Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Myers, and a jack-o-lantern all come to mind when thinking of the "Halloween" franchise.
However, you probably rarely consider the man who came up with the idea for the horror classic.
We read autobiography The Man Who Created Halloween, and learned Irwin Yablans may have never went into film production if it weren't for the interference of his younger brother, Frank.
See what you may not know about the horror movie >
Before creating "Halloween," Yablans worked primarily as a salesman and distributor at major motion picture studios Paramount and Warner Bros.
While at Paramount, he turned down a huge opportunity to oust and take over his boss' position as vp manager of sales in L.A. The man who eventually took over was his younger brother Frank, a longtime Disney employee.
With his brother soon in control of Paramount, Irwin became known simply as the "president's brother."
Frank soon forced his brother from his sales position, asking him to work instead as a production assistant. The adjustment, though difficult at first, was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.
"This invitation was probably encouraged by my brother, for it would conveniently resolve the issue of how to get me out of Paramount as a sales executive," said Yablans. "I would like to believe that Frank really thought that I would be happier making movies than selling them, and truth be told, it's what I really wanted to do. The reality is that it was a combination of the two that Frank cleverly used to rationalize moving me out of distribution."
After ending his contract at Paramount, Yablan left the major studios to run independent studio Compass International Pictures (originally Turtle Releasing Company), which led to his eventual meeting with the real-life Michael Myers and the creation of international success, "Halloween."
Yablans came up with the idea for the film on a first-class flight back to Los Angeles.
Before "Halloween," Yablan's Indie film company Compass put out failed film, "High Velocity" before turning to new director John Carpenter with "Assault on Precinct 13."
After the success of Carpenter's first film, Yablans knew he wanted him on board to work on a follow-up film.
"The idea came to me that a movie about babysitters in jeopardy could be interesting," said Yablans. "I reasoned that everyone had either been a babysitter, hired one, or at the very least, been a baby."
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The character, Michael Myers, is a real person.
At the time, he was the owner of a small independent film distributing company in London, Miracle Pictures.
Yablans met with Myers to discuss the entry of Carpenter's "The Assault on Precinct 13" in the London Film Festival.
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Director John Carpenter had two requests for the film.
2. Carpenter's girlfriend, Debra Hill, would be named producer, and allowed to co-write the script.
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"The film was inspired by both "Psycho" and "The Exorcist" ...
"Both ... had benefitted from claustrophobic atmospheres – actually one haunted house," thought Yablans. "Why not set the movie on the night that celebrates fright, Halloween!"
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... right down to its small $300,000 budget.
Director, producer, and writer John Carpenter previously made "Assault on Precinct 13" for $180,000.
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The film even used Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of "Psycho" star, Janet Leigh, to help generate interest in the film.
An 18-year-old Curtis was virtually unknown at the time. This became her break out role.
"I found a shot of Janet Leigh in the infamous shower scene from "Psycho" and placed it alongside one of Jamie, in a similar screaming pose," said Yablans. "We sent it out on the wires, and it made every newspaper in the country."
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Yablans specifically wanted no blood or gore in "Halloween."
Rather, he wanted a character-driven, compelling drama with "all the right scares in all the right places."
"I had this idea we could orchestrate the scares and manipulate the audience," said Yablans. "I cited the example of following a protagonist to the right side of the screen, only to surprise on the left side."
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The original suggestion for the film's villain was "The Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" actor Christopher Lee.
However, Yablans thought Lee would make "Halloween" into another typical horror film.
Instead, he decided on British actor Donald Pleasence, who he had previously seen as the bad guy in Western "Will Penny."
Yablans landed him for $25,000.
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Yablans' son Mickey played Richie who runs into Myers.
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It cost $10,000 to compose, direct, produce, and write the music for "Halloween."
For the price, Yablans suggested Carpenter receive 10 percent of net profits of the film.
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He considered shopping the film to a major distributor.
In order to get the attention of a major studio like Paramount or Warner Bros., Yablans decided to debut the film to UCLA students at the AVCO Cinema.
However, after seeing and hearing the overwhelming applause and screaming from the young audience, he decided to keep the movie in house with Compass.
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Yablans chose three theaters in Kansas City as the first locations to test the movie.
He figured the area wouldn't attract too much attention and advertising costs there were manageable.
The first day resulted in $200 per theater; however, business doubled the following night and the night after that.
"By the end of the first week, "Halloween" was the biggest thing in Kansas City," said Yablans. "It was a phenomenal example of word of mouth."
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Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel were the first critics to evaluate the film and give it positive reviews.
Both compared it to its inspiration, "Psycho," and called Carpenter a new major talent in half-page reviews.
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After Chicago, the rest of the country went crazy for "Halloween." The film played until theaters had to accommodate for Christmas films, including Steven Spielberg's eventual flop, "1941."
A photograph in Yablan's office reads: "Irwin Yablans presents Halloween." On the marquee, just below those words, it read, "Opening soon, Spielberg's 1941."
"Halloween" returned to theaters two weeks after the debut of "1941."
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When M&R Theaters in Chicago refused to honor Compass' 90/10 deal for profits gained from "Halloween," Yablans threatened to take their contract to both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
"I held up a copy of the contract that we had both signed," said Yablans. "'This is what we agreed to, sir, and I expect you to honor it. If you do not, I will take a two-page double-truck as in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. One side will show our contract, and the other will contain a letter to Jack Valenti, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, describing your disgraceful tactics.' He knew that I would do it, and finally paid every dollar owed."
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After Compass announced a sequel to "Halloween," Yablans sold off the film rights due, in part to, a busy schedule.
The Indie film company was about to put out "Fade to Black" and "Seduction."
"I have made some big mistakes in my life, but that one was a whopper," said Yablans. "True we made a lot of money on the deal, but we temporarily lost control of a franchise that could have propelled Compass to unimaginable growth."
While "Fade to Black" became a cult favorite and "The Seduction" earned $11.3 million in theaters, "Halloween 2" went on to become the highest-grossing horror film of 1981, earning $25.5 million.
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Years later, Yablans turned down the chance to produce a subsequent "Halloween" film.
Instead, he decided to work on building a house with wife Diane in California's Santa Ynez.
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