflections” was born (Jan. 16, 1988)!  “The Night Strangler” qualifies as an early “Birthday” film in connection to my Jan. 16, 1988 Birthday! -C.H.

Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) originally aired on the ABC television network on March 4, 1975 as an original “Movie of the Week” production of the network, according to additional details from IMDB.

According to additional details from IMDB, Curtis’ classic mammoth 1972 and 1975 made-for-TV  masterpiece productions were co-produced under the ABC television network’s in-house production subsidiary, “ABC Circle Films” (which later became “ABC Productions,” which is now known as “ABC Studios“/”ABC Signature“).  ABC later merged with radio & TV broadcast group Capital Cities Communications in 1985 to form Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.  Nearly a decade later, Capital Cities/ABC was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1996, the ABC Circle Films/ABC Productions/ABC Video Enterprises holdings would be immediately put into the hands of Disney’s in-house TV syndication unit (then-known as Buena Vista Television during the 1996 ABC/Disney merger).

The animated/scanimation-filmed “ABC Movie of the Week” opening/closing graphics and bumpers contained a signature piece of music that was composed by legendary composer Burt Bacharach, which was an instrumental version of one of his original songs, “Nikki.”  An orchestral album cut version of Bacharach’s “Nikki” composition was released on the composer’s self-titled album via the legendary Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss‘ recorded music firm, A&M Records in 1971; according to Discogs.

Alongside feature-length productions that were produced by the network’s in-house production unit, ABC also contracted with veteran producer Aaron Spelling‘s production company, veteran producer and documentarian David L. Wolper‘s production outfit (Wolper would later sell his production company to Warner Bros. in 1976), Universal Studios/MCA and Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems (Columbia’s TV unit was later rebadged as Columbia Pictures Television in 1974) to produce made-for-TV movies for the network’s “Movie of the Week” showcases, according to Michael McKenna’s retrospective book on ABC’s slate of made-for-TV movies, “The ABC Movie of the Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen” and the Film Score Monthly forum.  Speaking of the “ABC Movie of the Week,” other classic mammoth made-for-TV features that was previously shown on Svengoolie’s Me-TV showcases was young Steven Spielberg‘s classic mammoth Universal-ABC made-for-TV action thriller masterpiece production of “Duel” (1971) with Dennis Weaver; which marked one of the earliest classic mammoth major masterpiece productions for the young veteran director.

“The Place To Be.. Tuesday!” Original Jan. 16, 1973 newspaper advertisement for the ABC television network’s evening lineup on that date, including “The Night Strangler” for Cedar Rapids, Iowa ABC affiliate KCRG-TV; “The Place to Be” was the slogan that ABC used for promoting their 1973-74 TV network season of shows and movies.

According to an original 1973 ABC television network ad that was featured in the Jan. 16, 1973 edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette for Cedar Rapids, Iowa ABC affiliate KCRG-TV, the network programmed Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece sequel production of “The Night Strangler” (1973) for their “Tuesday Movie of the Week” showcase in-between an episode of “Temperatures Rising” (with Cleavon Little of 1974’s “Blazing Saddles” fame and James Whitmore) and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (with Robert Young and James Brolin).

Rare 1973 ABC promotional slide for “The Night Strangler” with Darren McGavin, sourced off of an off-air recording via ABC-owned KABC-TV Los Angeles from the Obsolete Video Services collection.

During the original Jan. 16, 1973 prime-time big broadcast airing/premiere of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week Kolchak” sequel of ”The Night Strangler,” the alphabet network’s classic mammoth 1973 made-for-TV supernatural masterpiece production was shown opposite an episode of “Hawaii Five-O” (with Jack Lord) and the made-for-TV movie “The Voyage of the Yes” (with Desi Arnaz Jr. and Mike Evans) on CBS; the final episode of “Bonanza” (with Lorne Greene and Michael Landon and newcomer Mitch Vogel) and the pilot episode of “Hernandez/Hernandez: Houston P.D.” (with Henry Darrow, Ronny Cox, Dana Elcar of TV’s “Baa, Baa Black Sheep”/”Black Sheep Squadron” and “MacGyver” fame and Desmond Dhooge) on NBC; according to the Jan. 16, 1973 edition of the Hanover Evening Sun.

Re-purposed ABC promotional ad for “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) for a 1981 re-airing on ABC affiliate WPLG-TV/Miami. Not sure if this was part of an ABC overnight re-run or a syndicated package of films that ABC licensed to a syndicator at the time.  By 1981, ABC News’ “Nightline with Ted Koppel” would have aired in the 11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. CT weeknight timeslot on ABC stations- the WPLG re-broadcast of “Trilogy of Terror” was possibly from a weekend latenight movie airing on WPLG.

According to the March 4, 1975 issue of The Gettysburg Times, ABC programmed Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) for the “Tuesday Movie of the Week” showcase in-between an episode of “Happy Days” (titled “Fonzie Joins the Band”) and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (titled “Dark Corridors”).  During the original March 4, 1975 prime-time big broadcast airing of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Trilogy of Terror,” the alphabet network & Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece production was shown opposite an episode of “M*A*S*H” (titled “Payday”) and the First Annual “People’s Choice Awards” over on CBS and the Columbia Pictures made-for-TV movie production of “The Last Survivors” (1975) over on NBC.

For the original Jan. 16, 1973 ABC television network airing of “The Night Strangler” (1973) and the original March 4, 1975 ABC television network airing of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975): Curtis’ classic mammoth 1972 and 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie masterpieces aired on ABC-owned WLS-TV in Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois and on a regional scale for the home region/home office of “Silver Screen Reflections;” the original 1973 and 1975 ABC “Tuesday Movie of the Week” productions aired on WMAL-TV 7 (which became WJLA-7 in 1977); WJLA/7 previously carried Me-TV in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area from 2013-17) in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area; WTPA-TV 27 (which became WHTM-27 in 1980) in the Gettysburg/Hanover/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and WJZ-TV Channel 13 (which later became affiliated with CBS after the 1995 Baltimore TV affiliation switch, CBS-owned since the 1996 Westinghouse/Group W-CBS merger) in the Baltimore, Maryland area. -C.H.

For Sven/”The Night Strangler” (1973): In Sven/Rich’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois; he previously showcased Curtis’ classic mammoth 1973 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel pilot masterpiece of “The Night Strangler” as a Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast premiere on his hometown TV station, WCIU-TV 26 back in Nov. 1996; according to IMDB.

For Sven/”Trilogy of Terror” (1975): This will mark Sven’s third big broadcast of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie masterpiece production on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) as a big broadcast premiere back in Sept. 2022 for the start of the 2022 “Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-nanza” festival along with the original Sept. 2022 premiere of the classic mammoth Me-TV documentary masterpiece on Svengoolie/Rich Koz, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) featuring fellow wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni, which was recently re-shown on Me-TV’s “Svengoolie Halloween Boo-nanza 2023” Latenight festival back on Oct. 14, 2022! -C.H.  Sven also re-broadcast “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) as a regular big broadcast on Me-TV back in Sept. 2023.

“The Night Strangler” (1973):

Who was in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV masterpiece sequel pilot of “The Night Strangler” (1973)?

Darren McGavin (as Carl Kolchak) in “The Night Strangler” (1973).

The players who appeared in Curtis’ classic mammoth 1973 ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV sequel pilot masterpiece of “The Night Strangler” were  Darren McGavin (as Carl Kolchak, McGavin previously appeared in the title role of Mike Hammer in the classic mammoth 1958-59 MCA-Revue-Universal crime drama masterpiece adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s “Mike Hammer;” alongside his roles of Mike Hammer and Carl Kolchak, one of McGavin’s most famous screen appearances was in the role of Old Man Parker in Bob Clark and Jean Shepherd’s classic mammoth 1983 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/MGM holiday-comedy masterpiece with Peter Billingsley and Melinda Dillon, “A Christmas Story”), Jo Ann Pflug (as Louise Harper, Pflug previously appeared in the role of Lt. Dish in Robert Altman’s classic mammoth 1970 Twentieth Century Fox/Twentieth Century Studios wartime drama-medical comedy feature film masterpiece adaptation of “M*A*S*H” and later appeared in the classic mammoth Glen Larson/Twentieth Century Fox/Twentieth Century Studios action-adventure-comedy masterpiece series with Lee Majors from 1981-82, “The Fall Guy“), Wally Cox (as Titus Berry, Cox previously appeared in the title role of Robinson J. Peepers in the comedy series “Mister Peepers” with Tony Randall from 1952-55, of interest to fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me,” Cox lent his vocal stylings of the voice of the title cartoon character of Underdog in the classic mammoth 1964-73 TV cartoon masterpiece series, “Underdog“), Margaret Hamilton (as Prof. Crabwell, Hamilton previously appeared in her famous role of Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch of the West in Victor Fleming’s classic mammoth 1939 MGM Technicolor feature film adaptation masterpiece of “The Wizard of Oz,” she previously appeared in  A. Edward Sutherland‘s classic mammoth 1940 Universal Studios “Invisible” comedy masterpiece with Virginia Bruce, “The Invisible Woman;” around the same time that she was in “The Night Strangler,” Hamilton also appeared in television ads in the role of “Cora” for Maxwell House Coffee ), Al Lewis (as Tramp, Lewis rose to greater fame for his role of Grampa Munster in the classic mammoth 1964-66 Universal Studios-CBS “Munster” monster comedy masterpiece series, “The Munsters” and in the classic mammoth 1966 Universal “Munster” monster-comedy feature-length masterpiece production of “Munster, Go Home!“), Richard Anderson (as Dr. Richard Malcolm, Anderson previously appeared in the role of Chief Quinn in Fred M. Wilcox’s classic mammoth 1956 MGM sci-fi masterpiece production of “Forbidden Planet” and appeared in 26 episodes of the classic mammoth CBS television drama masterpiece adaptation of  Erle Stanley Gardner‘s “Perry Mason” with Barbara Hale, William Hopper, Ray Collins and William Talman from 1964-66; To paraphrase Sven, “Richard Anderson was on.. ‘Perry Mason’!” -C.H.) veteran horror actor John Carradine, Kate Murtagh (as Janie Watkins, Murtaugh later appeared in Elliot Silverstein‘s classic mammoth 1977 Universal action-thriller masterpiece production of “The Car,” Murtagh later appeared in the role of a waitress for the album cover photo art for the legendary rock group Supertramp‘s classic mammoth 1979 rock album masterpiece released on the legendary Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss‘ A&M Records, “Breakfast In America“), Simon Oakland (as Tony Vincenzo, Oakland previously appeared in the role of Dr. Fred Richman in Alfred Hitchcock‘s classic mammoth 1960 Paramount Pictures suspense-thriller masterpiece production with Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, “Psycho” and in Peter Yates’ classic mammoth 1968 Warner Bros.-Seven Arts action/crime drama masterpiece production with Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn, “Bullitt;” Oakland later appeared in the classic mammoth 1976-78 Universal/NBC wartime drama masterpiece production of ”Baa, Baa Black Sheep”/”Black Sheep Squadron“), Nina Wayne (as Charisma Beauty), Virginia Peters (as Wilma Krakenheimer), Ivor Francis (as Dr. Webb), Diane Shalet (as Joyce Gabriel), Anne Randall (as Police officer Shiela), Francoise Birnheim (as the Restaurant Woman) and Regina Parton (as Merissa, Parton received screen credit under the pseudonym of Ethel Parker).

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975):

Who was in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)?

“Karen Black is Sensational in ‘Trilogy of Terror’!” Original 1975 ABC Television Network newspaper advertising proof for the original “Tuesday Movie of the Week” airing of Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” with Karen Black.

The players who appeared in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) were Karen Black  (in the dual roles of Julie, Millicent, Therese and Amelia; Bob Rafelson‘s classic mammoth 1970 Columbia Pictures Golden Globe award-winning drama masterpiece with Jack Nicholson, Ralph Waite, Sally Struthers of TV’s “All in the Family” fame, Fannie Flagg and Toni Basil; “Five Easy Pieces,” in the role of Myrtle Wilson in Jack Clayton‘s classic mammoth 1974 Paramount Pictures Academy Award-winning feature film adaptation masterpiece of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s “The Great Gatsby” with Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston, Lois Chiles, Howard Da Silva and Edward Herrmann and in the role of the role of Connie White in Robert Altman‘s classic mammoth 1975 Paramount Pictures Academy Award-winning music-drama-comedy masterpiece with Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, Ned Beatty, Geraldine Chaplin, Ronee Blakley, young Jeff Goldblum, Scott Glenn of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame and Henry Gibson of Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In” fame, “Nashville;” she also appeared with her real-life son, Hunter Carson in Tobe Hooper‘s cult classic mammoth 1986 Cannon sci-fi masterpiece re-make of “Invaders from Mars“); Robert Burton (as Chad Foster), John Karlen (as Thomas Ammen, Karlen previously appeared in the dual roles of Willie Loomis, Carl Collins, Desmond Collins and Kendrick Young in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC television gothic vampire-horror masterpiece series, “Dark Shadows” from 1967-71; he also went onto greater fame for his role of Harvey Lacey in the classic mammoth 1982-88 Filmways/Orion/CBS television detective drama masterpiece series with Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, “Cagney & Lacey” , Karlen later reprised his role of Harvey Lacey in several “Cagney & Lacey” made-for-TV movies with Daly and Gless from 1994–96 and also appeared in the role of Jake Morrisson in the classic mammoth 1991 Viacom/NBC “Perry Mason” made-for-TV movie masterpiece with Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale, “Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin;” To paraphrase Sven, “John Karlen was on.. ‘Perry Mason’!”), George Gaynes (as Dr. Chester Ramsey, he previously appeared in the role of Dr. Marderosian in Nathan Hertz Juran‘s classic mammoth 1973 Universal Studios werewolf monster masterpiece production with Kerwin Matthews, Elaine Devry, Scott Sealey, Robert J. Wilke, Susan Foster, Jack Lucas, Bob Homel, Loretta Temple, Harold Goodwin, Eric Gordon and Paul Baxley; “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf” and later appeared in the role of John Van Horn in Sydney Pollack‘s classic mammoth 1982 Columbia Pictures comedy masterpiece with Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Geena Davis and a cameo by Pollack, “Tootsie” and in the role of Henry Warnimont in “Punky Brewster” from 1984-88, which originally aired on NBC and later became a first-run syndicated series for local TV stations), Jim Storm (as Eddie Nells), Kathryn Reynolds (as Anne Richards), Orin Cannon (as a motel clerk), Gregory Harrison (as Arthur Moore), Tracy Curtis (as Tracy) and the vocal stylings of Walker Edmiston (for those who have not seen “Trilogy of Terror,” the writer/author of “Silver Screen Reflections” will not reveal what character Edmiston voiced in Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece). -C.H.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth made-for-TV movie horror anthology masterpiece that was produced by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)

A fan-made trailer for Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie horror/thriller anthology masterpiece, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black.

Custom art designed by Jacob Phillips for the Kino Lorber Blu-Ray & DVD release of Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror anthology masterpiece, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975).

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth horror film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) this Sat., Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV horror feature masterpiece production was directed by veteran television and feature film director-producer Dan Curtis.

Curtis was best-known for producing and directing his own classic mammoth ABC television network gothic horror series masterpiece production, “Dark Shadows” (1966-71) with Jonathan Frid (in the lead role of vampire Barnabas Collins) and Grayson Hall (in the lead role of Dr. Julia Hoffman, also of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame).  Curtis also directed two classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gothic horror feature film masterpiece adaptations of his ABC-TV “Dark Shadows” series;  “House of Dark Shadows” (1970) with Frid and “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971, produced around the same time that ABC cancelled “Dark Shadows”).  20 years after the final ABC broadcast of “Dark Shadows,” Curtis would re-team with MGM to produce a newer, short-lived primetime “Dark Shadows” series for rival network NBC in 1991 with Ben Cross in the Barnabas Collins role.

Alongside his “Dark Shadows” productions and “Trilogy of Terror,” most of Curtis’ classic mammoth masterpiece TV productions aired on the ABC television network for the majority of his career.  He also produced the classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie masterpiece production of John Llewellyn Moxey‘s “The Night Stalker” (1972) with Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Carol Lynley, Claude Akins and Larry Linville (of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame). Curtis also directed the classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece sequel, “The Night Strangler” (1973) with McGavin, Oakland, Margaret Hamilton of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” fame, John Carradine, Al Lewis of “The Munsters” fame and Wally Cox.  The two classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV “Kolchak” movie masterpieces inspired the latter classic mammoth Universal Studios/ABC TV supernatural masterpiece series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75) with McGavin and Oakland.  For the aforementioned 1975-75 Universal “Kolchak” series, Dan Curtis served as a supervising producer.  Speaking of “Kolchak,” the two aforementioned classic mammoth Dan Curtis/ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpieces with Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland will air on future editions of Svengoolie’s Sat. evening Me-TV big broadcasts as part of his twinset features for “Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-nanza” 2023 festival! -C.H.

Curtis also directed the classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning Paramount Pictures/ABC made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk‘s “The Winds of War” (1983) with Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Ralph Bellamy, John Houseman, Topol of “Fiddler on the Roof” fame,  Polly Bergen and Peter Graves and a follow-up classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece sequel miniseries adaptation that was produced entirely by ABC, Herman Wouk’s “War and Remembrance” (1988-89) with Mitchum, Bellamy, Topol, Bergen, Sami Frey, Robert Hardy, Jane Seymour and William Schallert.

The screenplay of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece production was written by veteran screenwriter William F. Nolan and was based off of several original story ideas by veteran screenwriter Richard Matheson.  Nolan previously co-authored George Clayton Johnson‘s classic mammoth futuristic sci-fi thriller novel masterpiece that was later adapated by Michael Anderson for the classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) futuristic sci-fi/thriller masterpiece production with Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett (Farrah Fawcett-Majors), Peter Ustinov and Richard Jordan; “Logan’s Run” (1976).  Matheson previously wrote the screenplay for Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey (of TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” fame) and William Schallert and also wrote 16 episodes of Rod Serling‘s classic mammoth critically-acclaimed CBS television supernatural sci-fi/thriller/fantasy masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” (Matheson wrote for Serling’s series from 1959-64).

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975) originally aired on the ABC television network on March 4, 1975 as part of the network’s “Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Movie of the Week” series of feature-length productions produced and/or financed by ABC, according to IMDB and an original 1975 ABC print advertisement for the network presentation of “Trilogy of Terror.”   The alphabet network began their “Movie of the Week” series in 1969

The animated/scanimation-filmed “ABC Movie of the Week” opening/closing graphics and bumpers contained a signature piece of music that was composed by legendary composer Burt Bacharach, which was an instrumental version of one of his original songs, “Nikki.”  An orchestral album cut version of Bacharach’s “Nikki” composition was released on the composer’s self-titled album via the legendary Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss‘ recorded music firm, A&M Records in 1971; according to Discogs.

Alongside feature-length productions that were produced by the network’s in-house production unit, ABC also contracted with veteran producer Aaron Spelling‘s production company, veteran producer and documentarian David L. Wolper‘s production outfit (Wolper would later sell his production company to Warner Bros. in 1976), Universal Studios/MCA and Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems (Columbia’s TV unit was later rebadged as Columbia Pictures Television in 1974) to produce made-for-TV movies for the network’s “Movie of the Week” showcases, according to Michael McKenna’s retrospective book on ABC’s slate of made-for-TV movies, “The ABC Movie of the Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen” and the Film Score Monthly forum.  Speaking of the “ABC Movie of the Week,” one of the other classic mammoth made-for-TV features that was previously shown on Svengoolie’s Me-TV showcases was young Steven Spielberg‘s classic mammoth Universal-ABC made-for-TV action thriller masterpiece production of “Duel” (1971) with Dennis Weaver; which marked one of the earliest classic mammoth major masterpiece productions for the young veteran director.

According to additional details from IMDB, Curtis’ classic mammoth made-for-TV thriller/horror masterpiece production was co-produced under the ABC television network’s in-house production unit, “ABC Circle Films” (which later became “ABC Productions,” which is now known as “ABC Studios“/”ABC Signature“).

For the original March 4, 1975 ABC television network airing of “Trilogy of Terror:” Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV 1975 horror/thriller masterpiece aired on ABC-owned WLS-TV in Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois and on a regional scale for the home region of “Silver Screen Reflections;” the original 1975 ABC showing of Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” aired on WMAL-TV 7 (which became WJLA-7 in 1977) ; WJLA/7 previously carried Me-TV in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area from 2013-17) in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area; ,WTPA-TV 27 (which became WHTM-27 in 1980) in the Gettysburg/Hanover/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and WJZ-TV Channel 13 (which later became affiliated with CBS after the 1995 Baltimore TV affiliation switch, CBS-owned since the 1996 Westinghouse/Group W-CBS merger) in the Baltimore, Maryland area. -C.H.

According to the March 4, 1975 issue of The Gettysburg Times, ABC programmed Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) for the “Tuesday Movie of the Week” showcase in-between an episode of “Happy Days” (titled “Fonzie Joins the Band”) and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (titled “Dark Corridors”).  During the original March 4, 1975 prime-time big broadcast airing of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Trilogy of Terror,” the alphabet network & Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece production was shown opposite an episode of “M*A*S*H” (titled “Payday”) and the First Annual “People’s Choice Awards” over on CBS and the Columbia Pictures made-for-TV movie production of “The Last Survivors” (1975) over on NBC.

During the original March 4, 1975 ABC big broadcast network TV premiere of Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror,” it was reported that several ABC-affiliated stations from coast-to-coast did not clear Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror anthology movie masterpiece production for prime-time.

According to a March 17, 1975 issue of Broadcasting (Broadcasting and Cable), several ABC affiliates were concerned and felt that ABC’s airing of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) would scare off viewers in prime-time; yet ABC placed a viewer discretion disclaimer in the original network promos/commercials for Curtis’ 1975 production; according to a latter commercial for a syndicated airing of “Trilogy of Terror” that was unearthed on YouTube.

Several ABC affiliates decided to delay Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) by airing it in the Latenight timeslot in place of ABC’s then-Latenight programming lineup, “Wide World of Entertainment” in New Orleans, Louisiana (WVUE, which was affiliated with ABC until 1995); Miami, Florida (WPLG– though WPLG would later air a syndicated airing of “Trilogy of Terror” In 1981); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (WITI, which was affiliated with ABC until 1977) and Fresno, California (KJEO/KGPE, which was affiliated with ABC until 1985– when the network moved to KFSN as a result of the Capital Cities/ABC merger).

The only ABC-affiliated station that declined to show the original 1975 network airing of Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) in any timeslot was Duluth, Minnesota’s ABC affiliate (and future Me-TV affiliate) WDIO-TV.

This will mark Sven’s second big broadcast of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie masterpiece production on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) as a big broadcast premiere back in Sept. 2022 for the start of the 2022 “Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-nanza” festival along with the original Sept. 2022 premiere of the classic mammoth Me-TV documentary masterpiece on Svengoolie/Rich Koz, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) featuring fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni!*  And speaking of “Sven:Uncrypted,” the classic mammoth 2022 Me-TV/Sven documentary masterpiece with fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah/Sarahgoolie, Nanette & Brian will be coming back to the airlanes in the upcoming Me-TV 2023 “Sven’s Halloween Boo-nanza” showcase this upcoming latenight Sat. evening, Oct. 14 at 11:30 p.m. Central/early Sun. morning, Oct. 15 at 12:30 a.m. Eastern after Sven’s twinset double-feature showcase! -C.H.

Who was in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)

The players who appeared in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) were Karen Black  (in the dual roles of Julie, Millicent, Therese and Amelia); Robert Burton (as Chad Foster), John Karlen (as Thomas Ammen), George Gaynes (as Dr. Chester Ramsey), Jim Storm (as Eddie Nells), Kathryn Reynolds (as Anne Richards), Orin Cannon (as a motel clerk), Gregory Harrison (as Arthur Moore), Tracy Curtis (as Tracy) and the vocal stylings of Walker Edmiston (for those who have not seen “Trilogy of Terror,” the writer/author of “Silver Screen Reflections” will not reveal what character Edmiston voiced in Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece). -C.H.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth American-International sci-fi sequel masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958)

Truncated theatrical trailer for Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s American-International Pictures for the 1958 theatrical release of Bert I. Gordon’s “War of the Colossal Beast” with Duncan “Dean” Parkin.

“The Towering Terror from Hell!” Original 1958 American-International theatrical poster art element for Bert I. Gordon’s “War of the Colossal Beast.”

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago classic sci-fi/creature feature film host will present his big broadcast of “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958), this Sat.; Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1958 American-International sci-fi sequel masterpiece production was directed by veteran director Bert I. Gordon.  Some of Gordon’s best-known cult classic sci-fi/visual effects feature film masterpiece productions include  “The Cyclops” (1957) for Allied Artists with Lon Chaney Jr., “Beginning of the End” (1957)* with Peter Graves, Peggie Castle and Morris Ankrum; “Earth vs. the Spider” (1958, a.k.a. “The Spider”)* with Ed Kemmer, June Kenney and Hank Patterson; “Tormented” (1960) for Allied Artists with Richard Carlson, Susan Gordon, Lugene Sanders and the vocal stylings of Paul Frees; “Village of the Giants” (1965) for Joseph E. Levine’s Embassy Pictures with Ron “Ronny” Howard, legendary singer Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon (who wrote/performed the mammoth 2016 Sven song masterpiece with Sven, “the Svengoolie Stomp”), Joy Harmon, Beau Bridges, Tisha Sterling, Johnny Crawford, The Beau Brummels, Tommy Kirk, Toni Basil, Rance Howard, Tim Rooney  and  Orangey the Cat; “The Food of the Gods” (1976)* with  Ida Lupino, Marjoe Gortner, Ralph Meeker and Pamela Franklin and “Empire of the Ants” (1977)* with Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson, Albert Salmi, Jacqueline Scott and Robert Pine.

*For the majority of his motion picture directorial career, Gordon released his classic mammoth “giant” sci-fi/creature masterpiece productions, including “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958) through Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s  American-International Pictures . Arkoff and Nicholson established American-International Pictures in 1954, according to the Samuel Z. Arkoff papers collection housed at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.   American-International was acquired by Filmways in 1979, which was later acquired by Orion Pictures in 1982.  Orion (along with the majority of the American-International/Filmways holdings)** was then sold to the present incarnation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1997.  Following MGM’s recent revival of the “Orion Pictures” moniker, the studio recently revived the “American-International Pictures” moniker.

Gordon also co-produced the classic mammoth 1958 American-International sci-fi/creature sequel masterpiece with Arkoff and Nicholson, the two founders of American-International Pictures served as executive producers of the film under the “Carmel Productions” moniker.  Gordon also wrote the original story treatment for “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958). Veteran screenwriter George Worthing Yates wrote the screenplay adaptation of Gordon’s original story treatment of “War of the Colossal Beast.”

This will mark Sven’s second big broadcast of Gordon’s classic mammoth American-International sci-fi masterpiece sequel production of “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958) on the airlanes of Me-TV.  Sven previously showcased “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958) as a big broadcast premiere back in Sept. 2021.

Who was in Bert I. Gordon’s classic mammoth American-International sci-fi/creature masterpiece production of “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958)?

The players who appeared in Bert I. Gordon’s classic mammoth production of “War of the Colossal Beast” (1958) for Samuel Z. Arkoff & James H. Nicholson’s American-International Pictures were Duncan “Dean” Parkin (as Col. Glenn Manning), Sally Fraser (as Joyce Manning), Rico Alaniz (as Sgt. Luis Murillo), Roger Pace (as Maj. Mark Baird), Russ Bender (as Dr. Carmichael), Stan Chambers (as a TV reporter/announcer), Bob Garnet (as a Pentagon correspondent), Jack Kosslyn (as a TV reporter), George Becwar (as John Swanson), Robert Hernandez (as Miguel), June Jocelyn (as Mrs. Edwards), Charles Stewart (as Capt. Harris), George Navarro (as a Doctor), John McNamara (as a neurologist), Loretta Nicholson (as Joan), Raymond Winston (as Arthur Lang), June Burt (as Laurie Edwards), Howard Wright (as the Medical Research Officer), Mary Hennessy (as an Air Traffic Controller), George Alexander (as an Army officer), Bill Giorgio (as a bus driver),Hal Torey (as the Health & Welfare Dept. head), George Milan (as Gen. Nelson), Warren Frost (as a switchboard operator), Robert Tetrick (as himself), Rodd Dana (as himself) and archival footage of Glenn Langan (who previously played the role of Col. Glenn Manning in Bert I. Gordon’s earlier classic mammoth 1957 American-International sci-fi masterpiece production of “The Amazing Colossal Man”).

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “The Mole People” (1956), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be jumping for joy for his big broadcast of a classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi fantasy creature masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “The Mole People” (1956)

Original 1956 Universal Studios theatrical trailer for “The Mole People.”

With an Australian film classification rating of “R!” Original 1956 Universal Studios Australian theatrical poster art for “The Mole People.”

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi/creature feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “The Mole People” (1956), this Sat.; April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth Universal sci-fi creature masterpiece production The Mole People” was directed by veteran Universal editor-turned-director Virgil Vogel.  Vogel spent most of his career at Universal, several of classic mammoth Universal Studios masterpiece productions that he edited for theatrical release included  Charles Lamont’s classic mammoth Universal monster-comedy masterpiece,  “Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man” (1951) with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello,  Arthur Franz,  John Daheim, Nancy Guild,  Adele Jergens, Sheldon Leonard and William Frawley of TV’s “I Love Lucy” and the early years of “My Three Sons”/”Binge the Cringe” fame, Joseph Newman’s classic mammoth Universal sci-fi masterpiece production of “This Island Earth” (1955) with Regis Parton, Charlotte Alpert, Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason, Russell Johnson of TV’s “Gilligan’s Island” fame, Lance Fuller, Robert Nichols, Richard Deacon of TV’s “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” fame and Olan Soule and supervised the editing of Orson Welles’ classic mammoth Universal film noir-drama masterpiece adaptation of Whit Masterson’s “Badge of Evil;” “Touch of Evil” (1958) with Janet Leigh, Welles, Dennis Weaver, Charlton Heston, Joanna Moore and Ray Collins of TV’s “Perry Mason” fame.

“The Mole People” (1956) marked Vogel’s directorial debut at Universal.  Virgil Vogel’s other classic mammoth Universal feature film productions include “The Land Unknown” (1957, with Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy and Phil Harvey) and the finale feature in Universal’s “Ma and Pa Kettle” comedy series (sans Percy Kilbride), “The Kettles on Old MacDonald’s Farm” (1957, with Marjorie Main, Parker Fennelly, Gloria Talbott and a young Claude Akins).  The screenplay for Vogel’s 1956 Universal creature production was written by veteran screenwriter László Görög. “The Mole People” was produced by veteran Universal feature film producer William Alland.  One of Vogel’s final productions in his career was also at his home studio of Universal, he directed one episode of the classic mammoth Donald P. Bellisario-Universal-NBC television sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural/time travel masterpiece series with Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell; “Quantum Leap” (1991’s “A Single Drop of Rain- Sept. 7, 1953“).

This will mark Sven’s ninth big broadcast of  Virgil Vogel’s classic mammoth 1956 Universal sci-fi/fantasy/creature masterpiece production of “The Mole People” (1956) on Me-TV.  He previously aired Virgil Vogel’s classic Universal sci-fi creature/fantasy-thriller masterpiece back in Oct. 2011*, March 2012*, Sept. 2012*, April 2013, Jan. 2014, Dec. 2015,  June 2018 and Feb. 2020.

Who was in Virgil Vogel’s Universal creature production of “The Mole People?”

The players who appeared in “The Mole People” were John Agar (as Dr. Roger Bentley), Cynthia Patrick (as Adad/Adel), Hugh Beaumont (as Dr. Jud Bellamin), Alan Napier (as the High Priest Elinu), Nestor Paiva (as Prof. Etienne Lafarge), Rodd Redwing (as Nazar), Robin Hughes (as a first officer), Dr. Frank C. Baxter (as himself), Phil Chambers (as Dr. Paul Stuart), and the “Mole People” creature ensemble of Bob Herron, Bob Hoy, Joe Rubino and Eddie Parker.

Safe/Healthy/Happy Holidays & Season’s Greetings from the Author/Writer of “Silver Screen Reflections”

Safe, healthy, peaceful & Happy Holidays/Season’s Greetings to all fellow Super Svengoolie & Sventoonie SvenPals, fellow Super ‘Toon In With Me” Tooners, fellow Super “Mystery Science Theater 3000” MSTies, fellow Super classic film/TV aficionados & fellow Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere from the writer/author of “Silver Screen Reflections!” 

In order of the calendar of Dec. Holidays: Safe, healthy and Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy early New Year’s & Season’s Greetings to all fellow Super SvenPals/fellow Super Tooners who celebrate the Holidays!

Last night was magical Tooners!

Let's watch that touching ending from Tiny Toony's Christmas Carol again 🎄🥺🎁#ToonInWithMe #metv #TinyToonysChristmasCarol pic.twitter.com/ZpP7hwoCsO

— Toon In With Me (@tooninwithmetv) December 6, 2022

Merry Christmas and Happy Blob-ukkah Sventooners! 🎄🕎 pic.twitter.com/LRSfdFAMSK

— Sventoonie (@sventoonie) December 25, 2022

Bill's dad has got jokes 😂#ToonInWithMe #metv pic.twitter.com/5XZZbtkOrc

— Toon In With Me (@tooninwithmetv) December 21, 2022

Whether you watched your favorite classic/cult classic mammoth Holiday film, cartoon and/or TV masterpieces earlier in the the day & numerous Holiday festivities, we fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super MSTies/Super classic film/cartoon/TV aficionados/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” hope you all had  wonderful, safe and healthy Holiday(s)!   Looking forward to more Svengoolie, Sventoonie and “Toon In With Me” big broadcast adventures with all my fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners in the New Year of 2023 and beyond! -C.H.

Update: I will share my Sven Holiday moments with all my fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners in the Mon. evening, Dec. 26 social media airlanes! -C.H.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast premiere of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” and the return of “Sventoonie” for “Sven’s Halloween ‘BOO’nanza,” this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing for joy for a trifecta of three big broadcasts to celebrate Sven, Super SvenPals & Halloween!

Compilation trailer for Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie horror/thriller masterpiece, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black.  Sidebar: This snippet was originally prepared/licensed by ABC for the latter MPI Home Video VHS release (MPI had most home entertainment rights to select ABC-produced programs and ABC News programs/specials at the time).  Viewer discretion is advised.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast premiere of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975); plus the premiere of “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” and the return of “Sventoonie” for Me-TV’s “Svengoolie Halloween ‘BOO’nanza”

“One of the most horrifying films in movie history!!!” Early 1980s MPI Home Video/ABC Video Enterprises VHS cover art for Dan Curtis’ ABC production of “Trilogy of Terror” with Karen Black & the “Zuni Fetish Warrior Doll.”

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago classic mammoth horror masterpiece film host will present his big broadcast premiere of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) at a special time, this Sat.; Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

Sven’s upcoming big broadcast premiere of of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) will be part of Svengoolie’s month-long tribute to classic and cult classic mammoth horror/monster/sci-fi feature film masterpieces, Super SvenPals/Super Tooners and Halloween 2022, titled “Svengoolie’s Halloween BOOnanza” festival throughout the month of October on Me-TV!   For the first installment of “Svengoolie’s Halloween BOOnanza ” on the evening of Oct. 1 and alongside Sven’s big broadcast premiere of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975); the upcoming Me-TV original documentary on the life and career of the legendary & iconic Svengoolie/Rich Koz; plus guest cameos from numerous fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners & highlights from Sven’s recent Berwyn/Chicago festivities, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) will premiere that same evening at 9 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central!   Day #1 of Sven’s “Halloween BOOnanza” festival will conclude with the return of the Sven/”Toon In With Me” companion series, “Sventoonie” at 10 p.m. Eastern/9 p.m. Central!

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975) was directed by veteran television and feature film director-producer Dan Curtis.  Curtis was best-known for producing and directing his classic mammoth gothic horror series masterpiece on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network,  “Dark Shadows” (1966-71) with Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall  (also of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame).  Curtis also directed two classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gothic horror feature film masterpiece adaptation of his ABC-TV “Dark Shadows” series;  “House of Dark Shadows” (1970) with Frid and “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971).

Alongside “Trilogy of Terror” and his earlier “Dark Shadows” series, most of Curtis’ classic mammoth masterpiece TV productions aired on the ABC television network for the majority of his career.  He also produced the classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie masterpiece production of John Llewellyn Moxey‘s “The Night Stalker” (1972) with Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Carol Lynley, Claude Akins and Larry Linville of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame; Curtis also directed the classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece sequel, “The Night Strangler” (1973) with McGavin, Oakland, Margaret Hamilton of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” fame, John Carradine, Al Lewis of “The Munsters” fame and Wally Cox.  The two classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV “Kolchak” movie masterpieces inspired the latter classic mammoth Universal Studios/ABC TV supernatural masterpiece series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75) with McGavin and Oakland.

Curtis also directed the classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning Paramount Pictures/ABC made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk‘s “The Winds of War” (1983) with Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Ralph Bellamy, John Houseman, Topol,  Polly Bergen and Peter Graves and a follow-up classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece sequel miniseries adaptation that was produced entirely by ABC, Herman Wouk’s “War and Remembrance” (1988-89) with Mitchum, Bellamy, Topol, Bergen, Sami Frey, Robert Hardy, Jane Seymour and William Schallert.

The screenplay of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece production was written by veteran screenwriter William F. Nolan and was based off of several original story ideas by veteran screenwriter Richard Matheson.  Nolan previously co-authored George Clayton Johnson‘s classic mammoth futuristic sci-fi thriller novel masterpiece that was later adapated by Michael Anderson for the classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) futuristic sci-fi/thriller masterpiece with Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett (Farrah Fawcett-Majors), Peter Ustinov and Richard Jordan; “Logan’s Run” (1976).  Matheson previously wrote the screenplay for Jack Arnold’sclassic mammoth Universal sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey (of TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” fame) and William Schallert and also wrote 16 episodes of Rod Serling‘s classic mammoth CBS television sci-fi/thriller/supernatural/fantasy masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” (Matheson wrote for Serling’s series from 1959-64).

Karen Black & the Zuni Figurine in Dan Curtis’ 1975 ABC production of “Trilogy of Terror.”

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975) originally aired on the ABC television network on March 4, 1975 as part of the network’s “Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Movie of the Week” series of feature-length productions produced by the ABC television network, according to IMDB and an original 1975 ABC print ad for “Trilogy of Terror.”  According to additional details from IMDB, Curtis’ classic mammoth made-for-TV thriller/horror masterpiece production was co-produced under the ABC television network’s in-house production unit, “ABC Circle Films” (which later became “ABC Productions,” which is now known as “ABC Studios“/”ABC Signature“).

According to a March 4, 1975 issue of The Gettysburg Times, ABC programmed “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) in-between an episode of “Happy Days” (titled “Fonzie Joins the Band”) and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (titled “Dark Corridors”).  During the original March 4, 1975 prime-time airing of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Trilogy of Terror,” the alphabet network & Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece was shown opposite an episode of “M*A*S*H” (titled “Payday”) and the First Annual “People’s Choice Awards” on CBS and the Columbia Pictures made-for-TV movie production of “The Last Survivors” (1975) on NBC.

For the original March 4, 1975 ABC airing of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975): Curtis’ classic mammoth made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece aired on ABC-owned WLS-TV in Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois and on a regional scale for the home region of “Silver Screen Reflections;” the original 1975 ABC showing of Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” aired on WMAL-TV 7 (which became WJLA-7 in 1977) ; which carried Me-TV in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland region from 2013-17) in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area; ,WTPA-TV 27 (which became WHTM-27 in 1980) in the Gettysburg/Hanover/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and WJZ-TV Channel 13 (which later became affiliated with CBS after the 1995 Baltimore TV affiliation switch, CBS-owned since the 1996 Westinghouse/Group W-CBS merger) in the Baltimore, Maryland area. -C.H.

Who was in Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)?

The players who appeared in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) were Karen Black  (in the dual roles of Julie, Millicent, Therese and Amelia); Robert Burton (as Chad Foster), John Karlen (as Thomas Ammen), George Gaynes (as Dr. Chester Ramsey), Jim Storm (as Eddie Nells), Kathryn Reynolds (as Anne Richards), Orin Cannon (as a motel clerk), Gregory Harrison (as Arthur Moore), Tracy Curtis (as Tracy) and the vocal stylings of Walker Edmiston (for those who have not seen “Trilogy of Terror,” the writer/author of “Silver Screen Reflections” will not reveal what character Edmiston voiced in Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece). -C.H.

“Svengoolie”presents his big broadcast of “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth award-winning made-for-TV supernatural/creature masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey

A latter highlight preview/collage for Bill “B.W.L.” Norton’s “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey.

“They’re coming for you!” Latter 2004 Classic Media/VCI Entertainment DVD cover art for “Gargoyles” (1972) with Bernie Casey. The VCI DVD is currently out of print.

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi/creature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Gargoyles” (1972), this Sat., Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV sci-fi/supernatural/creature feature masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” was directed by veteran director Bill Norton, who received screen credit under the name of “B.W.L. Norton.”  After directing his own short feature film at the UCLA School of Film, Theatre and Television, titled “Coming Soon” (1966) and one year before production began on “Gargoyles,” Norton directed his own classic mammoth Columbia Pictures drama masterpiece production, “Cisco Pike” (1971) with Kris Kristofferson, Gene Hackman, Gene Hackman, Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton, Roscoe Lee Browne, a pre-“WKRP In Cincinatti” Howard Hesseman, Allan Arbus and Wavy Gravy.   Norton worked primarily for television throughout the majority of his directorial career after working on his classic mammoth made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972).  Other productions that Norton worked on throughout his directorial career alongside “Gargoyles” (1972) include several episodes of “Tour of Duty” (from 1987-89), “SeaQuest: DSV” (two episodes in 1993) with Roy Scheider and the brief Sci-Fi Channel (pre- “SyFy”) cable miniseries adaptation production  of H.G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man” (Norton directed three episodes in 2001).

The script for Norton’s classic mammoth made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972) was written by the husband-and-wife screenwriting duo of Stephen Karpf and Elinor Karpf.  The Karpfs also worked on the script of Gordon Hessler’s Universal Studios–ABC television made-for-TV thriller production with George Kennedy, Joanna Pettet, Lee Montgomery and Bing Russell, “A Cry in the Wilderness” (1974), one episode of the brief Paramount Pictures TV adaptation of “Love Story” (1973’s “The Youngest Lovers,” adapted from the classic mammoth 1970 Paramount feature film masterpiece production of the same name).  Later in their career, the Karpfs created a television soap opera production for the CBS television network with Constance Towers, Debrah Farentino and Rory Calhoun; “Capitol” (1982-87).

According to the Feb. 1973 article on Bill Norton’s 1972 made-for-TV production of “Gargoyles” (1972) for The Monster Times, Karpf recalled that his wife; Elinor was inspired by a nightmare that she experienced of Gargoyle-style creatures taking over the world.  Elinor was interested in the topic of Gargoyles and Stephen elaborated on her accounts for Norton’s classic 1972 made-for-TV creature masterpiece.

Norton’s classic 1972 creature telefilm masterpiece was produced by veteran television producers Robert W. “Bob” Christiansen, Roger Gimbel and Rick Rosenberg.  Bill Norton’s classic mammoth sci-fi/supernatural creature feature masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972) premiered on the CBS television network as part of the “New CBS Tuesday Night Movies” on Nov. 21, 1972; according to IMDB and a segment from  Broadcasting (Broadcasting and Cable) Magazine.

This will mark Sven’s fifth big broadcast of Bill Norton’s classic 1972 made-for-TV creature “movie of the week” masterpiece on the airlanes of Me-TV. Sven previously showcased “Gargoyles” (1972) as a big broadcast premier back in May 2017 and as regular big broadcasts back in Nov. 2018, May 2020 and April 2022.

Who was in Norton’s classic mammoth made-for-TV sci-fi/supernatural/creature masterpiece production of “Gargoyles” (1972)?

Bernie Casey and Cornel Wilde in “Gargoyles” (1972).

The players who appeared in Bill Norton’s made-for-TV movie production of “Gargoyles” (1972) were Bernie Casey (as the lead Gargoyle), Jennifer Salt (as Diana Boley), Cornel Wilde (as Dr. Mercer Boley), Scott Glenn (as James Reeger), Grayson Hall (as Mrs. Parks), Woody Chambliss (as Uncle Willie), John Gruber (as Jesse), Mickey Alzola, Rock Walker and Greg Walker (the three aforementioned actors played other Gargoyle creatures in the 1972 made-for-TV feature), Timothy “Tim” Burns (as Morris Ray), Vic Perrin (in an uncredited role as the voice of the lead Gargoyle, dubbing in Bernie Casey’s dialogue) and Jim Connell (as Buddy).