1. Harold Arnold "Herk" Harvey was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and film producer, perhaps best known for his 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls.
23 Facts About Herk Harvey
1. 2.
Herk Harvey grew up in Waverly, Illinois and in Fort Collins and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the US Navy as a Quartermaster, 3rd Class, during World War II, during which time he was studying chemical engineering.
3.
Herk Harvey came to Lawrence, Kansas in 1945 to study at the University of Kansas, where he majored in theater and acted in scores of college stage productions, including Hay Fever, The Skin of Our Teeth, Beggar on Horseback, Juno and the Paycock, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Joan of Lorraine, Blithe Spirit, Herk Harvey, and Hamlet.
4.
Herk Harvey earned a bachelor of science degree in education from the KU speech and drama department in 1948 and subsequently became employed by that department as an instructor, while a graduate student.
5.
Herk Harvey made his directorial debut with an "experimental" production of Irwin Shaw's Bury the Dead in 1949, and went on to direct several other plays and pageants at the university.
6.
Herk Harvey received his master of arts degree in speech and dramatics from KU in 1950.
7.
Besides his student appearances, Herk Harvey gained acting experience through some work in summer stock, performing on the stages of the Topeka Civic Theater and Kansas City's Resident Theater.
8.
Immediately following the marriage, Herk Harvey did a graduate study in drama during the 1950 summer session at the University of Denver, and then studied at the University of Colorado for a doctorate.
9.
Herk Harvey joined the staff in 1952 and went on to work for Centron as a film director, writer, and producer for over three decades, making a variety of short industrial, educational, documentary, and government films.
10.
Films created by Herk Harvey include Shake Hands With Danger, which won a 1980 Golden Eagle award from the Council on International Nontheatrical Events.
11.
Herk Harvey was known for his high quality films, coming in on time and under budget.
12.
Herk Harvey worked with many well-known professional actors and entertainers in Centron films, such as Walter Pidgeon, Rowan and Martin, Dennis Day, Louis Nye, George Gobel, Billy Barty, Anita Bryant, Eddie Albert, Ed Ames, Jesse White, and Ricardo Montalban.
13.
An article written by Herk Harvey was published in the March 1956 issue of American Cinematographer magazine, concerning innovative special effects techniques that had been developed by the Centron crew during the production of an industrial film.
14.
Herk Harvey occasionally penned reviews of local theater productions for the Lawrence newspaper.
15.
In 1957, Herk Harvey commissioned the construction of a custom-built house within a block of the Centron studios.
16.
Harvey and his first wife Bea were divorced in 1960, due to the latter's infidelity, and shortly afterward Harvey met Pauline G Pappas, who was one of the investors for Carnival of Souls.
17.
Herk Harvey's last project for the company was a prize-winning series of educational travelogues shot in Korea.
18.
Herk Harvey had small speaking parts in the made-for-TV movies Murderer Ordained and Where Pigeons Go to Die, both of which were filmed on location in Kansas.
19.
Herk Harvey is best known for his sole feature film, Carnival of Souls, a low budget 1962 horror film starring Candace Hilligoss.
20.
Herk Harvey had witnessed the recent success of Elmer Rhoden Jr.
21.
Unlike Carnival of Souls, this was actually to be a Centron production, as Herk Harvey had persuaded the company to delve into feature films.
22.
Herk Harvey wrote an un-produced feature screenplay of his own, entitled Windwagon, which was a historical dramatization of the Kansas territorial period and "sailing wagon" innovations of the late nineteenth century.
23.
Herk Harvey did live to see the belated recognition of Carnival of Souls, which began in earnest during the mid-1980s.