William Katt took a telekinetic date to the prom in Carrie, moved into a hellish home with a mind of its own in House, and flew into a billboard and lived to tell the tale in The Greatest American Hero (well, technically that was his stunt double, Dennis Madalone, but you get the idea). In an acting career spanning six decades, there's no doubt that William Katt has played memorable characters on both the stage and screen, but for his latest role, he's breathing new life into an iconic character by narrating the audiobook release of Jeff Rice's Kolchak: The Night Stalker novel, a seminal piece of initially unpublished fiction that became the basis for The Night Stalker, a made-for-TV movie starring Darren McGavin that thrilled and chilled enough viewers in 1972 to convince ABC to conjure up another TV film, The Night Strangler, before eventually leading to the short-lived yet beloved Kolchak: The Night Stalker TV series that ran from 1974–75.
Following resourceful reporter Carl Kolchak as he investigates a series of vampiric murders in Las Vegas, the definitive edition of Jeff Rice's Kolchak: The Night Stalker novel is now available as an audiobook from Monstrous Books and Blackstone Publishing (and is also available as a trade paperback and ebook), and to celebrate its release, Daily Dead had the great pleasure of talking with William Katt about his first time narrating an audiobook, bringing his own unique take to Carl Kolchak while paying homage to Darren McGavin, collaborating with James Aquilone at Monstrous Books, and the enduring legacies of TV shows from the ’70s and ’80s, from the supernatural sleuthing of Kolchak: The Night Stalker to the inspiring adventures of The Greatest American Hero (and its epic opening title sequence)!
Below, you can watch our full interview with William Katt, and you can listen to William bring the world of Kolchak: The Night Stalker to life in our audiobook excerpt! We also have the official press release with additional details, and to learn more, be sure to visit:
Press Release: In 1972 KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER transfixed audiences. The movie became the highest-rated TV movie in U.S. history and spawned the cult TV series starring Darren McGavin. The TV movie’s iconic screenplay was written by horror legend and novelist Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) and was based on an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice, which was released the following year. Now Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone and Monstrous Books have acquired the print rights to Kolchak and will be teaming up with Blackstone Audio to release an audiobook of Jeff Rice’s original, cult novel narrated by actor William Katt (Greatest American Hero, Carrie).
“It was a humbling experience working in the shadow of Jeff Rice and Darren McGavin!” William Katt said. “The cult classic Kolchak: The Night Stalker laid the groundwork for so many shows that followed—including The Greatest American Hero and so many others that borrowed generously and paid homage to the amazing world of Carl Kolchak!”
“I always thought William Katt would make a great Carl Kolchak,” said James Aquilone, publisher of Monstrous Books and editor of the award-winning Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary graphic novel. “So when I had the opportunity to choose a narrator for Monstrous Books’ reprint of the original Kolchak: The Night Stalker novel, I knew I had to reach out to the star of one of my favorite shows as a kid, The Greatest American Hero.”
The new, deluxe edition of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER also features a new foreword by writer and actor David Dastmalchian (Count Crowley; Late Night with the Devil), a new afterword by writer and producer Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), a new essay on Jeff Rice by Kolchak expert Mark Dawidziak, (The Night Stalker Companion) and a cover by Russ Braun (The Boys).
In the KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER novel, the corpses of young women – many of whom are working night jobs — are discovered, drained of blood, with unusual puncture marks on their necks, and it’s up to intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak to find out what happened to them.
Monstrous Books’ definitive edition of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER — which publishes on February 11, 2025 — is also available as an ebook and trade paperback.
For more information, go to the Monstrous Books website or follow Monstrous Books on Facebook, Instagram and X.
ABOUT WILLIAM KATT
William Katt is an American actor and musician best known for his roles as Paul Drake Jr. in the television series The New Adventures of Perry Mason and as Ralph Hinkley in the television series The Greatest American Hero.
Katt was born on February 16, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of actor Bill Williams and actress Barbara Hale, both of whom were well-known performers in the 1940s and 1950s. Katt began his acting career at a young age, appearing in various television shows and films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, Katt gained widespread recognition for his role as Ralph Hinkley in The Greatest American Hero, a science fiction comedy-drama series about an ordinary man who is entrusted with a superhero suit. Katt's performance as Hinkley earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
In addition to his work in television, Katt has also appeared in several films, including Carrie (1976), First Love (1977), and Big Wednesday (1978). He has also lent his voice to several animated series and video games, including The Batman and World of Warcraft.
Aside from his acting career, Katt is also a talented musician, playing the guitar and singing in several bands over the years. In recent years, he has performed with his band The Wild Ones at various venues across the United States.
ABOUT MONSTROUS BOOKS
Monstrous is an independent publisher focused on dark fiction and action-packed stories. Owned and operated by Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone, Monstrous Books is dedicated to creating high-quality print and digital comics, graphic novels, and prose books that aim to entertain with its stories and delight with its aesthetics. Monstrous is the new home of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Its other titles include Monstrous magazine, Dead Detectives Society, Shakespeare Unleashed, and The Omega Eleven.
Cover by Russ Braun:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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