Daniel Mayer Cherkoss (August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006[1]), known by his pen name Dan Curtis, was an American television and film director, screenwriter, and producer.

Curtis was producer and/or director of several television adaptations of classic horror texts including The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968), Frankenstein (1973), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), Dracula (1974), and The Turn of the Screw (1974).

In 1978, Curtis made a departure from his usual macabre offerings, when he wrote, produced, and directed the sentimental NBC television film When Every Day Was the Fourth of July.

[9] Born Daniel Cherkoss in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Curtis attended Syracuse University before becoming a syndicated television show salesman.

[1] Curtis died on March 27, 2006, at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, twenty days after the death of his wife Norma.