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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Starz Encore's Mystery channel presents a "Night Gallery" Labor Day treat for the senses and palette with an original half-hour documentary Art of Darkness(SM): A "Night Gallery" Retrospective as part of a 24-hour marathon of episodes of the often overlooked cult series. The special, hosted by Leonard Nimoy (who directed an episode and starred in another) features clips from the series and exclusive interviews with actors who appeared on the show, including Pat Boone, Phyllis Diller, Lindsay Wagner, John Saxon, and Joseph Campanella; directors John Badham and Jeannot Szwarc; Tom Wright, who created the paintings for each segment; music composer Gil Melle; and many others. Art of Darkness(SM): A "Night Gallery" Retrospective" will air September 2 at 8:00 p.m. The series regularly plays Monday-Friday on Mystery at 6:00 p.m.



"Night Gallery" was creator/host Rod Serling's 1970-1973 follow-up to "The Twilight Zone." Serling once again introduced viewers to a fantasy/anthology series that would shatter the traditional and often mundane television landscape. Serling introduced each story in a bizarre



gallery, in which a grotesque painting by artist Tom Wright foreshadowed the story to follow.



Serling viewed "Night Gallery" as a logical extension of "The Twilight Zone," but while both series shared an interest in thought-provoking dark fantasy, "Zone's" offerings were primarily science-fiction, while "Night Gallery" focused on the other side of the genre: horror and the supernatural.



The 1969 NBC pilot spring-boarded the career of Steven Spielberg, who, in his first industry job, directed silver screen legend Joan Crawford in the pilot's second segment, "Eyes." Other notable actors who appeared in the series included Sally Field, Burgess Meredith, Diane Keaton, Raymond Massey, Ray Milland, Leslie Nielsen, E.G. Marshall, Vincent Price, Orson Welles, Patty Duke, Cesar Romero, John Carradine, Carl Reiner, Bob Crane, Edward G. Robinson, Dana Andrews, Patrick Macnee, Laurence Harvey, Geraldine Page, Mickey Rooney, Bobby Darin, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, and Wally Cox.



"Night Gallery's" first season in 1970 was packaged along with three other series (which included "McCloud") as part of NBC's experimental programming wheel, "Four in One." A total of 43 episodes were produced during its three year run.



In addition to the dozens of original teleplays written by Serling, there were episodes based on scripts by Richard Matheson (The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Omega Man, Somewhere in Time), Robert Bloch (Psycho, "Star Trek," "I Spy"), and adaptations of classic short stories by such luminaries as H.P. Lovecraft (Re-Animator, The Haunted Palace).



After being off the air for nearly 30 years, there's still much interest in the series as evidenced by USA Networks recent announcement to produce an original anthology movie based on the series.



"Our Mystery viewers have been enthusiastically rediscovering 'Night Gallery,' so it seemed logical to put together this documentary that sheds light on the story behind this long overlooked but truly classic television series," says Robert Leighton, president of Starz Encore Entertainment.



Starz Encore's Mystery channel, whose slogan is "Where Suspense Rules(R)," launched in 1994 and is available on cable systems throughout the country, and direct-to-home satellite systems including DIRECTV. The channel features great mystery movies 24 hours per day, commercial-free. Each month's programming delivers movies scheduled in programming packages including: Detectives, classic and contemporary sleuths from movies and television; Thrillers, edge of your seat nail-biting movies; and Film Noir, the unique American film style of the '40s and '50s.



Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore) is the largest provider of cable and satellite-delivered premium movie channels in the United States, owning 15 domestic channels with approximately 121 million pay units. Starz Encore offers the Starz Super Pak(SM), with up to 12 digital movie channels, and Starz On Demand(SM), the first premium subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service. Starz Encore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation , www.starzencore.com .



For further information, please contact: Steve Belgard of Starz Encore Group LLC, +1-720-852-5843, steve.belgard@starzencore.com; or Jennifer Vogelmann of MPRM, +1-323-933-3399, jvogelmann@mprm.com, for Starz Encore Group LLC



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Contact: Steve Belgard of Starz Encore Group LLC, +1-720-852-5843, steve.belgard@starzencore.com; or Jennifer Vogelmann of MPRM, +1-323-933-3399, jvogelmann@mprm.com, for Starz Encore Group LLC



Website: http://www.starzencore.com/