KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER AUTOGRAPHS

One of my favorite television series in my High School years was Darren McGavin in Kolchak:The Night Stalker. The main cast of the show was simple there was the star Darren McGavin, his long suffering boss Simon Oakland, his insufferable co-worker Jack Grinnage and the sweet advice/puzzle columnist Ruth McDevitt. There was an attempt to add another co-worker played by Carol Ann Susi for three episodes. John Fiedler played "Gordy" the morgue worker in three episodes. The roles of police officers were often given to solid character actors such as Keenan Wynn (2 episodes), John Dehner, William Daniels, Charles Aidman and James Gregory among others. Richard Keil played the monster in two episodes. Sadly there were only 20 episodes of the series and two movies. There was an ill advised attempt to do a remake of the series that bore no resemblance to the classic original.

Here is Darren McGavin:

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 17, 2015 at 9:07am

SIMON OAKLAND (1915-1983) played Kolchak's easily angered boss Tony Vincenzo in all 20 episodes of the series and both movies. He was among the finest character actors of his generation and his performances always interesting. He often played an angry sometimes even a bully role like in the Steve McQueen classic The Sand Pebbles in 1966. He played the sensitive psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richman in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho in 1962. He starred in the crime drama Toma in 1973-1974 before taking on his Tony Vincenzo role on Kolchak: The Night Stalker. This is a yellow index card from JGAutographs Inc.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 17, 2015 at 9:11am

JACK GRINNAGE (1931- ) the last of the original cast members of Kolchak:The Night Stalker with the exception of a few guest stars. He played the finicky Ron Updyke. He also appeared on one episode of The Munsters and The Twilight Zone.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 24, 2016 at 8:09am

JACK GRINNAGE aka Ron Updyke.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 17, 2015 at 11:38am

RUTH MCDEVITT (1895-1976) originally was cast in a bit part in the "Ripper" episode of Kolchak but she was later given the role of "Miss Emily" appearing in a total of 12 episodes.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on March 11, 2018 at 9:30pm

Ohh! That WAS her! Good eyes Scott! "The man with the X-ray eyes?" Was that what she said?

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 25, 2018 at 4:06pm

Just saw this. Yes it was Ruth McDivitt I am certain they probably cast her for her regular role because of that. She added a lot to the show as the only one that was not a nemesis of Kolchak.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on March 11, 2018 at 9:32pm

"I think her part on Kolchak was meant to be a female thorn in Kolchak's side, but there was little space for her."

I dunno, in that Zombie episode Karl got her in that trunk pretty quickly! ;)

Good episode too! "Dinner! Delicious with black beans and rice!"

"Oh sonny! You already drank the rum! The white rum?"

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 25, 2018 at 4:11pm

Zapata? The painted elephant's keepers name in the energy eater episode? "Poor Zapata?" right? I love the episode. This is a great thread BTW.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 25, 2018 at 4:51pm

I will have to watch that again I did not pick up on the keeper's name. I go back and forth on my favorite episode my top contenders are this one, the werewolf one and Horror in the Heights. Those are the ones I tend to watch over and over. I think "They Have Been, They Are...They Will Be..." is probably my favorite. With James Gregory, Mary Wickes and Dick Van Patten, John Fiedler, Phil Leeds and Fritz Feld so much great talent in it.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 25, 2018 at 5:04pm

Economic writing too - no "alien" to pay. I love the way the scenes in the planetarium and outside are played. It was one of the great shows of my childhood. Friday nights...my dad would go food shopping after work and get home about 10:45. I would take an entire loaf of Italian bread, fill it with salami, pepperoni, ham, provolone, lettuce, roasted peppers, tomato, balsamic...everything. I'd eat that through Fantasy Island, and then this stuff would come on. This was right about when we went from b/w to color (here anyway)! And then...Star Trek and the Twilight Zone! Something like that.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 25, 2018 at 5:17pm

I am so glad they did not try to show the Aliens it would have no doubt have looked terrible. One of the things that still makes a bit scary is the fact you do not see the danger. I was in senior high school when this aired on prime time it was my favorite show. I hated when it was cancelled. The episodes still hold up after so many years. It was 1984 before I bought a color television set.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on August 12, 2016 at 12:05pm

ANDREW PRINE (1936- ) he appeared in lots of westerns such as John Wayne's Chisum (1970). He was in the horror movie Grizzly in 1976. He appeared in one episode of Kolchak the Night Stalker as Professor C. Evan Spate in the episode "Demon in Lace". He is one of those faces you recognize instantly. While not rare his autograph is not common either. This is from a 1960s employment record: