Mark Dawidziak
Encyclopedia
Early life
Mark was born in Huntington, New YorkHuntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
, on September 7, 1956. He is a graduate of Harborfields High School
Harborfields High School
Harborfields High School is a four year secondary school located in Greenlawn, New York. It functions as the high school for Harborfields Central School District, which serves the communities of Centerport and Greenlawn and parts of Huntington, Huntington Bay and Northport...
, class of 1974.
He is married with one teenage daughter, and currently lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Journalism career
A journalism graduate of George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, he has worked as a theater, film and television critic since 1979. He started his journalism career in the Washington, D.C. bureaus of Knight-Ridder Newspapers and the Associated Press. In 1983, after stints as the arts and entertainment editor at the Bristol Herald-Courier in Bristol, Virginia
Bristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....
and the Kingsport Times-Times in Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...
, he moved to the Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business...
in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
as that newspaper's TV critic (later becoming its film critic). He currently is the television critic for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
Books
| Titles | Year of Publication | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Shanty Irish by Jim Tully (co-editor, introduction, with Paul J. Bauer) | 2009 | 9781606350232 |
| Circus Parade by Jim Tully (co-editor, introduction, with Paul J. Bauer) | 2009 | 9781606350010 |
| The Bedside, Bathtub, & Armchair Companion to Dracula (author) | 2008 | 9780826417947 |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker: Sound Of Fear (reprint of the comic book "Lambs to the Slaughter") | 2008 | 1933076372 |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook (contributor: introduction and the novella "Cancellation") | 2007 | 1933076178 |
| Bloodlines: Richard Matheson's Dracula, I am Legend and Other Vampire Stories (editor, with introductions and essays) | 2006 | 9781887368884 |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles (contributor: short story "Interview With a Vampire?") | 2005 | 1933076046 |
| A Companion to Mark Twain (contributor: the chapter "Mark Twain on the Screen," with R. Kent Rasmussen) | 2005 | 1405123796 |
| Produced and Directed by Dan Curtis (introduction and career overview) | 2004 | 0938817752 |
| Moonstone Monsters, Volume One (contributor: story "The Stuff That Screams Are Made Of") | 2004 | 0974850160 |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Lambs to the Slaughter (co-author, comic book story) | 2003 | 9780972166881 |
| Richard Matheson's Kolchak Scripts (editor, with introductions and essays) | 2003 | 1887368647 |
| Horton Foote's The Shape of the River: The Lost Teleplay About Mark Twain (author) | 2003 | 9781557835192 |
| The Big Book of Noir (contributor: the chapter on "The Adventures of Sam Spade") | 1998 | 9780786705740 |
| The Night Stalker Companion: A 25th Anniversary Tribute (author) | 1997 | 0938817442 |
| Mark My Words: Mark Twain on Writing (author) | 1996 | 9780312143657 |
| The Kolchak Papers: Grave Secrets (author) | 1994 | 0962750875 |
| The Vampire Interview Book (contributor) | 1991 | B001D085MG |
| Night Stalking: A 20th Anniversary Kolchak Companion (author) | 1991 | 0962750837 |
| The Columbo Phile: A Casebook (author) | 1989 | 9780892963768 |
| The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible (author) | 1982 | 0913239038 |
Television histories
Dawidziak has written two non-fiction books about beloved TV characters: The Columbo Phile: A Casebook (The Mysterious Press, 1989), a history of Peter FalkPeter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
's Lt. Columbo, and The Night Stalker Companion: A 25th Anniversary Tribute (Pomegranate Press, 1997), a history of the Carl Kolchak character played by Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
in two TV movies and the 1974-75 ABC series. His 2003 book, Horton Foote's The Shape of the River: The Lost Teleplay About Mark Twain (Applause Books) details the 1960 Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
production on CBS.
Mark Twain studies
In addition to Horton Foote's The Shape of the River: The Lost Teleplay About Mark Twain (Applause Books, 2003), he assembled Mark Twain's thoughts on writing and the writing process for Mark My Words: Mark Twain on Writing (St. Martin's Press, 1996). He also teamed with noted Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen for the chapter "Mark Twain on the Screen" published in A Companion to Mark Twain (Blackwell Publishing, 2005, edited by Peter Messent and Louis J. Budd). He has twice been the visiting Twain scholar giving the "Trouble Begins at Eight" lecture at Elmira CollegeElmira College
Elmira College is a coeducational private liberal arts college located in Elmira, in New York State's Southern Tier region.The college is noted as the oldest college still in existence which granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men...
's Center for Mark Twain Studies. He has presented academic papers at three consecutive State of Mark Twain Studies conferences, most recently talking in August 2009 on the importance of Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
's one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight!.
Jim Tully
Dawidziak has been working for several years with Paul J. Bauer on a biography of Jim TullyJim Tully
Jim Tully was a vagabond, pugilist, and American writer. His critical and commercial success in the 1920s and 30s may qualify him as the greatest long shot in American literature.Born near St...
, an Irish-American vagabond who became a literary superstar in the 1920s and '30s. Writing about his years on the road and the American underclass, Tully authored such works as Beggars of Life, Shadows of Men, Blood on the Moon and The Bruiser. To pave the way for the biography, which will be published by Kent State University Press in 2011, Black Squirrel Books issued 2009 reprints of Tully's Circus Parade (1927) and Shanty Irish(1928), edited with introductions by Bauer and Dawidziak.
Acting on stage
Dawidziak has been on the other side of criticism as an actor. He met his wife, actress Sara Showman, through the stage. In 2002, they founded the Largely Literary Theater Company, a touring troupe dedicated to promoting literacy, literature and live theater. The company's artistic director, he frequently appears in Largely Literary productions as Mark TwainMark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
and Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. His two-act adaptation of Twain material, Twain By Three, was performed at the 103rd Annual International Dickens Fellowship
Dickens Fellowship
The Dickens Fellowship was founded in 1902, and is an international association of people from all walks of life who share an interest in the life and works of Victorian era novelist Charles Dickens....
Conference (held at Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
).
Series of lectures
Dawidziak currently is teaching part time at Kent State UniversityKent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
, in addition to writing for The Plain Dealer. He teaches the Reviewing Film and Television and Vampires in Film and Television courses. His first class was in the spring of 2009.
He frequently lectures and gives talks on Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, television and vampires. On October 23, 2009, Mark appeared at the Kent Stage
Kent Stage
The Kent Stage is a 642-seat theater that was built in 1927 in Kent, Ohio, USA. Since 2002, it has been used as a performance venue for live music, theater, and film.-History:...
, in Kent, Ohio, with the lecture "Haunted Theaters, Dracula & Me".
Additional
Mark is a longtime friend of Harlan EllisonHarlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
and Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
(who has mentioned him in the dedication to two books). Mark screened a documentary about Harlan while visiting him in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and helped introduced the film, Dreams With Sharp Teeth, when it was screened at the Cleveland Public Library
Cleveland Public Library
The Cleveland Public Library was founded in 1869 and is located in Cleveland, Ohio. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 28 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and a library for the blind and physically...
in 2007.