The Night Stalker Companion
A 25th AnniversaryTribute
by Mark Dawidziak
- $19.95 Tradepaper ISBN: 0-938817-44-2
- 7x10 176 pages / photographs
The Night Stalker Companion
A 25th Anniversary Tribute
By Mark Dawidziak
Veteran film and television writer Mark Dawidziak's 25th anniversay tribute stalks the
phenomenal success of reporter Carl Kolchak as he in turn pursues the trails of vampires,
stanglers, zombies, swamp things, witches and extraterrestrials--all in the name of news.
Produced by Dan Curtis (creator of "Dark Shadows"), "The Night
Stalker" scored record ratings as a 1972 TV movie. The sucess of "The
Night Stalker" led to a 1973 sequel movie, "The Night Strangler," produced and
directed by Curtis. This led to the ABC series, "Kolchak: The Night
Stalker," which in turn inspired "The X-Files" creator Chris Carter, who widley
credits the vintage 1974-75 program as the horror/science-fiction protoype for
his hit series.
"The Night Stalker Companion" is the complete and illustrated
history of Carl Kolchak, tracing the hardnosed, hard-charging reporter's
evolution from two novels by Jeff Rice to the two highly-rated TV movies
to ABC's "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" series, which inspired Fox's "The
X-Files" and continues to be a cult favorite among horror, science-fiction and
fantasy fans. Written with the cooperation of all the major participants, the
book includes interviews with "Kolchak" star Darren McGavin, Rice, legendary
horror author and "Twilight Zone" contributor Richard Matheson (who adapted
Rice's novel), Curtis (the producer and director of "Winds of War" and "War and
Rembrance"), series producer Cy Chermak, "X-Files" creator Chris Carter
and Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump"), who got his
star as a writer on the series. The book also details plans for a new big-screen
remake of "The Night Stalker" to be directed by Curtis.
Author Mark Dawidziak, entertainment critic of the Akron Beacon Journal, is a syndicated
columnist for Knight-Ridder and a regular magazine contributor. The actor, comedian,
playwright, author and journalist is a two-time winner of the Cleveland Press Club s award for
entertainment writing and a five-year member of the Television Critic s Association s board of
directors. He has written the liner notes for Columbia House Video Library's Collector's Editions
of Columbo and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. A journalism graduate of George
Washington University, he was born in Huntington, New York and now lives in Cuyahoga Falls,
Ohio.
"A wonderful volume that perfectly captures the appeal of the Carl Kolchak television legacy..."
Midnight Marquee Magazine
"A lively, entertaining, fact-filled treat, tracking the Kolchak phenomenon from novel to TV film
to series...Like Carl Kolchak himself, Dawidziak uncovers all the facts and tells us where all the
bodies are buried." Scarlet Street Review of Books
