Dark Shadows Cast
Daytime Soap Operas
Dark Shadows

  • Debuted on: June 27, 1966
  • Last Episode: April 2, 1971
  • # of Episodes: 1,225
  • Network: ABC
  • Created by: Dan Curtis
  • Took place in: Collinsport





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    News & Cast Updates

    (News section last update October 13, 2024)

    John Lasell Dies: ‘Dark Shadows’ And ‘The Twilight Zone’ Character Actor Was 95

    (10/13/24) John Lasell, a character actor known for his television portrayals in Perry Mason (1957), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Dark Shadows (1966), has died in Los Angeles at the age of 95.

    The news was confirmed by an obituary notice, which listed the death date as Oct. 4.

    His last screen credit dates back to 1985, with the Emmy-nominated TV miniseries A Death in California, opposite Cheryl Ladd and Sam Elliott. He appeared in a handful of episodes in the aforementioned television classic Perry Mason (three in total), as well as one guest spot on The Twilight Zone. His most regular appearance was on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, where he portrayed vampire hunter Dr. Peter Guthrie across 25 episodes.

    Other notable TV appearances include Dallas, Falcon Crest, Lassie, Mannix, The Streets of San Francisco, The Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible (in 1972) and Gunsmoke. He was also in two episodes of Wagon Train and four episodes of the Emmy-winning show The Fugitive. While Lasell mainly worked in television, he had several film credits, including a role as Helen Keller’s father in 1970’s Helen Keller and Her Teacher.

    Born John Whitin Lasell Jr. on Nov. 6, 1928, the retired performer married thrice, including to fellow Twilight Zone and Helen Keller and Her Teacher co-star Patricia Smith.

    Soap Opera Digest Is Ending Its Weekly Print Edition

    (10/27/23) The weekly print edition of Soap Opera Digest — the newsstand chronicler of daytime drama — is ending after nearly five decades.

    Staffers were informed of the decision Friday, according to sources. A spokesperson for a360Media, the company that owns the brand, confirmed that the weekly edition is being discontinued. The company plans to continue publishing special print issues of Soap Opera Digest four times per year.

    “Soap Opera Digest, like many other brands, is adjusting its print frequency and shifting more resources to digital to better accommodate its audience,” the a360Media rep said in a statement to Variety.

    Soap Opera Digest was first launched in 1975. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp bought the publication in 1989 for $70 million before selling it two years later, per the New York Times, and it has had a succession of different owners ever since.

    In its heyday, the magazine had a circulation of 1.5 million in 1991, according to the Times. But the reach of its print edition, as with many magazines, has sharply fallen off in the decades since.

    According to its website, Soap Opera Digest is “the leading magazine reporting on the soap opera industry for over 40 years,” serving up “behind-the-scenes scoops and breaking news to passionate soap fans every week.” The mag also has included special editorial features on beauty, fashion, parenting, and health and fitness.

    Soap Opera Digest has been available in print and digital subscription plans, priced at $45.97 for six months (26 issues at $1.77 apiece) or $69.97 for one year (52 issues at $1.34 apiece).

    A360media houses a media portfolio of celebrity, entertainment and women’s lifestyle brands including Us Weekly, Star, InTouch and Life & Style. The company claims that it is the largest print publisher in the U.S., both in retail sales and units sold, with its titles representing about one-third of all magazines sold at retail.

    A360media was formerly known as American Media Inc., which had been the owner of the National Enquirer (involved in the “catch and kill” scandal involving Donald Trump and which Jeff Bezos accused of an extortion attempt). In 2020, AMI was acquired by Atlanta-based logistics firm accelerate360, which sold off the National Enquirer, Globe and National Examiner tabloids earlier this year.

    Susan Sullivan Reveals Lung Cancer Diagnosis: ‘Falcon Crest,’ ‘Castle’ & ‘Dharma & Greg’ Alum Undergoes Surgery

    (10/18/23) Susan Sullivan, best known for her roles in soaps like Falcon Crest, A World Apart and Another World, recently opened up about her health revealing she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

    The actress shared a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, a photo in the hospital with tanks of oxygen.

    “Life‘s surprising little turns try to be ready for them with humor and hope. On we go,” she captioned the post.

    A day later, Sullivan gave her followers an update on her health sharing she had undergone surgery and said it was a “successful” operation.

    “Thanks for all the lovely comments and concerns. I had lung cancer. The surgery was successful. The healing process is a struggle, Thanks glad you’re out there!” she posted.

    Sullivan has had a prolific career in television starring in the ABC daytime soap A World Apart in 1970 with the role of Nancy Condon. She would continue in daytime with NBC’s Another World in 1971 where she played Lenore Moor Curtin Delaney for more than 220 episodes.

    Following her daytime work, Sullivan would go on with roles on shows like S.W.A.T., McMillan & Wife, Petrocelli, Barnaby Jones and Kojak. In 1977 she landed another series regular role playing Maggie Porter in Richa Man, Poor Man Book II.

    The following year, Sullivan would get nominated for the Primetime Emmys in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category for her role as Dr. Julie Farr from Julie Farr, M.D.

    Sullivan would then star in It’s a Living in 1980 for ABC, followed by a recurring role in The George Carlin Show in 1994 and The Monroes in 1995.

    In 1997 she was part of the cast of Dharma & Greg playing the role of Kitty Montgomery. Sullivan would go on to be a series regular on Castle as Martha Rodgers and more recently have a recurring role in The Kominsky Method and Last Man Standing.

    Lara Parker Dies: ‘Dark Shadows’ Scene-Stealing, Spell-Casting Witch Angelique Was 84

    (10/16/23) Lara Parker, who found the role of a lifetime at just 28 years old when she was cast by Dark Shadows producer Dan Curtis as the beautiful, vengeful and altogether evil witch Angelique Bouchard Collins, died October 12 in her sleep in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer. She was 84.

    Her death was announced by producer Jim Pierson of Dan Curtis Productions, on behalf of Parker’s family.

    “I’m heartbroken, as all of us are who knew and loved her,” said her Dark Shadows co-star and longtime friend Kathryn Leigh Scott in a statement. “She graced our lives with her beauty, talent and friendship, and we are all richer for having had her in our lives.”

    Parker, who also authored four popular Dark Shadows-related novels from 1998-2016, arrived on the supernatural soap opera in 1967, not long after Canadian actor Jonathan Frid had been cast as vampire Barnabas Collins. Frid’s storyline changed the show from a moody, Gothic Jane Eyre-type serial into a flat-out horror show.

    When Curtis and the show’s writers decided to do a six-month story arc set in 1795 to show how Barnabas had become a blood-sucker, they set about finding an actress who could play the witch who had set the curse on him way back when. Although some cast members had imagined a raven-haired sorceress, producer and creator Curtis apparently saw something in the blond, green-eyed, Southern-accented Parker that screamed Martinique witch.

    As with most of his gut instincts, Curtis was right. No sooner had she arrived on the show in autumn 1967, as an unassuming servant girl to Barnabas’ fiancée Josette du Prés (played by Scott), when she began casting spells, uttering incantations, turning one foe into a cat and, by the end of the flashback arc, summoning the bat that would curse Barnabas for eternity — all while filling the small screen with her big, stunning green eyes, widened to a maniacally effective extent.

    Parker became an instant sensation, at the time rivaled only by Barnabas among the show’s youthful fandom. So popular was Parker that she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and “bit” the host on the neck after putting in her specially-made vampire fangs.

    Parker, who would stay with the series until its cancellation in 1971, played multiple characters — but nearly all of them aliases of the duplicitous Angelique. She’d briefly play Angelique as a vampire and for several months donned a shortish black wig and very ’60s lime-green miniskirts to disguise herself as Cassandra Blair, who, with a little spell-casting magic, quickly married into the wealthy Collins family.

    But sooner or later, Angelique proper would return to make trouble for the Collins clan, as fans demanded no less.

    Leaving New York City, where Shadows was taped, for Los Angeles with her then-husband and two small sons, Parker often would say in interviews and at the many Dark Shadows conventions she attended that she expected the four-year phenomenon that had been daytime’s first supernatural soap to open Hollywood’s doors. But being the subject of countless fan magazine articles, interviews and promotional events couldn’t outweigh Hollywood’s antipathy to soaps, especially one that had been as campy as Dark Shadows. Parker would say that she thought Angelique would be a springboard to movie roles but would realize late in life that the witch had been her greatest and most enduring part.

    Born Mary Lamar Rickey on October 27, 1938, in Knoxville, TN, Parker attended Vassar and Memphis’ Rhodes College before earning a master’s degree at the University of Iowa. Having done some summer stock, Parker, then living in Wisconsin with her husband and two young sons, announced to her family that she was heading to New York, at least temporarily, to give acting a shot.

    The gamble paid off, and quickly. Within days of arriving in New York in 1967, Parker was cast as Angelique. Her husband and sons soon joined her, and the family lived in the West Village until moving to L.A. in 1972. She’d already filmed her first major movie role toward the end of the soap’s run, 1971’s Night of Dark Shadows, the second spinoff movie from the series following the previous year’s more successful House of Dark Shadows.

    If Hollywood wasn’t exactly waiting with the open arms Parker anticipated, there were certainly enough roles to provide some encouragement. Within a couple of years after moving to L.A., she’d had guest roles on such series as Kung Fu, Medical Center, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, The Six Million Dollar Man, Police Woman, The Rockford Files and, in 1975, a one-off role as yet another witch in a Curtis production, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. She would not remember that job fondly, recalling years later the stinging rudeness of star Darren McGavin, who apparently had no idea who she was when he suggested that she’d need practice to learn to play a witch.

    Parker would continue acting, increasingly sporadically, through the 1980s and early ’90s but largely had retired from the business when Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, both fans of the original supernatural soap, came calling: They invited Parker, Scott, an ailing Frid and their co-star David Selby (he played the rakish Quentin Collins, a ghost and werewolf) to make cameos in their upcoming big-screen Dark Shadows reboot feature film. The quartet’s appearance did in fact make the final cut, albeit briefly. None of the originals was particularly fond of the jokey 2012 film.

    In her later years, Parker turned to writing and teaching — her novels include Angelique’s Descent (1998), The Salem Branch (2006), Wolf Moon Rising (2013) and Heiress of Collinwood (2016). The books proved popular among Dark Shadows‘ still-devoted, conventions-attending fan base, as well as devotees of romance and horror genre novels.

    Parker kept in touch with her co-stars including Scott, Selby, Roger Davis, the late John Karlen and others throughout her life, particularly once the conventions became annual events in the late 1980s through the 1990s and up to the 50th anniversary celebration in 2017.

    Many of the original cast, including Parker, recorded a series of Dark Shadows audio dramas in the 2000s released by Big Finish Productions. They also reunited for a “Smartphone Theatre” Zoom-style, Covid-era performance of A Christmas Carol in 2021 and, on Halloween night 2020, a YouTube/Zoom Dark Shadows cast reunion.

    Parker is survived by second husband Jim Hawkins, daughter Caitlin, sons Rick and Andy, and their wives Miranda and Celia; and grandson Wesley.

    “Dark Shadows” Legends Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Selby and Susan Sullivan To Appear In New Play “In Your Corner”

    (5/31/23) ASHEVILLE, NC, USA, May 31, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- In a follow-up to last year’s successful performance of “What Friends Do,” Dark Shadows legends Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Selby and Susan Sullivan will be appearing in a new play “In Your Corner” on Smartphone Theatre June 11, 2023!

    Life-long friends Bevi, Ruth and Max share their broken hearts over the loss of Harry when they too recognize their own ticking clock which comes with some startling trepidations and discoveries. Written by Susan Sullivan and directed by Asaad Kaleda, the play stars Susan Sullivan, Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Selby, “In Your Corner” will pull your heartstrings while challenging you to reach out and hug those you call family, no matter the distance.

    Watch the play June 11th at 8PM EST (5PM PST) on the Smartphone Theatre YouTube page: www.YouTube.com/SmartphoneTheatre. An alternate is: www.SmartphoneTheatre.com

    Todd Felderstein started SMARTPHONE THEATRE during the Pandemic and it’s proven to be a fabulous platform for showcasing works by actors and playwrights. Asaad Kaleda is a well-known stage and television director.

    Kathryn Leigh Scott is an author and actress. She played four roles, including Maggie Evans and Josette DuPres, in the original Gothic series, “Dark Shadows” and “House of Dark Shadows” (1970). She wrote “Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood” and “Dark Shadows Movie Book,” among other books about the hit series. Her recent feature films include, “The Eleventh Green” with Campbell Scott, “Three Christs” with Richard Gere and Juliana Margulies and Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York.” She recently appeared in “The Blacklist,” Hallmark Channel’s “Broadcasting Christmas,” Lifetime’s “A Wedding to Die For,” and has a recurring role as George Segal’s girlfriend Miriam in “The Goldbergs.” She has written the novels “September Girl,” “Jinxed,” “Down and Out in Beverly Heels” and “Dark Passages.” Nonfiction includes the Lobby Card books on film art, “Last Dance at the Savoy,” “The Bunny Years” and a trilogy of books on caregiving: “Now With You, Now Without,” “The Happy Hours” and “A Welcome Respite.” She resides in New York and Los Angeles.

    Susan Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera “Another World” (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom “It’s a Living” (1980–81), as Maggie Gioberti Channing on the CBS primetime soap opera “Falcon Crest” (1981–90), as Kitty Montgomery on the ABC sitcom “Dharma & Greg” (1997–2002), and as Martha Rodgers on “Castle” (2009–2016). She was nominated for an Emmy for Lead Actress for the role of Julie Farr in the 1978 series “Julie Farr, M.D”. and a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actress for her role in “Dharma & Greg.”

    David Selby, an American film, television, and stage actor, is best known for playing Quentin Collins on the daytime gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” (1968–71) and Richard Channing on the prime-time soap “Falcon Crest” (1982–90). Selby also had prominent roles in the television series “Flamingo Road” (1981–82) and the feature films “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971) and “Raise the Titanic” (1980). As a published writer, Selby has written several books, including novels, memoirs, and collections of poetry.

    Rebecca Staab Interview 11/3/21

    (10/28/21) (Video) Catch up with actress Rebecca Staab live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, November 3rd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Rebecca will be here to talk about her new role in the romantic comedy Love Hard premiering on Netflix on November 5th. Rebecca continues to work non-stop and will fill us in on all the projects she's been working on. She will also reminisce about her daytime roles on Guiding Light (Jesse Matthews) and Port Charles (Elizabeth Barrington). Rebecca will also talk about her work with dog rescues.

    Dark Shadows and Beyond The Jonathan Frid Story Chat 9/30/21

    (9/22/21) (Watch here) Join the Lochard Room for a very special look at Dark Shadows and Beyond The Jonathan Frid Story live on Thursday, September 30th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. This is the first feature-length documentary devoted to Canadian-born actor Jonathan Frid, who became a television sensation with his portrayal of guilt-ridden vampire Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows, the 1966 – 1971 daytime drama that remains a beloved cult classic today. Joining me to talk about Jonathan and the documentary is Emmy-winning soap opera producer Mary O’Leary (The Young And The Restless, General Hospital, One Life To Live, Another World, Guiding Light) who wrote and directed it. Mary will be joined by Dark Shadows actress Marie Wallace who played Jenny Collins, one of three parts she played on the series.

    Who was the man beneath the vampire’s cloak? The documentary reveals Frid’s joys, struggles, artistic triumphs and rise to fame in part through his own written correspondences, read by Ian Buchanan (General Hospital, Twin Peaks) and the reminiscences of family, friends, and co-stars.

    Among those offering insights are veteran talk show host Dick Cavett; actress Marion Ross (Happy Days), Anthony Zerbe (Omega Man, Harry O), Christina Pickles (St. Elsewhere, Friends) and Dark Shadows colleagues David Selby, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Nancy Barrett, Marie Wallace, James Storm, John Karlen and Dan Curtis. Frid (who passed away in 2012 at age 87) appears in never-before-seen interviews as well as rare performance material and archival images.

    Dark Shadows and Beyond The Jonathan Frid Story will be available on Blu-ray, DVD and the Amazon Digital Platform on October 5 from MPI Media Group.

    Producer/Director Mary O’Leary has garnered seven Daytime Emmy Awards for producing the daytime soap operas, General Hospital and The Young and The Restless. She also received several nominations for her work on Guiding Light, Another World and One Life To Live. Early in her television career she met actor Jonathan Frid and became co-producer of his theatrical production company, Clunes Associates. Under this banner Frid toured a series of one-man shows to universities and performing arts centers across the country for almost a decade.

    Robert Rodan Dies: Actor Who Played ‘Dark Shadows’ Frankenstein Monster Was 83

    (3/29/21) Robert Rodan, an actor whose brief career made a lasting impact on young Dark Shadows fans enthralled by his performance as the supernatural soap’s Frankenstein-like character Adam, died March 25 of heart failure in Oregon. He was 83.

    His death was announced on the Dark Shadows newsletter Shadowgram.

    The imposing Rodan, born Robert Trimas in Newark, New Jersey, was cast in 1968 to play the ABC daytime drama’s latest addition to its stable of monsters. Following the introduction of a vampire, a witch and various ghosts, the Dan Curtis production decided to add a storyline based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

    With stitches scarring his face and manacles often on his feet, Rodan’s Adam began as a silent, childlike innocent who turned violent and monstrous after various mistreatments (the creature had been sewn together from corpses by a mad scientist for the purpose of, somehow, curing the vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid).

    Unlike other performers on the series, Rodan did not portray a multitude of characters; when the Adam (and, inevitably, Eve) storyline came to a close within the year, Rodan left the series. He starred in the 1969 grindhouse drama The Minx before pursuing a real estate career in Southern California.

    Rodan returned to the Dark Shadows universe in the early 2000s with occasional appearances on a series of audio dramas.

    Rodan is survived by daughters Mandi and Laura, son Jordan and granddaughter Brianna.

    The actor’s death marks the third Dark Shadows cast member to pass away in recent weeks. Geoffrey Scott, who played the soap’s Sky Rumson, died Feb. 23 from Parkinson’s disease, and Christopher Pennock, who played a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character on the show, died Feb. 12 following a battle with cancer.

    Geoffrey Scott, ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Dark Shadows’ actor, dead at 79

    (3/2/21) Geoffrey Scott, a soap opera star popular for roles in TV juggernauts like “Dynasty” and “Dark Shadows,” has died. He was 79.

    The actor fell to Parkinson’s disease on Feb. 23, according to the Hollywood Reporter. His wife, Cheri Catherine Scott, confirmed his passing, which was on the day after his birthday, in Broomfield, Colorado.

    Scott is best known for playing tennis pro Mark Jennings on “Dynasty” in a dramatic plotline where he is revealed to be the first husband of Linda Evans’ character, Krystle Carrington — and scandalously still married to her. In the 1960s gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows,” Scott played Sky Rumson, the husband of Angelique Bouchard (Lara Parker).

    The actor also played Jeffrey Jordan on CBS’s “Where the Heart Is,” David McAllister on ABC’s “General Hospital” and Billy Lewis on CBS’s “Guiding Light.” He also had a starring role in CBS series “Concrete Cowboys” alongside Jerry Reed in 1981.

    Beyond TV roles, Scott was also a prolific commercial actor, having starred in about 100 ads for the likes of cigarette companies Camel and Marlboro as well as Old Spice.

    His last-ever role was playing the president in Ang Lee’s 2003 film, “Hulk,” before he retired after 45 years as a working actor. Scott lived in Colorado, where he pursued his “lifelong passion” of skiing, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with his wife and two sons.

    Stage and Screen Actor Christopher Pennock Dies at 76

    (2/14/21) (broadwayworld.com) BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Broadway and television actor Christopher Pennock has died at age 76 following several days of hospitalized care.

    Chris performed on the Broadway stage in "The Rose Tattoo," "Abelard & Heloise" and "A Patriot For Me." His other theatrical credits include "The Philadelphia Story," "Third," "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" and "Royal Hunt Of The Sun." He is a lifelong member of The Actors Studio, a professional organization for actors, directors and playwrights best known for teaching method acting.

    On television, he played a variety of characters on the original "Dark Shadows" daytime series during its final two years.

    In addition to his series of "Dark Shadows"-inspired comic books, Chris also participated in numerous new "Dark Shadows" audio dramas over the past two decades.

    Chris was also a longtime player on soap operas, later appearing in "Somerset," "General Hospital," "The Young & The Restless," "Days Of Our Lives" and "The Guiding Light."

    On primetime television, Chris made guest spots on "Melrose Place," "Simon & Simon," "The Love Boat," "Dynasty," "The A-Team," "Tucker's Witch" and "Hotel." Chris made his movie debut in "Night of Dark Shadows" in 1971 and was also seen in "Savages," "Basic Training," "The Great Texas Dynamite Chase," "California Suite," "Frances," "Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar" and, most recently, "A Journey To A Journey."

    Video: The Doctors Cast Reunion #3- 1/15/21

    (1/15/21) (Video) The Locher Room once again teamed with Retro Television to bring you a virtual reunion with cast members from the classic daytime drama, The Doctors. The third reunion featured Jada Rowland (Carolee), Kim Zimmer (Nola Dancy Aldrich), Nicholas Walker (Brad Huntington) and Jim Storm (Dr. Michael Powers) in The Locher Room on Friday, January 15, 2021.

    Retro TV airs The Doctors weekdays at 12 noon and at 7:30 p.m. EDT/PDT (see listings at MyRetroTV.com) and streams online at 4 p.m. EDT weekdays at MyRetroTV.com and on the Retro TV Roku channel. Episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series and exclusive interview content is available on-demand at WatchTheDoctors.com, Roku and App Stores.


    For Older News Visit The Daytime Soap Operas News Archives: Here!



    Facts

    1. On Thursday, April 22, 2004 the Museum of Television & Radio paid tribute to the 40-year career of writer, producer and director Dan Curtis. Watching a clip reel of his work, one thought leapt to mind: ABC could really use this guy right about now.

      Curtis, who began his career selling "terrible" syndicated shows to local stations, did much of his best-known work for the currently beleaguered Alphabet web.

      These include the mid-1960s Gothic soap "Dark Shadows"; the mid-1970s TV movies "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler" (but not the short-lived series that followed them, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," for which "Sopranos" creator David Chase wrote eight episodes); "Trilogy of Terror," a 1975 TV movie whose most memorable segment starred Karen Black; and the mammoth 1980s miniseries "Winds of War" (18 hours) and "War and Remembrance" (30 hours), both based on Herman Wouk's World War II novels.

      Also evident in the reel was Curtis' love of filmic scope (he admitted to shooting one huge WWII battle scene several times just for the fun of it); his willingness to tackle brutal subjects such as the Holocaust head-on (as he said to ABC's standards and practices division, "Six million Jews died. You're going to worry about pubic hair?"); and his versatility. Curtis tackled everything from horror to westerns ("The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang") to serious drama ("When Every Day Was the Fourth of July") to romance ("The Love Letter").

      Among those giving standing ovations to Curtis were friends and colleagues Peter Graves ("The Winds of War," "War and Remembrance"), Dean Jones ("When Every Day ..."), Karen Black, Kathryn Leigh Scott ("Dark Shadows"), David Selby ("Dark Shadows") and John Karlen ("The Winds of War," "The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang," "Trilogy of Terror," "Melvin Purvis: G-Man," "Dark Shadows").

      Over the course of a lively Q & A, the witty, self-deprecating Curtis related how he broke into show business (golf and bravado), how "Dark Shadows" began (with a handshake); how he cast Jonathan Frid as vampire Barnabas Collins in "Dark Shadows" (from an 8-by-10, black-and-white photo that showed him in a cape); how he became a director ("I was tired of telling directors what to do"); his first reaction to adapting the Wouk novels ("It's impossible"); and his new "Dark Shadows" pilot for The WB ("It looks pretty good.").

      In May, The WB will announce whether it has picked up the "Dark Shadows" pilot, which Curtis is doing with producer John Wells ("ER," "The West Wing") and "Smallville" writer Mark Verheiden. Curtis recalled how the whole thing began back in the '60s with a dream about a girl on a train, hired to be a governess in a remote locale. By morning, the idea seemed like rubbish, but his wife liked it.

      So Curtis proposed it to ABC head Brandon Stoddard, and 40 years later, the network geared for the 12-34 demographic is bringing it back -- albeit with a much younger Barnabas, played by Scotsman Alec Newman. In a TV business run largely on fear, it's a bold, improbable move, but that's nothing new to Dan Curtis.

    2. For more than a year and a half the characters of "Dark Shadows" used almost every possible phrase to refer to Barnabas Collins ("He's not alive!" "He's one of the undead." "He walks at night but he ain't alive.") It wasn't until the 410th episode that the word "vampire" was actually used on the show.

    3. Producers: Robert Costello, George DiCenzo, Peter Miner, Lela Swift, Sy Tomashoff

    4. Production Company: Dan Curtis Productions Inc.

    5. Production Design by : John Dapper, Sy Tomashoff

    6. Costume Design by : Mary McKinley, Ramsey Mostoller, Hazel Roy

    7. Fashions by: Ohrbach's &Junior Sophisticates

    8. Directed by: Dan Curtis, Pennberry Jones, Dennis Kane, Henry Kaplan, John Sedwick, Jack Sullivan, Sean Dhu Sullivan, Lela Swift, John Weaver

    9. Art Department: Milt Honig, Trevor Williams

    10. Makeup Artists: Dennis Eger, Vincent Loscalzo, Dick Smith

    11. Hair Stylists: Irene Hamalin, Jack LeGoms, Edith Tilles

    12. Essex, Connecticut was the locale used for the town of Collinsport

    13. Dark Shadows has the distinction of being one of the few classic television soap operas to have all of its episodes survive intact except one, although a handful of early episodes are available only in 16 mm kinescope format. For the one lost episode (#1219), only a home audio recording of the episode exists. The home video version and cable reruns of this episode were reconstructed from this soundtrack, the closing scene from the episode #1218, the opening scene from episode #1220, and from video still frames sourced from other episodes.



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