#Carl Kolchak

[fredbydawn]

I’m from the better timeline where instead of superwholock, we made crossover slash of middle aged men from 70’s detective shows

#my video tag #cuz why not #columbo #lieutenant columbo #carl kolchak #kolchak the night stalker #gay metv watchers unite #kolchak

[chernobog13]

Ah, my old friend, Carl Kolchak.

You whippersnappers today will never know the thrill of tuning-in at 10 pm Friday nights in a darkened house (when somehow I always seemed to be left home alone), and spending the next 60 minutes alternating between laughing and getting the crap scared out of you

Heck, the theme song alone used to give me chills. Brrr...I just got 'em right now thinking about it.

This Sunday, as I do every year on October 1st, I'll queue-up the DVD boxset of the entire series and spend the next several evenings reliving Carl's adventures dealing with all manner of ghosts, ghouls, killer robots and more.

But I'm gonna leave a light on.

#The Night Stalker #Kolchak the Night Stalker #Carl Kolchak #Darren McGavin

[couldtheycatchkira]

#Death Note #Kolchak the Night Stalker #Carl Kolchak

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Libraries and Librarians on Film: The Night Strangler (1973 / TV Movie)

The Night Strangler was the second TV movie to feature Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak, the investigative reporter who would go on to be the star of a short-lived but highly influential TV series called Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

The formula of most Kolchak stories goes something like this:

Kolchak is an investigative reporter who's having trouble finding / holding down a job. Sometimes it's because he steps on too many people's toes, and sometimes it's because the cases he investigates are simply unbelievable.

He gets a new case, which seems at first to be ordinary, but it turns out that there's actually something paranormal going on.

He uncovers evidence, but people don't believe him. He yells at his boss, and his boss yells at him.

HOWEVER, he does gain one or more allies along the way. Sometimes they just believe his story, and sometimes they actively help with his investigation, even if that means putting their own lives at risk.

More stepping on toes. More yelling.

The case is solved by Kolchak, who knows that he's right about the vampire / zombie / etc. that was really behind it all. But either nobody believes him, or the people who do believe him can't do anything about it. Kolchak's newspaper story is either suppressed entirely or changed completely.

In case it wasn't obvious, I'm a big fan of the Kolchak movies and TV show, as well as Kolchak's spiritual successors like The X-Files and Fringe.

But why am I singling out this particular story? Because one of Kolchak's allies in The Night Strangler is a smart, curious, and helpful man called Mr. Berry (played by Wally Cox in one of his final roles). Mr. Berry isn't a librarian per se, but he DOES work with archives. He works in the morgue of the Daily Chronicle, which is the newspaper in Seattle that's employing Kolchak as he tries to solve a bizarre series of murders.

Kolchak himself isn't a big fan of research, but he knows that he needs a researcher to help him with this case:

When he meets Mr. Berry, he quickly learns how he feels about research:

[Personal Question: So, should I have "Research. That's where the joy lies." put on my business cards by itself? Or should I also add in the line "This is where the meat is found."???]

ANYWAY, Kolchak visits Mr. Berry multiple times during his investigation, and it's Mr. Berry who first suggests that the current murders are very similar to some murders that took place 21 years earlier ...

And this encourages them to search further back ...

And further back ...

And even FURTHER back ...

By the time that Kolchak has stepped on so many toes that he's been handcuffed by the police, it's Mr. Berry who comes to the rescue with supporting evidence that will show that Kolchak isn't crazy after all:

Which leads us to Mr. Berry's moment of justly-deserved recognition:

Of course, just because Kolchak was right doesn't mean that his story is going to be published. In fact, the real story will never make it to print. Sound familiar?

But on the plus side, the success of these TV movies DID lead to Kolchak's own TV series!

While the New York Public Library doesn't carry any of the Kolchak TV movies / series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker IS included in the book The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time by Christopher J. Olson.

If you'd like to immerse yourself in the Kolchak movies and TV episodes, here are some links to help you find more information about them, as well as any renting / streaming / buying options:

The Night Stalker (TV movie): IMDB / JustWatch / Amazon

The Night Strangler (TV movie): IMDB / JustWatch / Amazon

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (TV series): IMDB / JustWatch / Amazon

#Libraries & Librarians on Film #The Night Strangler #Kolchak #Carl Kolchak #Kolchak the Night Stalker #libraries #archives #Kingsbridge Library #NYPL

[raineszramski]

(Very) Rough sketchbook drawings of Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak. I just wanted to have some messy fun sketching him. I haven't drawn Kolchak since I was 12, so I thought I was long overdue. (And we're talking about the first time it aired in the '70s. Yikes.)

#kolchak the night stalker #carl kolchak #darren mcgavin #sketchbook stuff

[brundleflyforawhiteguy]

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

#kolchak the night stalker #carl kolchak #darren mcgavin #horror tv

[contentabnormal]

Barry Atwater as Janos Skorzeny in The Night Stalker

Watercolors on Paper, 8.5" x 11", 2024

By Josh Ryals

#barry atwater #janos skorzeny #the night stalker #carl kolchak #darren mcgavin #dan curtis #70s horror #vampire #las vega #fan art #original art #portrait #painting #josh ryals #joshua ryals #josh ryals art #joshua ryals art #joshryalsart

[should-they-shouldnt-they]

Columbo and Carl Kolchak

#kolchak the night stalker #carl kolchak #columbo #tumblr polls #polls

[bruceshideout]

Kolchak crashes the Mad Monster Party!

#kolchak #carl kolchak #kolchak: the night stalker #mad monster party #rankin bass #vintage halloween #vintage hororr #retro horror #retro Halloween

[pandorasboxofhorrors]

#halloween #the night stalker #carl kolchak #kolchak the night stalker #the boogeyman

[darklongbox]

Check out our blog and podcast, darklings, and gain our eternal infernal gratitude.

Listen to the show here:

#horror #scifi #comics #comicart #science fiction #art #horror art #illustration #movies #horror comics #marvel #marvel comics #dracula #tomb of dracula #gene colan #marv wolfman #carl kolchak

[jessicafangirl]

For those who hadn't seen this yet and with Late Night With The Devil hitting this week on Shudder, I figured it would be a good time to reshare the Nightstalker retrospective I did which David kindly joined in on as a fan of the film and series. It helped inspire his comics too.

#david dastmalchian #horror movies #vampires #late night with the devil #shudder #carl kolchak #The Nightstalker #the 70s #Youtube

[patart-illustrations-stuff]

Darren McGavin as 

KOLCHAK, The Night Stalker

#kolchak #Darren McGavin #carl kolchak #the night stalker

[raineszramski]

From the files of Carl Kolchak: "11:00 am: I needed a caffeine fix in order to endure Vincenzo's noon tirade. But little did I know that the warm autumn feeling that I was craving in coffee form was anything but mutual. I wanted pumpkin spice—but it was the pumpkin spice that wanted ME."

Sketchbook stuff. 🎃

#kolchak the night stalker #carl kolchak #darren mcgavin #pumpkin spice #sketchbook stuff #Halloween

[brundleflyforawhiteguy]

The Night Stalker (1972)

#carl kolchak #the night stalker #darren mcgavin #richard matheson #horror ad #vampires

[leonardoeatscarrots]

Art print of mine for Dana Fucking Gould.

Hope he enjoys his model.

#not even kidding #god its a long story #dana gould #kolchak the night stalker #carl kolchak #model #model kit #art #artist on tumblr #my art #art print #the simpsons #yes that dana gould