Happy birthday, Kolchak the reporter
Today is actor Darren McGavin’s birthday. Born in 1922, he would have been 96. He was a character probably best remembered by most people as The Old Man in A Christmas Story. McGavin also was the first Mike Hammer on TV in the ‘50s, and was the lead in the series Riverboat which co-starred a young unknown actor you might recall, Burt Reynolds.
But, for me and a lot of fans, Darren McGavin will always be known for what we think is his best role -- Carl Kolchak, the hard-charging, monster-fighting reporter looking for the truth in Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
With his straw porkpie hat and blue seersucker suit, and armed only with a pen and notebook, portable recorder, and a cheap camera, Kolchak went up against things that go bump in the night, overworked police detectives, and his constantly frustrated editor weekly for one shining season.
I was in college, studying journalism, in 1972 when ABC aired one of its movies of the week, a little horror story named The Night Stalker, with a script by Richard Matheson and based on an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice. It was the tale of a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter, Kolchak, who’s covering a series of murders in Las Vegas. He finds out they’re being committed by a vampire, and the authorities are trying to cover it up. After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?
McGavin brought the right combination of world weariness and enthusiasm to get at the truth to the role to make Kolchak a believable, and memorable, character. In fact, during my newspaper career I encountered a couple of reporters who reminded me of Kolchak. One ate regularly at a hospital cafeteria because it had good food and was cheaper than restaurant.
The Night Stalker was the highest-rated TV movie of its time thanks to its realistic depiction of a vampire story. In that era, vampires pretty much were confined to Hammer Films period piece horror movies, so having one making his bloody rounds in modern-day America was unique and original. And fun.
In 1973, ABC aired a sequel, The Night Strangler, with Kolchak now in Seattle – after being run out of Vegas – where he discovers another serial killer, this one a 19th-century doctor who discovered the secret to immortality. Unfortunately, the secret required the deaths of exotic dancers. Once again, ABC had a hit. Network execs shelved plans for a third movie and instead decided to launch a series featuring Kolchak.
McGavin and Simon Oakland, who played Kolchak’s suffering editor Tony Vincenzo in both movies, were brought onto the series. Kolchak: The Night Stalker was set in Chicago where Kolchak and Tony worked for the INS news service. Starting in 1974, the series presented a different supernatural mystery for Kolchak to solve each week. There were zombies, werewolves, witches, a headless biker (one of my favorite episodes), banshees, and even a vampire who had been a victim of the bloodsucker in the original movie.
The series started strong, but having to come up with a monster of the week proved challenging to writers and producers, so as it progressed it got more campy than scary. It lasted one season. However, Kolchak: The Night Stalker developed a cult following still devoted to the series today (it airs at midnight Saturdays on MeTV) and even remains alive in a comic book/graphic novel series.
Two novelizations of The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, both by Jeff Rice – who created the story — were released, and can be found for healthy prices today on e-Bay and Amazon.
More importantly, the Kolchak series inspired future TV writers and creators. It’s the virtual father of The X-Files and Supernatural.
While the stories were fantastic, some even campy and over the top, Darren McGavin played Carl Kolchak as straight as he could. No matter the situation, McGavin did his best to not let Kolchak become just another tongue-in-cheek character. He took his role seriously, even complaining about the quality of the writing in the latter part of the series and trying to get better stories.
Many fans, including me, also thought Kolchak was one of the best representations of a reporter on television. For one thing, he wasn’t rich or even well off. None of us in-the-trenches ink-stained wretches were. Getting to the truth, defending the public’s right to know was one of Kolchak’s main goals, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him, whether it was a tough cop, an ambitious politician, a dangerous mobster, or a headless biker with a sharp sword.
Kolchak asked the tough questions, pressed hard to get the answers, wouldn’t take “no comment” as an answer. He wore out shoe leather pursuing leads, following up on tips, and tracking down new angles to his stories. He did his research, which meant spending a lot of time thumbing through public records, reading official reports, finding experts, and going to libraries, public officials' offices and wherever the leads led.
That’s what reporters are supposed to do.
Kolchak was concerned with getting the story, not getting web hits, or likes on social media, or page views online. Yes, I know that’s how contemporary journalism works; those were the concerns when I left the business. But, it seems sometimes the tools and page views and getting it out fast take precedent over the stories and getting them right. Getting a scoop is great, but making sure it’s accurate is more important than speed. Occasionally, it takes a little time to get a story and get it right.
About the same time as the Kolchak era, two real-life newspaper reporters stumbled upon a big story. One of the country’s biggest stories ever. Like their fictional counterpart, they followed leads, checked on tips, tracked down different angles to their story. They also faced opposition and threats, but they didn’t give up. In the end, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein didn’t battle a monster, but they did uncover a little political scandal and cover-up known as Watergate.
And they did it the old-fashioned way, like Carl Kolchak.
So, as we Kolchak fans mark Darren McGavin’s 96th birthday, let’s salute him for the hours of fun and entertainment he gave us as the monster-hunting reporter, and as Ralphie’s old man, and in his many other roles. Let’s also thank him for showing the world what a reporter does -- monsters and things that go bump in the night aside.
But, for me and a lot of fans, Darren McGavin will always be known for what we think is his best role -- Carl Kolchak, the hard-charging, monster-fighting reporter looking for the truth in Kolchak: The Night Stalker.With his straw porkpie hat and blue seersucker suit, and armed only with a pen and notebook, portable recorder, and a cheap camera, Kolchak went up against things that go bump in the night, overworked police detectives, and his constantly frustrated editor weekly for one shining season.
I was in college, studying journalism, in 1972 when ABC aired one of its movies of the week, a little horror story named The Night Stalker, with a script by Richard Matheson and based on an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice. It was the tale of a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter, Kolchak, who’s covering a series of murders in Las Vegas. He finds out they’re being committed by a vampire, and the authorities are trying to cover it up. After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?
McGavin brought the right combination of world weariness and enthusiasm to get at the truth to the role to make Kolchak a believable, and memorable, character. In fact, during my newspaper career I encountered a couple of reporters who reminded me of Kolchak. One ate regularly at a hospital cafeteria because it had good food and was cheaper than restaurant.
The Night Stalker was the highest-rated TV movie of its time thanks to its realistic depiction of a vampire story. In that era, vampires pretty much were confined to Hammer Films period piece horror movies, so having one making his bloody rounds in modern-day America was unique and original. And fun.
In 1973, ABC aired a sequel, The Night Strangler, with Kolchak now in Seattle – after being run out of Vegas – where he discovers another serial killer, this one a 19th-century doctor who discovered the secret to immortality. Unfortunately, the secret required the deaths of exotic dancers. Once again, ABC had a hit. Network execs shelved plans for a third movie and instead decided to launch a series featuring Kolchak.
McGavin and Simon Oakland, who played Kolchak’s suffering editor Tony Vincenzo in both movies, were brought onto the series. Kolchak: The Night Stalker was set in Chicago where Kolchak and Tony worked for the INS news service. Starting in 1974, the series presented a different supernatural mystery for Kolchak to solve each week. There were zombies, werewolves, witches, a headless biker (one of my favorite episodes), banshees, and even a vampire who had been a victim of the bloodsucker in the original movie.
The series started strong, but having to come up with a monster of the week proved challenging to writers and producers, so as it progressed it got more campy than scary. It lasted one season. However, Kolchak: The Night Stalker developed a cult following still devoted to the series today (it airs at midnight Saturdays on MeTV) and even remains alive in a comic book/graphic novel series.
Two novelizations of The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, both by Jeff Rice – who created the story — were released, and can be found for healthy prices today on e-Bay and Amazon.
More importantly, the Kolchak series inspired future TV writers and creators. It’s the virtual father of The X-Files and Supernatural.
While the stories were fantastic, some even campy and over the top, Darren McGavin played Carl Kolchak as straight as he could. No matter the situation, McGavin did his best to not let Kolchak become just another tongue-in-cheek character. He took his role seriously, even complaining about the quality of the writing in the latter part of the series and trying to get better stories.
Many fans, including me, also thought Kolchak was one of the best representations of a reporter on television. For one thing, he wasn’t rich or even well off. None of us in-the-trenches ink-stained wretches were. Getting to the truth, defending the public’s right to know was one of Kolchak’s main goals, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him, whether it was a tough cop, an ambitious politician, a dangerous mobster, or a headless biker with a sharp sword.
Kolchak asked the tough questions, pressed hard to get the answers, wouldn’t take “no comment” as an answer. He wore out shoe leather pursuing leads, following up on tips, and tracking down new angles to his stories. He did his research, which meant spending a lot of time thumbing through public records, reading official reports, finding experts, and going to libraries, public officials' offices and wherever the leads led.That’s what reporters are supposed to do.
Kolchak was concerned with getting the story, not getting web hits, or likes on social media, or page views online. Yes, I know that’s how contemporary journalism works; those were the concerns when I left the business. But, it seems sometimes the tools and page views and getting it out fast take precedent over the stories and getting them right. Getting a scoop is great, but making sure it’s accurate is more important than speed. Occasionally, it takes a little time to get a story and get it right.
About the same time as the Kolchak era, two real-life newspaper reporters stumbled upon a big story. One of the country’s biggest stories ever. Like their fictional counterpart, they followed leads, checked on tips, tracked down different angles to their story. They also faced opposition and threats, but they didn’t give up. In the end, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein didn’t battle a monster, but they did uncover a little political scandal and cover-up known as Watergate.
And they did it the old-fashioned way, like Carl Kolchak.
So, as we Kolchak fans mark Darren McGavin’s 96th birthday, let’s salute him for the hours of fun and entertainment he gave us as the monster-hunting reporter, and as Ralphie’s old man, and in his many other roles. Let’s also thank him for showing the world what a reporter does -- monsters and things that go bump in the night aside.
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment