TV producer Dan Curtis had a 5-decade career in television production and was involved in everything from drama to comedy, but his favorite was scarring people. He died late yesterday of a brain tumor, Dan was 78.

His most ambitious gift to entertainment was the highly rated and critically acclaimed miniseries “The Winds of War” and the follow-up sequel “War and Rememberance.” He also did stints on “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling and worked on the original “Night Stalker” and “Night Strangler.”

However, what most fans will always remember him for was his unique addition to the soap opera circuit that brought something a tad different to the genre, horror and the supernatural. Of course I’m talking about Curtis’s most memborable creation Dark Shadows. The gothic soap spawned to feature films, starring that intriquing vampire Barnabas, “House of Dark Shadows” and “Night of Dark Shadows.”

Curtis kept busy even toward the end of his life acting as consulting producer of the short-lived remake of “The Night Stalker” which was recently cancelled by ABC.