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R. Daniel Curtis (August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006) was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for the afternoon TV series Dark Shadows. 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. He was the executive producer for Dark Shadows (2004) for the The WB Television Network however it was canceled before the pilot episode aired.
His series of macabre films include The Night Stalker (which inspired the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker), Intruders, The Night Strangler, House of Dark Shadows, Night of Dark Shadows, Burnt Offerings, Trilogy of Terror, The Norliss Tapes (a 1973 pilot for an unproduced series starring Roy Thinnes), "Curse of the Black Widow", "Dead Of Night", "Scream of the Wolf" and others. He worked frequently with sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson. Curtis was producer and/or director of a number of television adaptations of horror-related productions including Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Turn of the Screw, all made between 1968 and 1975.
His miniseries The Winds of War was nominated for four Emmy Awards.
He also directed the War and Remembrance mini-series which was the continuation of The Winds of War. This mini-series was 30 hours in length and was split into two segments, Chapters I-Vll and Vll, the final chapter. This series received 15 Emmy Award nominations and won for best miniseries, special effects and single-camera production editing. The miniseries was nominated for Emmy Awards for best actor (John Gielgud), actress (Jane Seymour) and supporting actress (Polly Bergen).
Curtis died of a brain tumor in his home on March 27, 2006, two weeks after the death of his wife Norma. He was 78.
Curtis' rights to Dark Shadows ceased upon the finalization of his estate, allowing another Dark Shadows movie to be made. Warner Brothers is developing the new Dark Shadows movie which is reported to star Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins.
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