Irwin Allen Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American television, documentary and film director and producer with a varied career who became known as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. His most successful productions were "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974). He also created several popular 1960s science fiction television series, such as "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "Lost in Space", "The Time Tunnel", and "Land of the Giants". Irwin Allen was born in New York City, the son of poor Jewish immigrants from
Land of the Giants the part of Dan Ericson, credited his previous football, track and pole vaulting work for helping him with the stunts required. Elements of Allen's "Lost in Space" series recur in "Land of the Giants", notably the relationship between foolish, greedy, on-the-run bank robber Alexander B. Fitzhugh (Kurt Kasznar) and the young boy Barry Lockridge (Stefan Arngrim), paralleling the relationship on "Lost in Space" between Doctor Smith and the young Will Robinson. Also, for main cast billing, Kasznar was treated contractually in the same manner as Jonathan Harris had been on "Lost In Space": billed in last place on the opening