Born on this day – Richard Matheson:

 

Richard Matheson

Writer

February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013

Credits:

Books:

65 Great Spine Chillers (1982); 7 Steps to Midnight (1993); A Primer of Reality (2002); A Stir of Echoes (1958); Abu and the 7 Marvels (2002); American Pulp (1997); Best of Science Fiction: No. 10 (1964); Bloodlines (2006); Button, Button: Uncanny Stories (2007); By the Gun (1994); California Sorcery (1999); Camp Pleasant (2001); Collected Stories, Vol. 1 (1989); Collected Stories, Vol. 2 (2005); Collected Stories, Vol. 3 (2005); Come Fygures, Come Shadowes (2003); Comedy of Terrors (1964); Completely Doomed (2007); Darker Places (2004); Duel — Horror Stories of the Road (1987); Duel (1971); Earthbound (1982); Flight or Fright (2018); Fury on Sunday (1953); Generations (2012); Great Black Magic Stories (1974); Great Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1985); Haunts: Reliquaries of the Dead (2011); Hell House (1971); Hot Blood Tales of Erotic Horror (1989); Hunger and Thirst (2000); Hunted Past Reason (2002); I Am Legend / The Omega Man (1954); If This Goes On (1965); Journal of the Gun Years (1991); Kiss the Whip (2005); Kolchak Scripts (2003); Kolchak the Night Stalker Volume 1 (2004); Laughing Space: An Anthology of Science Fiction Humor (1982); Leave Yesterday Alone (2013); Masques V (2006); Mediums Rare (2000); Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1961); Now You See It... (1995); Off Beat: Uncollected Stories (2020); Other Kingdoms (2011); Passion Play (2000); Pride (2002); Richard Matheson Uncollected: Backteria and Other Improbable Tales (2011); Ride the Nightmare (1959); Road Rage (2012); Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master (1995); Rod Serling’s Night Gallery Reader (1987); Rod Serling’s Other Worlds (1978); Second Annual Collection (1989); Shadow on the Sun (1994); Shock!: Thirteen Tales to Thrill and Terrify (1961); Shock II: Thirteen Tales to Haunt the Imagination (1964); Shock III (1966); Shock Waves (1970); Slaughter House (1953); Someone is Bleeding (1953); Somewhere In Time / Bid Time Return (1975); Star Science Fiction Stories 3 (1955); Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 (1953); Star Science Fiction Stories No. 5 (1972); Steel and Other Stories (2011); Stranger: Dark Tales of Eerie Encounters (2002); Taps and Sighs (2000); The Beardless Warriors of World War II (1960); The Best Horror Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1988); The Best of Cemetery Dance II (2008); The Box (2008); The Dead That Walk (2009); The Devil’s Generation (1973); The Gun Fight (1993); The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Shrinking Man (1956); The Link (2006); The Mammoth Book of Body Horror (2012); The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok (1996); The Monster Book of Monsters (1988); The Night Stalker (1973); The Night Strangler (1974); The Path (1993); The Richard Matheson Companion (2007); The Shores of Space (1957); The Time Traveler’s Almanac (2013); The Twilight Zone (2017); The Twilight Zone Scripts (1998); The Year’s Best Fantasy 2 / Demons and Dreams (1990); The Young Oxford Book of Nasty Endings (1998); Third from the Sun: Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1954); Unrealized Dreams (2005); Visions Deferred (2009); Visions of Death: Richard Matheson’s Edgar Allan Poe Scripts, Vol. 1 (2007); What Dreams May Come (1978); Woman / Third from the Sun / Born of Man (1954).

Movies and television:

100 Years of Horror (1996); 100 Years of Horror: The Aristocrats of Evil (1996); 100 Years of Horror: The Evil Unseeable (1996); 20 heures le journal (2007); Am I the Last (2019); Amazing Stories (1986–1987); American Masters (1995); Animus: The Tell-Tale Heart (2015); Back to 'Somewhere in Time' (2000); Black Magic: The Making of the Devil Rides Out (2012); Blood Son (2006); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1966); Bourbon Street Beat (1960); Buckskin (1959); Captains and the Kings (1976); Catnado (2022); Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man (2010); Cheyenne (1960); Cineficción Radio (2019–2020); Circle of Fear (1972–1973); Cold Sweat (1970); Combat! (1962); Corman's Comedy of Poe (2003); Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011); Creating 'I Am Legend' (2008); Dark Dreamers (2011); De Sade (1969); Dead of Night / Segment: No Such Thing as a Vampire (1977); Die Prüfung (1973); Die! Die! My Darling! (1965); Dracula (1974); Duel (1971); Dying Room Only (1973); Family Guy (2010); Have Gun - Will Travel (1960); HBO First Look (2007); Hideouser and Hideouser (2019); House of Usher (1960); I Am Legend (2007 / 2008); I Am Omega (2007); In the Year 2889 / It's Alive! (1969); Jaws 3-D (1983); Journey to the Unknown (1968); Late Night Horror (1968); Lawman (1960–1962); L'esame (2007); Loose Cannons (1990); Markham (1959); Master of the World (1961); Masters of Fantasy (1998); Masters of Horror (2005); Minty Comedic Arts (2019); My Ambition (2006); Night Gallery (1971–1972); Night of the Eagle (1962); Now Is Tomorrow (1958); Official onesheet. (2011); Perry Como's Christmas in Paris (1982); Perry Como's French-Canadian Christmas (1981); Person to Person (2011); Prey (1983); Rabid Love (2012); Racconti di fantascienza (1979); Real Steel (2011); Richard Matheson Storyteller: Comedy of Terrors (2003); Richard Matheson Storyteller: The Raven (2003); Richard Matheson: The Writing of 'Duel' (2004); Scream of the Wolf (1974); Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy (2005); Shoestring Theatre (1962); Someone Is Bleeding (1974); Somewhere in Time (1980); Soy leyenda (1967); Star Trek (1966); Stir of Echoes (1999); Studio 57 (1955); Tales of Terror (1962); TCM Remembers 2013 (2013); The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards (2013); The AckerMonster Chronicles! (2012); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962–1963); The Beat Generation (1959); The Box (2006 / 2009); The Comedy of Terrors (1963); The D.A.'s Man (1959); The Devil Rides Out (1968); The Dreamer of Oz (1990); The Famous Monsters 1993 World Convention Souvenir Video (1993); The Fearmakers Collection (2007); The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966); The Godfather Part II (1974); The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992); The Godfather: A Novel for Television (1977); The Holiday Man (2009); The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957); The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981); The Last Man on Earth (1964); The Last of the Living (2022); The Last Rites of Richard Keene (2010); The Legend of Hell House (1973); The Life After Death Project (2013); The Martian Chronicles (1980); The Mike Douglas Show (1978); The Morning After (1974); The Near Departed (2012); The Night Stalker (1972); The Night Strangler (1973); The Omega Man (1971); The Oscars (2014); The Outer Limits (1996); The Pit and the Pendulum (1961); The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960); The Raven (1963); The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977); The Stranger Within (1974); The Twilight Zone (1959–2019); The Twilight Zone / Segment: Button, Button (1986); The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas (2006–2010); The Young Warriors (1967); This Week in Comedy (2010); Thriller (1961); Trilogy of Terror / Segment: Amelia (1975); Trilogy of Terror II / Segment: Bobby (1996); Trilogy of Terror: Terror Scribe (2006); Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics (1994); Twilight Zone: The Definitive Edition Interviews (2005); Twilight Zone: The Movie / Segment: four (1983); Vampirismus (1982); Wanted: Dead or Alive (1959); What Dreams May Come (2009).

Born on this day – Whitney Blake:

Whitney Blake

Actress

Writer

Director

February 20, 1926 – September 28, 2002

Credits:

-30- (1959); 77 Sunset Strip (1958–1960); A Face in the Crowd (1981); Adventures in Paradise (1960); Alcoa Theatre (1958); Anatomy of a Crime (1969); Bachelor Father (1960); Batman (1967); Big Town (1956); Bonanza (1959); Branded (1966); Bronco (1960–1961); Cannon (1974); Cavalcade of America (1957); Cheyenne (1957–1960); Circus Boy (1957); Collector's Item: The Left Fist of David (1957); Destination Space (1959); Family (1979); Frontier Justice (1959); Gunsmoke (1959–1973); Gypsy (1968); Hazel (1961–1965); Here's Boomer (1980); Here's Hollywood (1962); Hunter (1977); Ironside (1975); Johnny Midnight (1960); Kraft Mystery Theater (1962); Laredo (1966); Law and Order (1976); Love, American Style / Segment: Love and the Boss's Ex (1970); M Squad (1958–1960); Mannix (1967); Markham (1959); Maverick (1958); Medic (1956); Medical Story (1975); Michael Shayne (1960); Mike Hammer (1958); Mobile One (1975); My Gun Is Quick (1957); One Day at a Time (1975–2020); Overland Trail (1960); Panic! (1958); Perry Mason (1957–1958); Pete and Gladys (1960); Pete Kelly's Blues (1959); Playhouse 90 (1959); Pony Express (1959); Pursuit (1958); Rawhide (1959–1960); Reno's Kids: 87 Days + 11 (1987); Returning Home (1975); Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1959); Riverboat (1960); Route 66 (1961); Schlitz Playhouse (1957); Shotgun Slade (1959); Solo en America (1998–2000); State Trooper (1957–1959); Strange Homecoming (1974); Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers (1957); Tales of Wells Fargo (1959–1960); The Andy Griffith Show (1967); The Aquanauts (1961); The Betsy (1978); The Boy Who Stole the Elephant (1970); The D.A.'s Man (1959); The Deputy (1959); The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1958); The Legend of Jesse James (1966); The Lineup (1959); The Loretta Young Show (1959); The Magical World of Disney (1970); The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966); The Mike Douglas Show (1963–1964); The Millionaire (1957–1960); The O. Henry Playhouse (1957); The Outsider (1968); The Restless Gun (1959); The Sheriff of Cochise (1957); The Stranger Who Looks Like Me (1974); The Texan (1959); The Virginian (1967); Thriller (1960); Tightrope (1960); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); Whirlybirds (1957); Whitney (2018); Wire Service (1957); You Don't Say (1963); Zane Grey Theatre (1957–1958).

Born on this day – Sidney Poitier:

Sidney Poitier

Actor

Director

Diplomat

February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022

Credits:

The Last Brickmaker in America (2001); The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999); David and Lisa (1998); Free of Eden (1998); The Jackal: Alternate Ending (1998); The Jackal (1997); Mandela and de Klerk (1997); To Sir, with Love II (1996); Children of the Dust (1995); Sneakers (1992); Separate But Equal (1991); Little Nikita (1988); Shoot to Kill (1988); A Piece of the Action (1977); Let's Do It Again (1975); The Wilby Conspiracy (1975); Uptown Saturday Night (1974); A Warm December (1973); Buck and the Preacher (1972); The Organization (1971); Brother John (1971); They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970); The Lost Man (1969); For Love of Ivy (1968); Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967); In the Heat of the Night (1967); To Sir, with Love (1967); Duel at Diablo (1966); A Patch of Blue (1965); The Slender Thread (1965); The Bedford Incident (1965); The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); The Long Ships (1964); Lilies of the Field (1963); Pressure Point (1962); Paris Blues (1961); A Raisin in the Sun (1961); All the Young Men (1960); Porgy and Bess (1959); Our Virgin Island (1958); The Defiant Ones (1958); The Mark of the Hawk (1957); Band of Angels (1957); Something of Value (1957); Edge of the City (1957); Good-bye, My Lady (1956); Kraft Theatre (1952–1955); Ponds Theater (1955); Blackboard Jungle (1955); Go Man Go (1954); Omnibus (segment entitled The Bad Men) (1952); Red Ball Express (1952); CBS Television Workshop (1952); Cry, the Beloved Country (1951); No Way Out (1950); Sepia Cinderella (1947).

Born on this day – Amanda Blake:

Amanda Blake

Actress

February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989

Credits:

A Star Is Born (1954); A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954); About Mrs. Leslie (1954); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956); B.O.R.N. (1989); Bachelor's Haven (1952); Betrayal (1974); Bicentennial Minutes (1975); Breakaway (1983); Brothers (1986); Cattle Town (1952); Cavalcade of America (1953); Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974–1975); China Corsair (1951); Clown Alley (1966); Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard (1950); Country-Time mit Freddy Quinn (1983); Criminal Lawyer (1951); Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Dennis Weaver (1976); Dinah! (1974); Dragnet (1989); Duchess of Idaho (1950); Family Feud (1984); Fireside Theatre (1953–1954); Four Star Playhouse (1954); General Electric Theater (1953–1959); Gunsmoke (1955–1974); Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987); Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990); Hart to Hart (1983); Hee Haw (1971); Here's Hollywood (1960); High Society (1955); Hollywood Talent Scouts (1966); Hour Magazine (1986); It Takes Two (1970); It's Your Bet (1970–1972); Jerry Visits (1972); Lili (1953); Live! On City Line (1987); Lux Video Theatre (1953); Match Game (1974); Miss Robin Crusoe (1953); Never Trust a Gambler (1951); Panorama Pacific (1956); Password (1965–1972); Pat Boone in Hollywood (1968); Philbin's People (1970); Pioneers of Television (2011); Red Skelton: A Comedy Scrapbook (1981); Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders and Ad-Libs (1994); Sabre Jet (1953); Scarlet Angel (1952); Schlitz Playhouse (1952); Smuggler's Gold (1951); Stars in My Crown (1950); Star's Table (1986); State Trooper (1957); Steve Canyon (1959); Studio One (1958); Stump the Stars (1963); Sunny Side of the Street (1951); Tattletales (1974–1975); Television: The First Fifty Years (1999); The 54th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade (1985); The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954); The Alan Hamel Show (1977); The Best Little Special in Texas (1982); The Boost (1988); The David Frost Show (1972); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: George Burns (1978); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon (1975); The Dick Cavett Show (1971); The Donald O'Connor Show (1969); The Edge of Night (1956–1984); The Family Secret (1951); The Glass Slipper (1955); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1969–1974); The John Davidson Show (1981); The Linkletter Show (1964); The Love Boat (1979); The Merv Griffin Show (1970–1974); The Mike Douglas Show (1972–1974); The New Hollywood Squares (1987); The Pet Set (1971); The Quest (1976); The Red Skelton Hour (1955–1963); The Wildest West Show of the Stars (1986); This Is Your Life (1972); TV's Western Heroes (1993); You Don't Say (1969).

Born on this day – Brion James:

Brion James

Actor

February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999

Credits:

48 Hrs. (1982); A Breed Apart (1984); A Place Called Truth (1998); Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1996); Amazing Stories (1985); American Playhouse (1982); American Strays (1996); Annihilator (1986); Another 48 Hrs. (1990); Armed and Dangerous (1986); Art Deco Detective (1994); Arthur's Quest (1999); Assault on Dome 4 (1996); B.J. and the Bear (1979); Back in Business (1997); Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1993); Benson (1981); Big Shamus, Little Shamus (1979); Billy Lone Bear (1996); Black Magic (1992); Black Sea 213 (2000); Blade Runner (1982); Blade Runner / Video Game (1997); Blade Runner: Deleted and Alternate Scenes (2007); Blue Sunshine (1977); Bombshell (1997); Border to Border (1998); Bound for Glory (1976); Brain Smasher... A Love Story (1993); Brown's Requiem (1998); Cabin Boy (1994); Cagney & Lacey (1983); Cherry 2000 (1987); Chico and the Man (1978); CHiPs (1979–1981); Circles in a Forest (1989); City of Angels (1976); Conquest of the Earth (1980); Corvette Summer (1978); Crimewave (1985); Cyberjack (1995); D.O.A. (1988); Dark Justice (1993); Dead Man Walking (1988); Deadly Ransom (1998); Desperado: The Outlaw Wars (1989); Diplomatic Siege (1999); Dirt Merchant (1999); Dominion (1995); Dynasty (1986); Enemy Mine (1985); Enid Is Sleeping (1990); Evil Obsession (1996); F.T.W. (1994); Farewell, My Love (2000); Flesh+Blood (1985); Flying High (1978); Foolish (1999); Frogtown II (1992); Future Shock (1994); Galactica 1980 (1980); General Hospital (1980); Get Christie Love! (1974); Goober & the Truckers' Paradise (1978); Gunsmoke (1975); Hard Times / aka Street Fighter (1975); Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976); Hear No Evil (1982); Heist (1998); Highlander (1994); Hong Kong 97 (1994); House III: The Horror Show (1989); Hunter (1988–1991); In God's Hands (1998); Indecent Behavior III (1995); Jekyll Island (1998); Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1995); Johnny Bago (1993); Johnny Staccato (1977); Joseph's Gift (1999); Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller (1998); Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (1983); Killing at Hell's Gate (1981); Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978); Knight Rider 2010 (1994); Little House on the Prairie (1982); Lone Star (1983); Love Among Thieves (1987); M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994); Malevolence (1999); Marco Polo: The Missing Chapter (1996); Matlock (1987); Men in Black: The Series (1998); Men in White (1998); Miami Vice (1988); Millennium (1998); Miracles (1986); Mom (1990); Mork & Mindy (1978); Movie Nights (2012); Mutator (1989); Nemesis (1992); Nickelodeon (1976); Nightmare at Noon (1988); On My Honor (1988); Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992); Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980); Phoenix Point (2005); Precious Find (1996); Precious Victims (1993); Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (1996); Quincy, M.E. (1982); Radioland Murders (1994); Red Heat (1988); Red Scorpion (1988); Renegade (1993); Rio Diablo (1993); Roots (1977); Savage Land (1994); Scanner Cop (1994); Showdown (1993); Sidekicks (1986); Silk Stalkings (1994); Silverado (1985); Sketch Artist II: Hands That See (1995); Slaughter Inc.: The Horrors of 'The Horror Show' (2017); Sledge Hammer! (1986–1988); Snide and Prejudice (1997); Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981); Southern Comfort (1981); Spawn (1997–1999); Special Collector's Edition (2010); Spitfire (1995); Steel Dawn (1987); Steel Frontier (1995); Street Asylum (1990); Striking Distance (1993); Strip 'n Run (2000); Superman (1999); Superman: The Animated Series (1996–1997); Tales from the Crypt (1991); Tango & Cash (1989); The A-Team (1983–1985); The Companion (1994); The Dark (1993); The Dukes of Hazzard (1982–1984); The F.B.I. (1974); The Fall Guy (1985); The Fifth Element (1997); The Hitchhiker (1987); The Hunter's Moon (1999); The Incredible Hulk (1978); The Invasion of Johnson County (1976); The Jazz Singer (1980); The Jeffersons (1980); The Kansas City Massacre (1975); The Killing Jar (1997); The King Is Alive (2000); The Lazarus Man (1996); The Magical World of Disney (1977); The Magnificent Seven (1998–1999); The Making of 'Steel Dawn' (1987); The Marshal (1995); The Nature of the Beast (1995); The Operator (2000); The Player (1992); The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981); The Renegades (1983); The Rockford Files (1977); The Sentinel (1998); The Setting Son (1997); The Soft Kill (1994); The Underground (1997); The Waltons (1974); The Wrong Guys (1988); The Young Riders (1990); Time Runner (1993); Treasure of Matecumbe (1976); Trouble in High Timber Country (1980); Ultimate Desires (1991); Vengeance Unlimited (1998); Walker, Texas Ranger (1997); Webster (1988); When the Whistle Blows (1980); Wholly Moses! (1980); Wishman (1992); Z-TV (1989).

On this day in movie and book history - The Spiral Staircase and Some Must Watch (1946)

 

The Spiral Staircase

directed by Robert Siodmak,

written by Mel Dinelli,

based on the novel Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White,

was released in the United States on February 20, 1946.

Music by Roy Webb.

 
Cast:

Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, Rhys Williams, James Bell, Erville Alderson, Ellen Corby, Myrna Dell, George Holmes, Stanley Price, Robert Siodmak, Richard Tyler, Charles Wagenheim, Larry Wheat.

Recommended reading:

Some Must Watch

by Ethel Lina White.

Filmed as The Spiral Staircase (1946), directed by Robert Siodmak.

Paperback.

Published by Hinkler Books.

First published 1933.

ISBN 13: 9781743081167

ISBN10: 1743081162

ASIN: 1743081162

Description:

Film director Robert Siodmak took Some Must Watch as the inspiration for his classic, bone-chilling thriller, The Spiral Staircase. In this novel Helen Capel takes the position of lady-help in a remote country house owned by the Warren family. She learns that a murderer is on the loose. All four of his victims were young girls, and the last of these was strangled in a lonely house just five miles away. Helen feels safe inside the house, protected, but the maniac is closer than she fears.

On this day in movie and book history - The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947 and 1938)

 

The Devil Thumbs a Ride

directed and written by Felix E. Feist,

based on the novel by Robert C. Du Soe,

was released in the United States on February 20, 1947.

Music by Paul Sawtell and Roy Webb.

 
Cast:

Lawrence Tierney, Ted North, Nan Leslie, Betty Lawford, Andrew Tombes, Harry Shannon, Glen Vernon, Marian Carr, William Gould, Josephine Whittell, Phil Warren, Robert Malcolm, Arthur Q. Bryan, Roger Creed, Harry Depp, George Dockstader, Dick Edwards, Sarah Edwards, Dick Elliott, Carl Faulkner, Lee Frederick, Raoul Freeman, Dorothy Granger, Chuck Hamilton, William Joy, Perc Launders, Bert LeBaron, Lee Phelps, Tom Pilkington, Victor Potel, Harry Raven, John Roy, Dick Rush, Cy Slocum, Tex Swan, Minerva Urecal.

Recommended reading:

 

The Devil Thumbs a Ride

by Robert C. Du Soe.

First published 1938.

Published by Avon Books

ASIN: B00730V9GY
 
Description:

Screenwriter Du Soe's only novel, about an innocuous fellar name of Steve who gets in a car with the simple, corpulent Furgison. The pair pick up a couple of girls, and only after the bodies pile up does Furgison start to wonder who it is he's riding along with.