Kolchak: The Night Stalker - His Gear

[GothIce]

Nice work reshaping the hat! I really like the shape you ended with.

I've been looking for a decent Kolchak hat off and on ever since the series aired, and could only find "not even close enough" types going for a lot more than I was willing to pay. Finally the thought occurred to me that I'd be better off looking for a more modern straw Porkpie and find a close-enough ribbon. No surprise, the hat I chose was Jaxon Hats Raffia Straw Diamond Crown, and a replacement ribbon through Amazon, and here's my Kolchak 2.0:

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Good lookin' hat too!! I'm very envious of the band since it's in the right color sequence! /two-thumbs-up...!

I really considered that one too but went with the Golden Hill for the size of the brim that appeared in the website image. I wish Village Hat Shop had free returns; then I'd be more apt to get them all and compare in person.

Cheers!

 

[GothIce]

Anyone else notice that Carl wears 4 different straw hats throughout the series?

There's the one from the scenes shot in Chicago, which has an oval shaped crown, two rows of double tier vents around the body of the crown (with a number of the vent holes missing or clogged), and the brim turned down in the front:
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There's the "hero" hat A, used for the first 15 episodes (and two TV movies), which has a crown pointed in the front, larger vent holes, and the lower of the two vent rows (and part of the upper row on the right side) obscured by the ribbon, and with the brim turned up all the way around:
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Showing two rows of vents along the crown in the interior view of hero A, with light blocked from coming through the lower row by the ribbon.

There's hero hat B, which first shows up in episode 16, Demon in Lace, and is used until the end of the series, with two rows of double-tiered vents, up turned brim all round, and a crown pointed in the front:
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And finally, there's a "stunt" hat that was used in the sewer scene and wraparound scenes for the Spanish Moss Murders, with two rows of vents and an upturned brim all round. At first I thought this might be hero B, but then I noticed that the vent holes were a bit bigger and the top of the crown isn't as pointed and is crushed down a bit in front:
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WoW!!! I could have used your terrific post here as a reference guide many times over! I've re-run many episodes myself trying to clear away my confusion as to what the hat REALLY looked like. ...and here you've put it all together! /two thumbs-up and a big toe...! ;-)

I'm constantly on the search for a more perfect hat so I'll be coming back to you post in the future -- thank you very much!

Cheers! *smilin'!*

 

[Jintosh]

I like that hat, definitely -- thanks!! ...but I'm just too lazy to do the band swap. *ha!* I did with my real Kolchak hat and learned (as others here have said) that it's really difficult to get the band to lay flat.

However, maybe I'll get another itch one day to get a daily hat with the iconic vents like that one and give it a try. ...and post results, of course!

Cheers! /thumbs-up...!

Oh, yeah, laying flat. I'll tell you how it goes with my attempt. Having bought various materials, I just now realized that there materials available that are mildly ELASTIC. I am buying (right now in fact) An elastic thicker black band and a smaller red band and simply nesting them into one band with some stitching to hold them in place. The elastic quality makes it lay flat against the hat even if the walls of the hat are slightly angled. Simple solution.

 

[The Goon]

...I really considered that one too but went with the Golden Hill for the size of the brim that appeared in the website image...

I might have chosen the Golden Hill hat too, and for the reason you mentioned--the wider brim--but I didn't see it on their website. Oh well, I'm happy with the hat I got and it's very comfortable.

 

[Probe Droid]

Watched The Conjuring 3 yesterday (a stinker). Vera Farmiga has the Kolchak Rollei camera, so if you've got one you now have a prop from another film, too!

 

[GothIce]

Oh, yeah, laying flat. I'll tell you how it goes with my attempt. Having bought various materials, I just now realized that there materials available that are mildly ELASTIC. I am buying (right now in fact) An elastic thicker black band and a smaller red band and simply nesting them into one band with some stitching to hold them in place. The elastic quality makes it lay flat against the hat even if the walls of the hat are slightly angled. Simple solution.

I am indeed interested to see/hear how your project works out. ...like others here too, I bet! Good luck!! *fingers~crossed*

 

[Jintosh]

I am indeed interested to see/hear how your project works out. ...like others here too, I bet! Good luck!! *fingers~crossed*

I ordered the two separate colors of ribbon, and then did a Google search and found a better option. I found a company that makes elastic ribbon bands, and I uploaded a black and red pattern to them. So, I will be getting a single black and red elastic band, sold as many yards of ribbon, that I can then cut and makes hat bands from. I will put them in the Project Runs when I'm done. They only had one size of ribbon that is close, so I went with that one, which is 2 inches.

 

[MickMoreau]

Hi gang!

Its me again. Another Rollei 16 has hit ebay WITH the tripod adapter. More expensive because they have all the rare lenses with it as well.
"Vintage Rollei 16 Camera with extras!"

 

[ForbiddenOnion]

Can I just chime in to say I love how this has turned into an ongoing thread? Kolchak was and remains one of my favorite series and one of the best characters of the horror genre. I also had a soft spot for the show taking place in my hometown of Chicago.

Keep up the good work fellas, this is great.

 

[drsyn71]

Yes. Everything they said above!

 

[MickMoreau]

For those looking, here is another ebay description to look up (not allowed to post links) of Kolchak's camera WITH Tripod Adapter and at a very reasonable price
"Rollei 16 Camera in Original Box with Access"

 

[MickMoreau]

Can I just chime in to say I love how this has turned into an ongoing thread? Kolchak was and remains one of my favorite series and one of the best characters of the horror genre. I also had a soft spot for the show taking place in my hometown of Chicago.

Keep up the good work fellas, this is great.

Totally agree!

 

[Apollo]

For those looking, here is another ebay description to look up (not allowed to post links) of Kolchak's camera WITH Tripod Adapter and at a very reasonable price
"Rollei 16 Camera in Original Box with Access"

Man thats a steal at that price!!!

 

[Jintosh]

For those looking, here is another ebay description to look up (not allowed to post links) of Kolchak's camera WITH Tripod Adapter and at a very reasonable price
"Rollei 16 Camera in Original Box with Access"

Wow! I paid nearly that just for the tripod adapter.

 

[MickMoreau]

Man thats a steal at that price!!!

Yep, thats why I will continue to post the relevant ones I find.

 

[animator]

For those looking, here is another ebay description to look up (not allowed to post links) of Kolchak's camera WITH Tripod Adapter and at a very reasonable price
"Rollei 16 Camera in Original Box with Access"

Thanks for posting these as you see them! The camera looks a little rough, but I got it anyway.

Now I'm down to needing the recorder and a better suit. Hoping to be Kolchak at DragonCon next year.

 

[Apollo]

Thanks for posting these as you see them! The camera looks a little rough, but I got it anyway.

Now I'm down to needing the recorder and a better suit. Hoping to be Kolchak at DragonCon next year.

There are all sorts of TC-55’s on the bay now in the last few months

 

[Probe Droid]

January 11, 1972: The world meets Carl Kolchak (and is a better place for it!) as The Night Stalker premieres as an ABC-TV Movie of the Week. The film was a ratings smash, and for my dime still ranks among the best vampire films.


Met Carol Lynley at ChillerCon years ago, and she was very proud of this film.


Happy 50th anniversary! Love me some Kolchak!

 

[Jintosh]

Yes, Kolchak was really the predecessor to The X files. But he dealt with a wider range of night creatures. The X files also had a vampire episode.

 

[FANATICO]

Greetings All….I’m putting together a CK outfit with gear. This site thread inspired me to move forward with this project, especially with Wonder-Con fast approaching. The series has been a fav of mine since it’s first airing. Now that I’m retired, I have some free time. I will endeavor to contribute where I can.

I have the tv series on dvd and I’ve seen the movies. Having the series in dvd form is helpful for me to freeze frame points of interest when playing them on my computer. So I’ve been doing some due diligence on my own which I’ll share along the way.

I’m about 85% in gathering all that I want to do.

For now….as a matter of record for the thread, I’ll post some reference for the Rollei 16 tripod adapter as well as the Sony TC-55 carry case shoulder strap.

Peace Be With You’s