Dan Curtis

 Dan Curtis, born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss (August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006)

He was a director and producer of television and film, known among fans of horror films for his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows and TV films such as Trilogy of Terror. Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication for nearly 40 years. Curtis was responsible for the 1991 remake of Dark Shadows, which was canceled due to low ratings. Curtis is also known as the director and producer of the two epic 1980's miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, based on two novels by Herman Wouk, which follow the lives of two American families through the whole World War I. This mini-series was 30 hours in length and was split into two segments. Chapters I-VII aired in November 1988. The remaining five parts, Chapters VIII-XII, were billed as "The Final Chapter", and aired in May 1989. This series received 15 Emmy Award nominations and won for best miniseries, special effects and single-camera production editing. Curtis was married from 1952 until his wife's death in 2006, 20 days before his, they had two daughters. He died from a brain tumor at age 78, and is buried at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California.