Jonathan Frid Primary Series Role: Barnabas Collins 1967-1971
	Other Characters: Bramwell Collins 1841 Parallel Time, Barnabas Collins House of Dark Shadows Cursed as a vampire by vengeful mistress Angélique Bouchard, Barnabas Collins is a character marked by his duality. At once callous and compassionate, lonely and furtive, his greatest conflict is with the darker forces his curse unleashes, and the struggle to maintain his personality in spite of them. Released from eternal imprisonment in 1967, he acquaints himself with the present day Collins family, beginning a journey towards personal freedom and redemption. He remains fiercely protective of his surrogate family, and haunted by the shadow his curse casts over the lives of all who live at Collinwood. Jonathan Frid was born John Herbert Frid on 2 December 1924, in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. Cast in a prep school play, the shy youth found new presence, delivering a powerful performance. Spurred by this success, he continued to act, showing great range and an affinity for older characters and villains. His work for the Hamilton Players received critical attention, winning him an award for Best Actor. Throughout World War II, Frid served in the Canadian Navy, later attending the Canadian McMaster University, where he was a prominent figure in the drama society. Following his graduation in 1948, he was accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, in London. Relocating to Britain, he joined a national tour of The Third Man and spent a year in repertory theatre. He later studied at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, before earning an MFA in directing at the Yale School of Drama. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Frid continued to work in the theatre, essaying roles in many plays, including The Merchant of Venice, Auntie Mame, The Rainmaker, As You Like It, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, The Heiress, Much Ado About Nothing and the title role in Richard III, his favourite role. He also made appearances on television in both the States and Canada. At this time, Frid's ambition was to become a professor of drama and direct professionally. However, the offer of a 13-week stint as 'guest' villain Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows was to intervene, cementing his place in cult television folklore. Following Dark Shadows, Jonathan appeared in the films Seizure and The Devil's Daughter, along with more theatre work, including Murder in the Cathedral and Wait Until Dark. He spent the years that followed travelling, living in Canada and Mexico. Towards the end of the 1970s, Frid began experimenting with staged readings of classic texts, which came at the same time as the rising of the Dark Shadows convention circuit. Over the next few years, he would build on these experiments at events, homing his own unique brand of Reader's Theatre. In 1986, Jonathan Frid formed Clunes Associates with Mary O'Leary, to properly market his Reader's Theatre productions, eventually building three distinct shows; Fridiculousness, Fools and Fiends and Jonathan Frid's Shakespearean Odyssey, which toured around the United States. This upshot in activity coincided with a starring role in the 1987 Broadway production of Arsenic and Old Lace, which proved a box office smash, eventually touring for 10 months. In 1993, Jonathan realised his dream of directing, with a production of The Lion in Winter, which starred Dark Shadows cast-mate Marie Wallace. Soon afterwards, he entered semi-retirement, relocating from New York to his homeland of Ontario, Canada, where he continues to reside. In recent years, he has formed Charity Associates, through which he continues to perform his acclaimed 'Reader's Theatre' shows to raise money for worthy causes. In 1999, he began collaboration with writer Malia Howard on a full career biography, Jonathan Frid, an Actor's Curious Journey, which was published in 2001. 1999 also saw him inducted into the McMaster Alumni Gallery for his continued devotion to acting. In 2000, he returned to the stage for a brief engagement in the play Mass Appeal.  He is currently involved in his official website, located at jonathanfrid.com, and continues to make Reader's Theatre appearances in both Canada and the USA. Photographs · Click on the thumbnails to view the full-size image Jonathan Frid takes a stroll in Central Park in a shoot for Paperback Library's 1969 book Jonathan Frid: A Personal Picture Album. Courtesy of Dean Wilson To read a rare 1968 interview with Jonathan Frid click here. Back
	www.collinwood.net is operated by the Dark Shadows Journal Original Content © Copyright Stuart Manning. Design by design@collinwood Dark Shadows © 1966 Dan Curtis Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lara Parker Primary Series Role: Angélique Bouchard 1967-1970
	Other Characters: Cassandra Blair Collins 1968, Return to Collinwood, Angélique Dubois/Duval 1897, Angélique Rumson 1970 (pictured), Alexis Stokes, Angélique Stokes Collins 1970 Parallel Time, Miranda Collins/Valerie Collins 1840, Miranda duVal 1692, Catherine Harridge Collins 1841 Parallel Time, Angélique Collins Night of Dark Shadows The maidservant of Josette DuPres, Angélique's descent into the black arts has taken her through centuries, her passions and hatred unabated. Resentful of her inability to transcend the class barriers of the 18th Century, and driven by equal love and hatred for Barnabas Collins, Angélique possesses compassion and spite simultaneously, torn between her better instincts, her desire for survival, and her allegiances to the darkest forces that she finds herself in reluctant thrall to�? Lara Parker was born Mary Lamar Rickey on 27 October 1942, in Knoxville, Tennessee, spending her childhood in Memphis. Lamar is a family name, originally belonging to her great, great grandfather L.Q.C Lamar, who was a US senator. Attending high school in Memphis, she gained a scholarship to Vasar College, majoring in Philosophy, receiving a BA. Attending graduate school at the University of Iowa, she completed a Masters degree in Speech and Drama. In the summer she wrote her thesis, Lara acted at the Millbrook Playhouse in Loch Haven, Pennsylvania, taking five leading roles. Following this, she decided to take a trip to New York, where she auditioned successfully for the role of Angélique on Dark Shadows. During her time on the show, Lara appeared in the Broadway play Woman is My Idea, and the off-Broadway plays Lulu and A Gun Play. Lara moved to Los Angeles in 1972, moving into work in film and primetime television. Her film credits include Race With the Devil, Save the Tiger, Hi Mom!, Foxfire Light and China Lake Murders. Her television roles include appearances in Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Quincy, The Night Stalker, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, City of Angels, Hawaii 5-0, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980, Remington Steele, Washington: Behind Closed Doors, A New Day in Eden, One Life to Live and Capitol. Today, Lara is married to building contractor Jim Hawkins, and lives in a house she and her husband designed, which stands in the Santa Monica mountains. She has three children, Rick, Andy and Caitlin. Towards the end of the 1980s, Lara began attending classes in screenplay writing at UCLA Extension, and has completed five screenplays to date, One Child, Late in the Season, The French Girl, Dreammaker and Stardust, which remain in development. During the 1990s, she also taught High School students and directed several productions at her daughter's school. She has also written about Dark Shadows in a number of titles for Pomegranate Press. In 1998, Lara penned her first novel, Dark Shadows: Angélique's Descent, which sold over 35,000 copies in paperback. She also wrote an introduction for its 1999 sequel, Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark. She also formed her own publishing company, Old Canyon Press, to publish a collection of her mother's children's poetry, Critters and Bugs I Have Known. At present, Lara continues to concentrate on her writing career, which includes a projection for another Dark Shadows novel. She maintains a personal website, located at laraparker.com. In recent years, Lara has attended California's Antioch University, gaining a Masters Degree in creative writing. In 2006, she completed her second Dark Shadows novel, The Salem Branch. In 2003, Lara reprised Angelique in the Return to Collinwood reunion audio play. In 2006, she again reprised the role for Big Finish's series of Dark Shadows CD audio dramas. Photographs · Click on the thumbnails to view the full-size image    Lara Parker in a rare pose from the play Woman is my Idea in 1969. .................     Visit the Articles and Features section to read an exclusive interview with Lara Parker Back
	www.collinwood.net is operated by the Dark Shadows Journal Original Content © Copyright Stuart Manning. Design by design@collinwood Dark Shadows © 1966 Dan Curtis Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dark Shadows

A synopsis of some of the major stories

Originally conceived with a gothic twist on the usual afternoon soap, Dark Shadows did not break much new ground in its opening episodes. The story "bible", Shadows on the Wall, written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. Set in the fictional fishing village of Collinsport, Maine, the series revolves around the rich and powerful Collins family, owners of a fishing fleet and cannery, and residents of the decaying old Collinwood Mansion. The story begins when a new governess, Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) arrives to tutor young David Collins (David Henesy). Other characters include the matriarch of the family, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Joan Bennett), her daughter Carolyn, and David's father Roger Collins (Louis Edmonds). Also among the early characters were Burke Devlin (Mitchell Ryan), Matthew Morgan (George Mitchell), and Bill Malloy (Frank Schofield).

When the introduction of a ghost proved popular, producer Dan Curtis encouraged the writers to take more chances. The character of Laura Murdoch Collins (Diana Millay), Roger's estranged wife, appears as a phoenix reborn in fire every hundred years. (In the later time travel episodes, we see two of her past incarnations.)

The unscrupulous Jason McGuire (Dennis Patrick) tries to blackmail Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Jason's friend Willie Loomis (John Karlen) goes to the family crypt, looking for hidden treasure.

Dark Shadows did not really become a hit until Willie Loomis opened a coffin, and a hand reached up out of the coffin and grabbed him by the neck. Willie had unwittingly released the vampire Barnabas Collins.

Once released, Barnabas ingratiates himself with the present-day Collins family, claiming to be a "cousin from England" �?his own last living descendant, as Barnabas was generally believed to have died in England. Barnabas becomes obsessed with local waitress Maggie Evans, believing her to be the reincarnation of his lost love, Josette DuPrés (who died in 1822 according to the original timeline, later retconned to 1795). Barnabas kidnaps Maggie and holds her prisoner in an attempt to brainwash her into becoming Josette. Eventually Maggie escapes, but suffers from mental trauma and memory loss about her captivity. She is placed in Windcliff Sanitarium, and becomes the patient of Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall), a psychiatrist and blood specialist.

Dr. Hoffman's interest in her mysterious patient leads her to investigate Maggie's missing time. This brings Julia Hoffman to Collinwood, where posing as a historian, she meets the family, and quickly learns Barnabas's dark secret. Dr. Hoffman attempts to cure Barnabas, and while it is never spoken of, we see that she falls in love with him. Barnabas loves only the memory of Josette, whom he now believes to be personified by Victoria Winters. An interesting side note here is that Grayson Hall's husband, Sam Hall, began around this time to write many scripts for the show.

A séance is held in the great house of Collinwood, and Victoria Winters travels back in time to 1795, where she witnesses the events leading up to the death of Josette. Josette DuPrés (Kathryn Leigh Scott) comes to Collinwood from Martinique to marry Barnabas, but her maid Angelique (Lara Parker), with whom Barnabas shared a dalliance in Martinique, becomes bitterly jealous. Using witchcraft, Angelique makes Josette fall in love with and wed Barnabas' uncle Jeremiah, whom Barnabas then kills in a duel. Angelique forces Barnabas to marry her, but, learning that she is a witch, Barnabas kills Angelique, whose dying curse turns him into a creature of the night. Josette, discovering that Barnabas is a vampire, throws herself off the cliff at Widow's Hill. Barnabas' father chains him in a coffin (where Willie Loomis will discover him in 1967).

Meanwhile, Victoria Winters has been falsely accused of witchcraft by the evil Reverend Trask (Jerry Lacy). She is tried and sentenced to death, but at the moment of her hanging she is returned to the present day.

Back in the present, Barnabas overcomes his curse with the help of Doctor Eric Lang (Addison Powell), who uses Barnabas's life force to create an artificial man, Adam. As long as Adam lives, Barnabas will be free of his curse (or so we are led to believe). Angelique turns up in the present, as Roger Collins' new wife, disguised with a black wig, and calling herself Cassandra Blair. She uses a dream curse in an attempt to make Barnabas a vampire once again. She fails, and is seemingly destroyed as punishment by the warlock Nicholas Blair. Blair forces Barnabas and Julia to create a wife for Adam, in hopes of spawning a race of soulless creatures, but Adam's mate Eve hates him.

Quentin Collins (David Selby) first appears as a ghost haunting the children of Collinwood, David Collins, (David Henesy) and Amy Jennings, (Denise Nickerson) whose strange possesive behaviour eventually causes all to flee the great house at Collinwood, Then with the help of Professor Stokes (Thayer David) and Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall), Quentin's history and past as to how he became a werewolf, and then a Ghost is revealed when Barnabas travels back to 1897 via the I Ching, in an attempt to rid Collinwood of the spectres of the past. (It should be noted that David Selby became a star virtually overnight in this breakthrough role.)

When Barnabas returns to the present, he is first controlled by and then fights against the ancient Leviathan people. To punish his betrayal, the Leviathans restore Barnabas' vampiric curse.

Next, the concept of "parallel time" is introduced. The story is set in the present day, but the characters have different lives and personalities. Barnabas, and later Julia, cross over into parallel time.

When they return to their own band of time, they find themselves in the future, in the year 1995. Collinwood has been destroyed by the ghost of a man named Gerard Stiles. Returning to 1970, Barnabas and Julia try to prevent the destruction of Collinwood. Failing, they travel back in time to 1840, to try to circumvent present horrors by changing the past. They are successful in their attempt, and in this time band the series has a happy ending.

In the final story, the viewer (but none of the original characters) visits parallel time in 1841, where all of the actors play different roles. Jonathan Frid portrayed Bramwell Collins, who has a star-crossed romance with Catherine Harridge (played by Lara Parker); after great difficulties, the two eventually marry.

For more information on this, click here Dark Shadows Storylines

Sources

Dark Shadows often used classic stories with gothic themes. Revisiting such literary masterpieces as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Turn of the Screw, and Wuthering Heights. The series modified this material freely, giving the familiar stories unusual twists. No author of the macabre was exempt from inclusion in subplots. Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Guy Endore, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, H.P. Lovecraft, and others were explored, exploited, and exposed in a history of the Collins family. Stylistically, "Dark Shadows" appears to have taken inspiration from Roger Corman's movie "The Pit and the Pendulum" [1961].

Series production

Working within the constraints of the live-on-tape format -- with almost every scene done in one take -- Dark Shadows displayed an unusually inventive use of costume, make-up and, in particular, special effects. Both time travel and ghosts allowed characters killed in earlier sequences to return, often in period clothing. Séances held in the old mansion were often visited by ghostly apparitions of quivering ectoplasm. Dream sequences included colorful psychedelic spectacles superimposed over ethereal, fog-filled fantasies. Individuals of normal appearance were transformed into hideous creatures of the netherworld.

At times, however, the special effects could appear cardboard-cut-out and amateur. And this, together with the show's heightened melodrama and stilted dramatic moments, is where the show’s very modern �?and in its way, sophisticated �?camp appeal enters the picture. The difficulty of keeping up with the demanding schedule of a daily half-hour show manifested itself on screen, often to laughable but endearing effect. In addition to sets wobbling unintentionally, actors �?especially Frid and Bennett �?often struggled with their lines. Occasionally a stagehand could be spotted wandering onto the back of the set. And at other times the microphone boom appeared in the frame, or a fly hovered around the head of an actor. In retrospect, however, the actors �?who effectively formed a repertory company as they played many different roles �?created memorable characters, and overcame the challenge of daily scripts combined with brief and demanding rehearsals.

Of particular note is Robert Cobert’s inspired music score, which broke new ground for a television programme. The original soundtrack cracked the top 20 of Billboard’s national album chart in 1969 and still ranks as one of the top-selling TV soundtracks ever. The spoken-word instrumental track “Quentin’s Theme�? for which Cobert earned a Grammy nomination, was covered by the Charles Randolph Grean Sounde. The single peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (and number 3 on its Easy Listening chart) in the summer of 1969, when Dark Shadows was perhaps at the peak of its popularity.

The program was noted for its abrupt cancellation in 1971 in favor of a revival of Password. This left some plot lines (such as the story of the Jennings family) unfinished, though most of the plot threads came to a happy conclusion. Disappointed fans hounded ABC to bring the program back, to no avail.

Dark Shadows has the distinction of being one of the few classic television soap operas to have all of its episodes, except one, survive intact (although a handful of early episodes are available only in 16MM kinescope format). For the one lost episode (#1219), only the original audio track survives (syndicated airings of this episode were reconstructed from this soundtrack and from still pictures taken at the time of the episode's production). Dark Shadows has been syndicated almost continuously since its first network run, while almost all of the other soaps from this time period are either locked in a vault or lost forever.

For many years, the show was syndicated on the Sci-Fi Network. The network stopped airing Dark Shadows in December 2003.

MPI Home Video currently holds the home video rights to the series. All episodes are now available on VHS, and episodes on DVD are released on a schedule that will result in the complete series on DVD in 2006.

Cast

See also: List of Collins family members

Notable actors among the long-running regular cast included Joan Bennett (1966-71), Louis Edmonds (1966-71), Alexandra Moltke (1966-68), Kathryn Leigh Scott (1966-70), Clarice Blackburn (1966-70), Thayer David (1966-71), Jonathan Frid (1967-71), Grayson Hall (1967-71), John Karlen (1967-71), Lara Parker (1967-71), Roger Davis (1967-70), David Selby (1968-71), Humbert Allen Astredo (1968-71), and child actors David Henesy (1966-70) and Denise Nickerson (1968-70).

Other notables with shorter runs on the show included Mitch Ryan (1966-67), James Storm (1970-71), and Kate Jackson (1970-71).

Many other well-known names appeared in minor and/or recurring roles on Dark Shadows, including Dana Elcar (1966-67), Diana Millay (1966-1967, 1969), Donna McKechnie (1969-70), Conrad Bain (1966, 1968), Abe Vigoda (1969), and Marsha Mason (1970).

A more extensive list can be found on TV.com's Dark Shadows Cast & Crew page.

During the past thirty years, Dark Shadows has developed a large and loyal fan following. This is due largely to the willingness of former cast members to participate in several gatherings each year, notably the Dark Shadows Festival held alternately in California and New York and a Halloween fright fest centering around the mansion used in taping the stock outdoor footage. The series, though on the air for only five years, put enough of a dent in the audience of competitor soap The Secret Storm to eventually drive it off the air (both shows were usually scheduled opposite each other in the 4 PM EST timeslot).

Revivals

In 1991, a shortlived primetime remake was made by NBC, airing from 13 January to 22 March, and ending with Victoria (played by Joanna Going) learning that Barnabas Collins (played by Ben Cross) was a 200-year old vampire, which Victoria never knew in the original. It also started veterans Jean Simmons as Elizabeth and Roy Thinnes as Roger, as well as future "3rd Rock from the Sun" star Joseph Gordon-Levitt as David.

Plans for another revival series had been discussed; in 2004, a pilot for a new WB network Dark Shadows series starring Marley Shelton as Victoria Winters was written and shot, but never picked up.

The Gilmore Girls paid a tribute to the show in a Season Five episode in which a character watches Dark Shadows.

In other media

MGM released a feature film entitled House of Dark Shadows in 1970. Dan Curtis directed it, and Sam Hall and Gordon Russell wrote screenplay. Many cast members from the soap opera reprised their roles. These included Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Roger Davis, and Kathryn Leigh Scott, among others. 1971 saw the release of "Night of Dark Shadows," also directed by Dan Curtis. In addition, Curtis and Sam Hall wrote it. Players included David Selby, Grayson Hall, Kate Jackson, and Lara Parker, among others.

There have been 33 Dark Shadows novels and numerous comic books. There have also been a comic strip, two board games, a jigsaw puzzle and a View-Master reel. There also have been several books about Dark Shadows, including The Dark Shadows Almanac and The Dark Shadows Companion.

During its original run, Dark Shadows was featured in many magazines, including Afternoon TV; Daytime TV; Famous Monsters of Filmland and Castle of Frankenstein. In 2003, a two-part article entitled "Collecting Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood," appeared in Autograph Collector magazine. It was the first major article to chronicle the show in years. In 2005, Scary Monsters magazine #55 devoted an entire issue to Dark Shadows. Included were full-length interviews with cast members Marie Wallace, David Selby and Kathryn Leigh-Scott, as well as "Don't Open That Coffin! A Baby Boomer's Adventures in the Land of Dark Shadows!" Both the Autograph Collector and Scary Monsters articles were penned by freelance writer Rod Labbe, who once ran a fan club for Dennis ("Paul Stoddard") Patrick. Labbe is currently working on a third article, a 40th anniversary retrospective of the show.

Dark Shadows audio drama

Based on a stage play performed at a Dark Shadows convention, Return to Collinwood is an audio drama written by Jamison Selby and Jim Pierson, and starring David Selby, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, Nancy Barrett, Lara Parker, Roger Davis, Marie Wallace, Christopher Pennock, Donna Wandrey, James Storm and Terry Crawford. It provides a satisfying conclusion to the Dark Shadows saga and is available on CD.

From Summer 2006, Big Finish Productions will be continuing the 'Dark Shadows' saga with an original series of audio dramas, starring the original cast. The first season comprises four discs, featuring David Selby (Quentin Collins), Lara Parker (Angelique), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans) and John Karlen (Willie Loomis). More information and online ordering can be found at www.darkshadowsreborn.com.

BIG FINISH

Season 1

• The House of Despair by Stuart Manning
• The Book of Temptation by Scott Handcock
• The Christmas Presence by Scott Handcock
• The Rage Beneath by Scott Alan Woodard

TV and Film Locations

Both theatrical films, "House of Dark Shadows" (1970) and "Night of Dark Shadows" (1971) were shot primarily on location at the Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown, New York. The Collinwood stand-in mansion used for the TV series is the Carey Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. It is currently used by Salve Regina University. The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in South Norwalk, Connecticut was also used for shots during both movies. Some outdoors shots for the series were filmed in the famous Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, not very far from the Lyndhurst Mansion.

Bibliography

The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection, Edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott, Foreword by Jonathan Frid, Pomegranate Press, 1990. ISBN 0-938817-25-6

Dark Shadows Almanac, edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott & Jim Pierson, Pomegranate Press, 1995. ISBN 0-938817-18-3

External links

• DarkShadows.com
• CollinWiki - A Dark Shadows encyclopedia.
• Encyclopedia of Television
• Dark Shadows Storylines - Dark Shadows Storylines
• Exterior Set of Collinwood
• Dark Shadows Journal Online - Dark Shadows news, information and interviews
• Dark Shadows Online - Dark Shadows news, information and interviews-including official pages of several cast members
• Dark Shadows Audio Dramas - Official Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions
• POMEGRANATE PRESS - Kathryn Leigh Scott's publishing company
• Dark Shadows Tribute Webring
• Dark Shadows Supernatural Page
• Dark Shadows Festival
• Lara Parker.Com
• Dr. Julia Hoffman's Website