IRWIN ALLEN NEWS NETWORK
A warm welcome to the Irwin Allen News Network (IANN). Established in 1994 by Giants Log, with the late Paul Zastupnevich as president, IANN has focussed on bringing the wonderful worlds of Academy Award winning producer Irwin Allen to a wider audience. Working with fans, cast and crew around the world, IANN has published dozens of newsletters, specials and web sites to promote the television shows, movies, performers, and the production crew working so hard behind the scenes.
We hope you will enjoy browsing around the site and that you will find new material of interest. We welcome your ideas and input to help us to continue to bring the work of Irwin Allen to new generations.
If you would like to contribute research, personal memories of working on the productions, articles, photos, artwork and other creative ideas, please do contact us. We are continually developing the site whenever we have a spare moment, and the extent to which we can do this depends on everyone who has fond memories of these shows and movies.
If you hover the mouse pointer over the picture above, you can identify and visit the pages dedicated to each of the Irwin Allen productions.
IRWIN ALLEN NEWS VIA TWITTER
Latest Irwin Allen related news will be sent out via Twitter. If you have any upcoming events featuring Irwin Allen stars that you would like us to mention, please send us details.
NEWS AND FEATURES
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas to all who enjoy Irwin Allen's work. Here's a little festive Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea treat from talented artist G Foulds.
HERITAGE AUCTIONS - LOST IN SPACE
Heritage Auctions (HA.com) held an amazing auction of unique and original Lost in Space costumes and props over the weekend of 4-7 November 2021. All the Lost in Space lots were successfully sold on Sunday 7th November. See Lots 89811 to 89840. Two costumes achieved astonishing sale prices of $75,000 each, plus a 25% Buyer's Premium on top of that. These high value items were the Will Robinson's Season 3 Costume Ensemble and the Maureen Robinson's Season 3 Costume Ensemble. Amazingly, some Star Trek costumes didn't sell in the auction for half that price.
Special thanks to Heritage Auctions for allowing us to share the photos of the Lost in Space auction collection with you.
2021 November 4 - 7 Hollywood & Entertainment Signature® Auction #7245
JACK KRUPNICK
We owe a massive debt of gratitude to Phil Arnold for identifying this gentleman who we have spotted in several Irwin Allen movies, namely The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno and The Swarm and have long been keen to put a name to his face. It has been through really thorough research that Phil managed to find and verify Jack Krupnick's name by remembering his face from other productions he's researched over the years. We include a picture further down of Jack Krupnick in the long running series Hart to Hart courtesy of Phil Arnold.
Jack Krupnick as Party Guest in The Towering Inferno
Jack Krupnick as a Passenger in The Poseidon Adventure
Jack Krupnick as Train Passenger in The Swarm
Jack Krupnick in a credited role in the series Hart to Hart
GARY WRIGHT - DAY HELMSMAN IN POSEIDON ADVENTURE
After years of painstaking research (and yet more pain when a Columbo end credit mis-named him) we have finally managed to identify and verify the actor playing the Day Helmsman in The Poseidon Adventure. His name is Gary Wright and we're spending a lot of time trying to find out more about him. Identifying uncredited cast in the Irwin Allen shows and movies is an immense task and with the help of a team of fellow fans we're managing to identify more and more. It takes watching a lot of other movies and shows to find out actor names.
On this occasion (after the Columbo "Dead Weight" end credit debacle) we have finally worked out Gary Wright's name from the only other verifiable end credit there is for him (the movie Foxy Brown with Antonio Fargas) and a little Columbo clue. Perhaps appropriate as this has taken so much detective work. The clue comes from the Columbo episode "Now You See Him" starring the wonderful Jack Cassidy as illusionist The Great Santini. In the episode, Santini actually calls Gary Wright "Mr Wright". Normally we wouldn't think anything of that, but in the episode another Irwin Allen actor, Mike Lally, is given the character name "Michael Lally".
For completeness, here is Gary Wright's end credit in Foxy Brown. Note that Don Gazzaniga (giant in the Land of the Giants episode Weird World) also appears in the movie.
Gary Wright also appears very briefly as an engineer in The Towering Inferno. We've developed a deep affection for Gary as we search out more and more credits for him (so far all in the early to mid 70s). One of the funniest is a little known appearance in a movie called Get to Know Your Rabbit where Gary causes havoc around star Tom Smothers whilst being chased and caught. Have never seen our helmsman move so fast. Normally he is standing very still.
Our deep appreciation goes to everyone sending in names for background characters who don't normally get named and credited in productions. These characters, plus stunt people and production crew are the unsung heroes of the Irwin Allen productions and we want them to be recognised for their work and to be remembered. Special thanks go to Phil Arnold and Woody Anders for their recent input in trying to get to these long searched for names. This is going to be an endless task as there are still so many more people we have yet to identify.
JAPANESE COLLECTIBLES AUCTION
A new set of Japanese Irwin Allen collectibles are being auctioned on 28th/29th September (US/UK time) on eBay. The auctions feature collectibles featuring all four of Irwin Allen's science fiction series. Some examples are shown below courtesy of Hideyuki.
Japanese Collectible Auctions on eBay
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Novel
LOST IN SPACE FIRST SEASON LASER PISTOL
Lost in Space Season 1 Electronic Laser Pistol Photos and Video
Devlin And Associates LLC is selling officially licensed first season Lost in Space laser pistols and this limited edition collectible is available via eBay and Facebook.
Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Volume 2 - Out Now
The second and final volume of Marc Cushman and Mark Alfred's series of books on the making of Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is now available.
Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Volume Two: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, from Jacobs/Brown Press, completes the two-book set by Marc Cushman and Mark Alfred, documenting the production and cultural impact of this iconic, beloved and pioneering science-fiction series.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, which aired on ABC-TV from 1964 through 1968, was the first hour-long, color, science-fiction series on television. Its success proved to the networks that such a show, within the constraints of a TV budget and shooting schedule, could attract a mass audience. Without Voyage, there would have been no Lost in Space or Star Trek. CBS and NBC, respectively, only decided to gamble on those series after Voyage had not only premiered – while staying on budget and schedule – but went on to win its time slot. Therefore, it was Irwin Allen who had boldly gone where no man (or television producer) had gone before!
Now, with Volume 2 and the previous volume as your guides, you can journey back in time to witness the making of this legendary series. Here you'll find the production memos between Irwin Allen, his staff, and the ABC-TV network; the shooting schedules and production dates; the budgets; the ratings; the reviews and articles from that era; new and exclusive interviews, as well as archival interviews; and hundreds of pictures, many never before shared with the public. And you'll find out what made Irwin Allen tick.
With an introduction by David Hedison, Volume 2 covers the making of Seasons 2, 3 and 4 – all 78 color episodes! Your deep dive into Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is here.
The book is available both through Jacobs/Brown Press and Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.
Amazon.com Print Version #ad
Amazon.co.uk Paperback #ad
Amazon.co.uk Kindle Version #ad
New Spindrift Build
The following video shows Mark Myers excellent 16 inch Spindrift diorama with scratch built base and Captain Steve Burton figure in an atmospheric setting. Gallery to follow.
KEVIN BURNS
Irwin Allen fandom was rocked by the sudden death of producer Kevin Burns on 27th September 2020 at just 65 years old. Kevin was the ultimate Lost in Space fan and rescued and had refurbished an original Lost in Space Robot prop. During his career with Twentieth Century Fox in LA, he developed lifelong friendships with many of the cast members and in 1995 brought us the wonderful Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen documentary devoted to all things Irwin Allen. In collaboration with Sheila Allen, Kevin brought Lost in Space to the big screen in 1998. The movie starred Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Mimi Rogers and Jared Harris and featured cameo appearances by June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Angela Cartwright and Marta Kristen. A Time Tunnel project followed, a movie version of The Poseidon Adventure, then a reimagined series of Lost in Space for Netflix. At the time of his death, a new Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea project was in the pipeline and is due to be filmed in the UK. Kevin Burns will be remembered for his devotion to keeping these productions alive for future generations.
ERNIE ORSATTI
We learned from a friend of his family that prominent Irwin Allen stuntman Ernie Orsatti passed away at the age of 80 on 12th September 2020. He is probably best known in Irwin Allen circles for his roles and stunts in The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure.
JOHN SAXON
Actor John Saxon passed away just the day before Olivia de Havilland on 25th July 2020 at the age of 83. John appeared in The Time Tunnel episode "Attack of the Barbarians" playing Marco Polo. He had a long career in television and movies and we had the great honour of meeting John and his wife Gloria in 2004 at the Autographica event in Coventry.
THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN BY JEFF BOND
The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen by Jeff Bond with foreword by Lost in Space star Bill Mumy is now shipping and is the ultimate Irwin Allen coffee table book. This beautifully presented hardback book runs at 600 colour pages with many never before seen photos, storyboards and blueprints.
Available exclusively at www.creaturefeatures.com.
The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen covers all of Irwin Allen's productions with chapters dedicated to each of the hugely popular sci-fi series. Through this book, we gain knowledge on the production of both the early movies and the later disaster movies, culminating in a final chapter which illustrates how the productions continue thrive for new generations including the exciting Netflix Lost in Space.
DAVID HEDISON
It is hard to find the words and is with deep shock that we have to bring you the very sad news that actor and star of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, David Hedison, passed away on Thursday 18th July 2019 at the age of 92. This news is heartbreaking for all his family, friends, and his legion of longtime fans around the world. David gave so much pleasure to so many people through his work in the field of entertainment and his career continued with a wealth of public appearances at conventions and signings. So many of our visitors and members have had the opportunity to meet and chat with David. In our small corner of the entertainment universe, the Irwin Allen world, David is fondly and lovingly remembered for his role of Captain Crane in the hugely popular sci-fi series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Voyage in peace, our beloved Captain Crane.
Here are just some of the tributes and obituaries paying homage to David Hedison:
THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN
Irwin Allen's wife Sheila spoke fondly of her desire for there to be a coffee table book on producer Irwin Allen and his career, and finally that dream is coming true with Jeff Bond's new book The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen with a foreword written by Lost in Space star, Bill Mumy.
Book announcement from Jeff Bond
Creature Features in association with Synthesis Entertainment and Legendary Pictures presents THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN, the definitive coffee table book more than two and a half years in the making!
This deluxe 600+ page limited edition hardback is the first and only book of its kind to take a visual journey through the mind and career of legendary producer Irwin Allen, the "Master of Disaster"—the man behind some of the most popular television programs of the 1960s and the visionary who invented the special effects movie blockbuster format with his 1970s hits The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno.
Authored by Jeff Bond with the full participation and cooperation of the Irwin Allen Estate, THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN follows the ambitious icon from his early days as a Hollywood agent and radio personality to his lengthy stint at 20th Century Fox, where he produced movies such as The Lost World and Five Weeks in a Balloon and the popular television shows Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants.
Allen employed the studio's sprawling lot and soundstages, its library of movie footage, costumes and props, and its veteran special effects craftsmen to bring vivid color and movie-quality action, miniature effects and visuals to television viewers accustomed to low-budget, black and white programming. Allen's flare for action and visual punch gave audiences some of the 1960s most popular and iconic figures: Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; the Lost in Space Robot and Jonathan Harris' nefarious Dr. Zachary Smith; Will Robinson and the Robinson family of space travelers; the pop art kaleidoscope of The Time Tunnel; the Jupiter 2, the Seaview, the Flying Sub, the Spindrift.
Before George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Irwin Allen broke box office records with two of the biggest movie blockbusters of all time: The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. Wooed to Warner Bros. at the height of his power with the offer of a building named in his honor and one of the most generous studio contracts ever given a producer, Allen faced his biggest challenge: topping himself with The Swarm, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, When Time Ran Out, and a series of ambitious projects for television.
Illustrated with more than 2,000 images including concept and production artwork, storyboards, blueprints, design sketches, miniatures and behind-the-scenes photographs, many of them never before published, THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN is the ultimate guide to Allen's famous productions, from his documentaries The Sea Around Us and The Animal World to his spectacular TV-movie City Beneath the Sea, plus fascinating unproduced projects, all explored in detail for the first time.
This hardbound masterwork will be offered in a standard edition of 1000 copies, and a deluxe signed edition of 250 copies autographed by author Jeff Bond and actor Bill Mumy, who penned the foreword.
Pre-orders begin on a first come, first served basis exclusively at www.creaturefeatures.com on Friday, April 19th at 12 noon Pacific Standard Time.
The book is slated to arrive at our door in mid-July and begin shipping immediately, though shipping schedules are always subject to change.
PLEASE NOTE: Creature Features is the only authorized source for new copies of this book and will not be offering it thru Amazon or any other retail sellers.
Sample pages from the book The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen
Moebius Models 1:32 Die-Cast Flying Sub
Now available at FabGearUSA is the Moebius Models 1:32 Diecast Flying Sub from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea with Lights, Sounds and a Remote Control.
"Moebius Models presents an authentic 1/32-scale reproduction of the Flying Sub. This spectacular, high-end collectible is a fully finished, large-scale deluxe replica featuring incredible detail, highlighted by authentic lights and sounds. A true work of art created for the discriminating collector, the FS-1 Flying Sub Gallery Edition is limited to 300 pieces, includes a certificate of authenticity and is offered in deluxe collector's packaging."
FabGearUSA - 1:32 Diecast Flying Sub from VTTBOTS with Lights, Sounds and a Remote Control
DEANNA LUND - CAREER SLIDESHOW
In tribute to Deanna Lund and the wealth of performances she gave us, we have created a new picture gallery covering her career which spanned over half a century. Feel free to browse the gallery and also to view it as a slideshow.
16" SCRATCH BUILT SPINDRIFT MODEL
Mark Dorais has scratch built a new Spindrift model, this time a little over 16 inches long and made of cast resin, styrene plastic, metal and a vacuum formed dome.
Mark Dorais Model Build Gallery
COMMEMORATING IRWIN ALLEN'S 100TH BIRTHDAY
12th June 2016 marks the 100th birthday of Irwin Allen, the "Master of Disaster", and all round king of science fiction and movie making. It's amazing to think that he was already in his fifties when busy making his quartet of science fiction shows in the mid to late sixties and this shows us all how much can be achieved even in our later years. He has inspired many movie makers who followed in the decades since, and his name and productions are often referred to and compared with when critiquing current day producers' work. That influence shows no sign of abating as we commemorate Irwin Allen's 100th birthday. We are working on a number of projects in the coming months and years to help keep his body of work in the public eye well into his second hundred years and beyond. Your input to these projects is a vital and a most welcome contribution to ensuring his legacy for the future. Please feel free to share your Irwin Allen creations, collections, and research any time via our contact page.
IRWIN ALLEN 100TH BIRTHDAY ART
The above artwork has been designed by A. Dutto to commemorate the 100th birthday of Irwin Allen.
30 Greatest Disaster Movies
Channel 5's 30 Greatest Disaster Movies (UK Channel 5, 10-11.30pm, Sunday 20th September 2015) featured three Irwin Allen disaster movies, namely The Swarm, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. During the broadcast, Irwin Allen was referred to as "the daddy of disaster movies in the 1970s" and of course "the Master of Disaster".
Surprisingly, the list also featured several zombie and science fiction movies, possibly due to the fact that it was broadcast during an "End of the World" weekend on Channel 5 (even Celebrity Big Brother got involved in the theme). By including such movies in the genre, some older classic disaster features were omitted from the list including more vintage movies like The Rains Came and San Francisco. Hopefully, some day a list of the greatest "possible" disaster movies will be compiled, limited to real-world disasters (albeit with some added drama that all good movies need).
The list was compiled by a number of film critics and based upon US Box Office success (adjusted for inflation). In current day monetary terms, both The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno receipts exceed $500,000,000.
JUPITER 2 WITH LAUNCH GANTRY AND BASE
David Holderbaum has built this stunning model using the Moebius Models Jupiter 2 kit with a custom built launch gantry and base. Click here to view all of David's latest builds.
METALUNA MODELS SPINDRIFT CRASH SITE DIORAMA KIT
A new resin diorama kit by Metaluna Models for displaying the Moebius Models Spindrift is now available at FabGearUSA.
Paint, glue and Moebius Models #255 Spindrift not included. The Moebius Models Spindrift kit is available separately at fabgearusa.com.
Please also note that the Moebius Models 1/350 Seaview model kit is going to be back in stock soon and FabGearUSA.com are now taking pre-orders.
THE SEAVIEW BY JEFF SUMMERS
Jeff Summers has created this stunning composite artwork using his build of the 57" DeBoer Hulls Seaview kit.
DAVID HOLDERBAUM MODEL BUILD GALLERY
View David Holderbaum Model Gallery
LOST IN SPACE - BLAST OFF INTO SPACE
Visit the David Holderbaum Art Gallery
TOUR OF THE SPINDRIFT
SCRATCH BUILT LOST IN SPACE CHARIOT
MOEBIUS MODELS PRE-ASSEMBLED SPACE POD
Moebius Models Assembled Space Pod Gallery
HELP NEEDED WITH RESEARCH
The main focus of our efforts at the Irwin Allen News Network is to document the history of all of the Irwin Allen movies and television shows and this implies extensive levels of research. We are particularly trying to credit actors and crew who didn't receive on-screen credits in the productions.
We are also studying the movies, trying to identify as many people as possible who appeared on screen and this is proving to be a never-ending challenge. We have recently added a gallery of faces from The Poseidon Adventure and The Time Travelers amongst others and have several faces we cannot yet identify. If you can help with any of these missing names with corroborating pictures of the unnamed actors, please contact us.
POSEIDON ADVENTURE STARS AT JULY 2011 SHOW
Carol Lynley, Ernie F. Orsatti, Stella Stevens, Ernest Borgnine, Pamela Sue Martin, and Eric Shea
STEVE CAUSEY - MOEBIUS MODELS SPINDRIFT BUILD
Moebius Models 1/128 Spindrift Kit Build
CONVENTIONS
Convention Reports and Galleries
LAND OF THE GIANTS COMMENTARY
On Friday 8th April 2011, the cast of Land of the Giants gathered together in LA to create a very special treat exclusively for the UK Second Season DVD release which is due out in June. Stefan Arngrim, Don Marshall, Deanna Lund, Gary Conway, Heather Young and Don Matheson have recorded a really outstanding audio commentary which will appear on the second season DVD extras. This unique event showcases the delightful camaraderie between the cast members and is something we are very keen to extend to a convention in the UK.
SCIENCE FICTION MUSEUM
Visit the Spindrift and Robot at the Seattle Science Fiction Museum
THE SPINDRIFT
Visit the Spindrift "Hero" Miniature Gallery
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Every so often we will showcase something from different creative fans on this main page. The image above shows several pieces of original artwork and model building from fans around the world. Click on each image to see more of this wonderful work. You can also see more outstanding work from other artists, animators, and model builders by visiting the creativity showcase and models pages on this site.
IRWIN ALLEN BLOG
We have set up a new blog for general chat, all the little bits of information we come across, and to highlight the latest news in the Irwin Allen worlds.
IRWIN ALLEN GALLERY
We have built a new structured and searchable Irwin Allen Gallery with lots of different bits and pieces on anything and everything related to the Irwin Allen productions. It includes new showcases of the work of the talented and creative fans, without whom there would not be many new things in the Irwin Allen universe to enjoy. If you would like your work and collections showcased here, you are welcome to send material via the Email link in the IANN contact page.
PAUL ZASTUPNEVICH ART GALLERY
A new gallery called The Production Art Gallery has opened online and is the "world's first art gallery dedicated solely to original film and TV art". Included in their immense portfolio are many pieces of original Paul Zastupnevich costume art, which are available for sale. Click on the image or link below to visit the Paul Zastupnevich Production Art Gallery.
Visit the Paul Zastupnevich Production Art Gallery
