Irwin Allen Biography (1916-1991)

Born June 12, 1916, in New York, NY; died following a heart attack, November2, 1991, in Santa Monica, CA; son of Joseph (a designer of men's clothing) and Eva (Davis) Allen.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Birth Details: June 12, 1916; New York, New York, United States
Death Details: November 2, 1991; Santa Monica, California, United States

Famous Works

Credits; FILM WORK; PRODUCER,EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED
(And director) The Sea around Us (feature documentary), RKO Radio Pictures, 1951.
(With Irving Cunningham) A Girl in Every Port, RKO Radio Pictures, 1952.
Dangerous Mission, RKO Radio Pictures, 1954.
Director, The Animal World (feature documentary), Warner Bros., 1956.
(And director) The Story of Mankind (also see below), Warner Bros., 1957.
The Big Circus (also see below), Allied Artists, 1959.
(And director) The Lost World (also see below), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960.
(And director) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (also see below), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1961.
(And director) Five Weeks in a Balloon (also see below), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1962.
The Ambushers, Columbia, 1967.
The Poseidon Adventure, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1972.
(And director with John Guillermin) The Towering Inferno, Twentieth Century-Fox/Warner Bros., 1974.
(And director) The Swarm, Warner Bros., 1978.
(And director) Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, Warner Bros., 1979.
When Time Ran Out, Warner Bros., 1980.
TELEVISION SERIES; PRODUCER,EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED Lost in Space, CBS, 1965-68.
(And director with Jerry Hopper, Herschel Daugherty, Paul Stanley, and others) The Time Tunnel, ABC, 1966-67.

Producer (with Bruce Fowler), and director (with Harry Harris and Sobey Martin), Land of the Giants, ABC, 1968-70.
Executive producer, Swiss Family Robinson, ABC, 1975-76.
The Return of Captain Nemo, CBS, 1978.
Code Red (also see below), ABC, 1981-82.
Also producer and co-director of the series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, 1964-68.
TELEVISION PILOTS; PRODUCER,EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED Executive producer, Matt Helm, ABC, 1975.
Swiss Family Robinson, ABC, 1975.
Code Red, ABC, 1981.
TELEVISION MOVIES; PRODUCER,EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED (And director) City beneath the Sea (also known as One Hour to Doomsday; also see below), NBC (somesources say CBS), 1971.
Adventures of the Queen, CBS, 1975.
Flood, NBC, 1976.
Time Travelers, ABC, 1976.
Fire!, NBC, 1977.
Hanging by a Thread, NBC, 1979.
The Memory of Eva Ryker, CBS, 1980.
Cave-In!, NBC, 1983.
The Night the Bridge Fell Down, NBC, 1983.
Also producer of the television movies Alice in Wonderland, 1985, and Outrage!, 1986.
Writings;SCREENPLAYS
(With Charles Bennett) The Story of Mankind (based on a book by Hendrik Willem Van Loon), Warner Bros., 1957.
(With Bennett and Irving Wallace) The Big Circus (based on a story by Allen), Allied Artists, 1959.
(With Bennett) The Lost World (based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle),Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960.
(With Bennett) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (based on a story by Allen), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1961.
(With Bennett and Albert Gail) Five Weeks in a Balloon (based on the novel by Jules Verne), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1962.
Other Works
Adaptations: The television movie City beneath the Sea (also known as OneHour to Doomsday), NBC (some sources say CBS), 1971, was adapted by John Meredyth Lucas from a story by Allen. The television movie Adventures of the Queen, broadcast in 1975, was also based on a story by Allen.

Further Reference

PERIODICALS

Hollywood Reporter, December 31, 1991, p. 32.
New York Times, December 29, 1974.
Time, November 18, 1991, p. 17.
Variety, November 11, 1991, p. 69.

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