On this day in 1972 the Fantasy/Horror TV movie, The Night Stalker, debuted on broadcast television, creating a phenomenon that would endure through a follow-up film and a spin-off TV series. Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, the film starred Darren McGavin as the signature reporter chasing after monsters and supernatural critters, finding them, defeating them, and then having his findings quashed by cops, politicians, corporations and other establishment types.
The Night Stalker set a record for the most viewed made-for-TV film. It was followed by a sequel, The Night Strangler, and a television series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, both of which had McGavin reprising his role as Carl Kolchak.
Chris Carter cited Kolchak as a direct predecessor for The X-Files, and used it’s tone and structure as a blueprint for his own show. The recurring X-Files character “Senator Richard Matheson” was a tribute to the writer of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”, Richard Matheson. Finally, in seasons five and six, Carter managed to cast Darren McGavin himself on The X-Filed as retired FBI agent Arthur Dales, the man who founded the X-Files.
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