Sorry to hear that as it's then that the series gets campier, with a bit of a true 60s vibe. It's my comfort viewing. "There are no such things as heroes and villains, you know, and Barnabas was neither hero nor villain," Frid said. I loved the laying on of hands Quentin tried on Jamison. The memory of Jonathan Frid and Dark Shadows continues to live on, with a new version of the show in development and the appeal of the original continuing to touch people who hand it down from generation to generation. "There were some wonderful velvets and much more interesting clothing designed for the periods in the past. Isnt life too short to watch that much Dark Shadows. Looking around the room didn't notice anything to give a clue as to who our host was until I got to the wall the couch was up against. Appeared in "Oliver!", "Jenny" (with Mary Martin), and daytime. If you watch, you might want to follow along with Danny Horn's episode-by-episode analysis. They had the box tied to me, so I could use the fake arm and I had my own arm in the box. "Trask held you prisoner?" says Quentin, from his prison cell. I mmediately told my friend that my brother was a huge DS fan and would plotz at where we were, As well as the fact that he dressed up as the character for several Halloweens. "There was something about the innocence back then," she said. My name is Victoria Winters. I tried to bring up some episode that involved a still photo of Ray Krebbs and it wanted $1.99, prompting me to snap that I wouldn't give a quarter for that old cowboy Ray Krebbs. 'Dark Shadows' trailer: Why the comedy? A journey that will bring me to a strange and dark place, to the edge of the sea, high atop Widows' Hill. Not far enough by any means but we have come a long way. This one, Don Briscoe. "I just rode right along with it.". Skip over the one you're up to, and see if the next one is free. Well, we were taping, so we had to do it over. I always had a crush on Jonathan Frid. Frid scared me but Quentin made me feel tingles. Henesy eventually left acting as he grew up, and currently lives in Panama City, Panama with his wife, Carolina Rodriguez. Really good stuff! Find where to watch David Henesy's latest movies and tv shows . Henesy eventually left acting as he grew up, and currently lives in Panama City, Panama with his wife, Carolina Rodriguez. There is some really entertaining acting (prissy Louis Edmonds as Roger Collins is priceless, and Joan Bennett as his dignified sister Elizabeth Stoddard is very appealing in her role, plus there are various attractive male actors and some pretty good kid actors). R114 She was taken in by a scoundrel - but Barnabas got him in the end. All told, though, things were pretty quiet. "I doubt whether I ever would have been Barnabas if he had been there," said Jonathan Frid in 1990. R121 - You can tell from outer space. He seems kind of full himself and acts bored out of his mind when anyone else is speaking. Its 1225 hour long episodes. But once we went into the studio, I found that I enjoyed it and we went back a second day to perform it again after I was comfortable. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Back in the 90's I went with pal to a Dark Shadows convention. I was nervous and under a great strain. It was like the stock market, it would go down and up. We were almost like a summer stock group. Will I see it as high camp now? She was a little bit isolated and wanted to break out, like everybody in the '60s they wanted to break out of whatever mold they had been cast in. Everything I've seen said they had to cut the storyline short because Diana Millay was pregnant. Jonathan Frid was a compelling vampire, but David Selby was sex on a stick. I'm in the U.K., though, so it might be different here. Actually, the episodes are 22.5 minutes each, not an hour. Later incarnations of the show fixed it by just making Victoria the reincarnation of Josette, but I would like to see where the original show was planning to go with that story. Also, she was beautiful -- Hitchcock would have loved her! Notes OLeary, Jonathan definitely still had energy. During the taping of episode 19, he assaulted child actor David Henesy in the dressing room area after catching the nine-year-old trying to write a nasty accusation on his dressing room door. And we knew that there was something special about what we were doing.". First a phoenix, and then a witch -- and both had eyes for someone else. "The variety of emotions and the complexity of Barnabas made him the most interesting character I've ever played, including Shakespeare. I was forewarned that this would happen, and it did. I enjoyed reading his comments there for a few years before he died. I was mesmerized by Carolyn Stoddard's perfect blonde shoulder length hair with the 60's flip. As Amy Jennings, Denise Nickerson became the on- and offscreen playmate of fellow child actor and "Dark Shadows" co-star David Henesy. When reference was made to Dr. Fell recently (on Jeopardy? R108 is correct and they could no longer hide it within her costumes. Of course I was only 10 yo. So her dressing room was a perfect place to smoke. Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads. They got there, says OLeary, and there was no script. It was just that freaky phone call. David Henesy makes his first ever Dark Shadows related appearance and they all share some interesting stories. "You and he have always been in league with one another!". So Jonathan just did what actors do: he built an interior life., Though early on it seemed he didnt need too much of that interior life in the sense that Barnabas was intended to be a part of the show for just three months, at which point theyd move on to another character. And a little girl said, 'Mommy! It does have commercials but not a lot of them and they don't cut into scenes. 4, 5, 6, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 48, 50, 53, 58, 59, 68, 70, 73, 74, 77, 79, 82, 83, 84, 86, 90, 93, 98, 100, 101, 102, 108, 113, 114, 115, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 130, 132, 135, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 145, 147, 150, 151, 155, 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 173, 176, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 201, 205, 208, 212, 223, 224, 240, 241, 253, 256, 267, 268, 284, 288, 292, 304, 305, 306, 308, 310, 311, 313, 315, 316, 318, 320, 324, 325, 326, 327, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 337, 342, 344, 348, 350, 352, 363, 364, 489, 492, 495, 497, 511, 539, 540, 541, 598, 609, 639, 640, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 656, 657, 659, 660, 667, 668, 669, 670, 671, 676, 677, 678, 679, 680, 684, 685, 686, 688. Karma for embarassing me I suppose. "There was something about (Jenny's) vulnerability that really was endearing to me." Another mystery of Collinwood solved. In retrospect it seems the theme of Dark Shadows was not the struggles of a tortured Barnabas to escape his vampire curse but rather the futile quest of a stunning blond named Angelique to get laid by any of the( obvious to everyone but her )gay men of the Collins family. Kate Jackson and some others had their start there. "I was lucky enough to have been playing Willie," the actor said. An inner conflict or emotional confrontation is more of a drama to me, Frid detailed. The show's demise is likely attributed to an unfortunate combination of several factors. [quote] so I never saw the Laura the Phoenix storyline. Its funny how you notice things when you watch a series as an adult that you didnt notice as a child. David Henesy. I asked my pal if he had a medical condition or was senile and had just forgotten his pants or pissed them. I watched it from first episode to last back in the day (yes, I'm old). Please click here to register for free. "Yes," answers time-traveling eccentric millionaire Barnabas Collins, who is acting in Quentin's defense. I do, but I dont miss the work, he admitted. Keith Prentice, who was also in "The Boys in the Band". It still never fails to disappoint me. It holds up well, if you enjoy camp, actors taking it seriously, early special effects, and watching the performers desperately trying to remember their lines or find the teleprompter. Time was not so kind to some of the others. He retired, and moved back to Mississippi and never acted again; died at just 62. Like R5, I was watching (and enjoying) the series on Prime. Sorry to hear that, R74. "When that was over I think Quentin killed me on that one some time passed. ^There are a lot of filmed interviews with the actors from DS on youtube, and most of them are really interesting. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). I slogged through the pre-Barnabas episodes and, had there not been a pandemic, I don't think I every would have gotten through them. "You know, he was a bit of a rogue. Why did James Hall leave Dark Shadows? As such, she was supposed to be reborn approximately every 100 years and consumed by fire as an adult every 100 years, but she actually had many lives on the Dark Shadows timeline. I also knew I couldnt make a career out of being a star, because I would have to make a commitment to the occult, he continued. "I was only on once or twice a week. Frid and Henesy are both adorable as panelists. Eventually Willie's southern voice disappeared. It was unfortunate. And their appearance was of the blink-and-youll-miss-it variety. At first I liked the old fashioned sets and hair, etc. television series "Dark Shadows" (276 episodes) in the roles of David. Some of these happen so quickly it's hard to notice. Like one whole episode of a character sitting in a chair whimpering about how Barnabas would do this or that. Dark Shadows. Victoria was nice but she was what my mother would describe as "book smart but not street smart." "It was my first soap opera," the actor said. I pay enough for streaming as it is! I just watched the Laura story a few months ago and was surprised how scary she was for a svelte blond lady. The show had debuted in 1966 and came to a close in 1971 with a total of 1,225 episodes (remember, it aired five days a week). I never wanted to get like that., In the 1980s he began developing a one-man show and, in collaboration with television producer Mary OLeary (who also had a background in theater) and a guy named William McKinley, was able to hone it down and bring it to fruition. David Henesy, who played young David Collins on the original series, recently got in contact with this site to give an update on his current activities. After a few minutes I was hooked again. I'd only just met Barnabas when it was pulled. Loved seeing a very young Kate Jackson. We watched for Josette sightings. I saw the shows when they were first on tv, at least after the vampire showed up, and I think it's mighty interesting to this day. He had just returned from a vacation, Florida I think, to his apartment in NYC and as he was about to leave, his phone rang and it was his agent, offering him the Dark Shadows role, so he decided to delay his plan to take a job teaching on the West Coast, and save up some money working on a soap for a few weeks, which turned into years. I had assumed she was the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth Stoddard (I think that was the ultimate plan, and they certainly dropped more than enough hints along the way). Pretty sure he was gay, don't know what caused his burnout, really. I love this show. Denise Nicholson was good too. "We started a little restaurant on the set. "Let Me In! Like Twin Peaks many years later, the mystery was the entire point, so it doesnt bother me at all that we never got an answer to that question.. ), "Because, he wanted somebody who was very aggressive, very macho and very strong. It seemed like there was always something going on to me. I think most of them were done for the Museum of Television. A book about the various works of Dan Curtis . "Even though at the time, we didn't think it was very innocent.". It's a good thing "Dark Shadows" creator Dan Curtis wasn't in New York when the role of gentleman vampire Barnabas Collins was cast. He got the lust for blood every once in a while, but what always preyed on his mind was the lie. I think I did another play. !, Let Me In!, Let me OUT!!". Jamison Collins (702-838) This past summer I watch the first 400 episodes over again on Amazon Prime. Hello and thank you for registering. It seemed so great then and apparently thats going to have to be enough. The stories had a timelessness. Have any of my fellow DL'ers rewatched this? Clutching a Bible and pointing the finger of guilt, witchhunter Rev. "Now that you've killed her father, the wedding must be postponed.". No one seemed to mind. Like I was going to turn into a bat or something, but it was a precious moment which really summed up, for me, what people thought of the character.. And that played right into my own lie as an actor, pretending to be fully confident when I wasnt. He was released due to an issue of sympathy over the actors strike at the time. Well, I was wrong. If you find it too slow, I can prescribe you a sedative. They remind me of my high school theater days when sets would collapse, muslin walls would wiggle, and doors refused to open! . I thought Barnabas was a creepy old man when I was young and I still do. The fun begins when Barnabas arrives. I was a lot older than I looked.". 1: 'Dark Sahdows' started its ABC run as a Gothic -- no ghosts, no werewolves, no vampires. In the first year of the pandemic, I watched the whole series straight through. ", Karlen reprised Willie in the film "House of Dark Shadows. When David Henesy introduces himself, he leans forward because hes not used to microphones unless theyre hanging three feet above his head. He resides in Panama City, Panama, His youngest son, Diego . Joan Bennett (movie star) , Grayson Hall (Oscar nominee) , Kate Jackson (Charli's smart Angel), David Selby (Falcon Crest star/Streisand co-star), Donna McKechnie (Tony winner), Alexandra Moltke (Von Bulow scandal figure). As Carolyn, Barrett got to wear groovy hair and fashions. Then I got the call for Megan Todd.". He has to kill her, of course, but the great touch is that she actually dies of fright while he has his hand around her throat instead of him strangling her or draining her blood. The ghost of Gerard Stiles had caused the . So from that point of view, it was fun.". Entertainment is hard work statistically speaking, its almost impossible to make anything thats not forgotten by the end of the week. Laura Collins was a Phoenix. Biography. It sounds simplistic, but how many horror movies have you seen that werent scary? Wallace, too, had a theory on the show's enduring appeal. That was how we did it. The close-ups on David were funny! The inner horror. That hair was her whole character. She was purity. I've been watching this, for the first time, over the summer. Somehow that scares me more than anything. She had been married to three Collins, Jeremiah Collins (1700s), Edward Collins (late 1800s), and Roger Collins (1960s). Anyway, Jonathan Frid and David Henesy were on it, is the point I'm trying to make. Love the DS bloopers. Look at Bela Lugosi, the poor man. For over 25 years, he's worked in the hospitality industry, overseeing many . He had some kind of "nervous breakdown" while appearing on the show, in various roles. We start today's show with young David somewhat the worse for wear, following an improperly motivated "boo" attack earlier in the day. Daniel Collins (PT) (983-1028) It was a favorite as a youth. Few likely consider them blood-thirsty predators who look upon us as nothing more than cattle, which is the way it used to be until the arrival, in 1967, of a perfect storm: actor Jonathan Frid, vampire Barnabas Collins and Dark Shadows, the daytime horror soap opera. This is exciting news! The biggest hams on the show (in a good way) were Jerry Lacy as Reverend Trask and (of course) Grayson Hall (in any of her roles). And it lasted a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would. Dawidziak points out that the actor actually did know one thing: He knew how it was going to end, which was with a big piece of lumber sticking out of his chest, because they were going to kill him off. Quentin was very hot; thing is that he was only a werewolf briefly. You can catch it on this YouTube channel! What scared me was Barnabas lie; that he was pretending to be something he wasnt. Frid and Dark Shadows co-stars David Selby, Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott were flown to England to appear in the 2012 Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie version, but that was a disaster. She bathed in it, practically. Ive always played the heavy and Ive had great delight in playing them. What's missing, R88, is the sense of cliffhanger tension; tradeoff is that watching it now the camp shows through! Oh, the malevolence at my house in early July, when Dallas episodes briefly went back to costing money on IMDB TV. As OLeary told him, Its your voice and all your facial expressions that bring all these characters from the page to life for the audience.. I'm sure that David has run into Burke Devlin; his plane crash landed on the way to his dinner meeting in Panama at David's restaurant! "He definitely believed it," Lacy said of the character. I was lucky to have big, blue eyes. Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. Many customers are New York expatriates. The first play I was in at prep school, where I astounded myself, my family and my friends, was when I was a budding actor in 1938 or 1940. At the end they used to just point the camera at an empty set and run the credits. The role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the ABC series from 1966 to 1968. I'm watching the entire series for the first time, and I'm up to Tom Jennings' vampiric turn (God he was hot). Work got sloppy, the writing got sloppy, the discipline got bad and the show burned itself out.. I think Dan Curtis, the shows producer, had other interests. "I sort of understood this dame immediately. As an actor, the first thing you want to know is, How am I supposed to play this? Well, how do you tell somebody how to play someone whos been locked in a coffin since the 1790s? The kid gets to shine in the story as well. It was the time of The Beatles and I was getting almost the same kind of treatment they were.. As the fan mail poured in, Frid made his public appearances and Dark Shadows was virtually everywhere, with the actor attempting to gain an understanding of just why people connected with the character the way that they did. Victoria "Vicki" Winters is a fictional character from the television Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows and its remakes of the same name. ", But Selby doesn't question the appeal of "Dark Shadows. David had died sometime in 1970 along with a girl named Hallie Stokes. The project definitely gaining speed, Frid actually thought he was being derailed when OLeary was contacted by agent Bob Waters, who told her that the Broadway production of Arsenic and Old Lace would be going out on a national tour and he believed that the actor would be perfect for the character of Jonathan Brewster. But I remember seeing all of it. He did embrace his Dark Shadows past by attending a number of conventions in New York and California between 2007 and 2011, and he reprised the role of Barnabas for the first time in the 2010 audio drama The Night Whispers. Not only the impact that the character had on the show, but the impact that the character had on the pop culture and all of horror storytelling going forward., When Jonathan joined the show, he continues, nobody could actually tell him how to play a vampire. Willie Loomis makes my skin crawl. Not sure who the dad was supposed to be however. I bought it. I dont mean whether he was nice or bad. If you missed a line, you were out of luck.". "I found that was helpful," Selby said. They loved the concept so much that Dark Shadows was reluctant to everresolve whatever mystery was at hand during its first year, including its most notorious dangling plot point: Who is Victoria Winters? 19 comments 7 shares. I liked all of Dark Shadows, but I do think the 1897 storyline went on a skosh too long. I struggled and lost interest during season 1. "You don't mean, like, the baseball playing cards?" It seemed to me like he wanted to take it over and make it all about himself. Karlen was cute back then, but I thought the first Willie (although slimier) was sex on a stick. I started watching DS when they already went into the past the first time, so I never saw the Laura the Phoenix storyline. Relates OLeary, Jonathan said it was the most wonderful year of his life, because he got to do a long run of a play and he was an actor who constantly would work and look for some nuance he didnt know in the beginning. David Henesy (October 20, 1956-) Child actor in film, television, and. Each episode was always Barnabas plotting a power grab, but neither side winning or searching for some answer that never materialized. The focus was on Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke . When "Dark Shadows" introduced its version of the Frankenstein monster, Adam, a mate soon followed. I saw it again when I was in my 20s and I was embarrassed. Dark Shadows and Edge of Night were two of gayest sets in NYC in the 60s and 70s and that is saying a lot. "How will I ever find her?". Louis had a place on Long Island where they had some wild parties back in the day way back. In terms of the theater, I like the inner drama rather than the outward manifestation. I just remember the actress being bricked behind a wall. The irony of all of this is that as far as Frid was concerned, the vampirism was the most boring aspect of playing the character. It seemed like one brick per episode. Were still talking about Dark Shadows for the same reasons were still talking about Casablanca, Star Wars, and The Twilight Zone they all have a lot of gears working in unison that sing to us on levels deeper than just personal. Fandoms tend to crop up around these kinds of properties because they provoke a shared experience thats transcendent, and we gather together to try to prolong that experience. Please click here to update your account with a username and password. Apparently the show was shot live on tape. But the story never progresses. David Henesy is one of the two primary actors from DARK SHADOWS (the other being Alexandra Moltke) who has, in the years since the show left the airwaves (or ceased its original run; it never really left the airwaves), mostly avoided the public eye. Just who in the hell was she. I do know that later on Laura returns to do battle with Angelique, which should be interesting. I used to rush home to watch it as a kid. Funny how gay old Roger just could not hold onto a woman. Here endeth my TED Talk., Looking back at it all towards the end, Frid commented, Dark Shadows was something unexpected, but really quite amazing. I watched a few episodes when the revival came out in the early 90's - i was interested in the source material. Went into the small living room and sat down on the couch and started talking to the other people who'd gathered to watch the film with us. ". It was 4 o'clock in the morning and I was in the sonar plane watching a flight of lions feeding off a wildebeest. Apparently, everybody hated Roger Davis. Jonathan Frid flubbed more lines than everyone else in the cast put together. Some features on this site require a subscription. I had only just got to Barnabus's debut when bastard Amazon U.K. pulled the show from Prime and made it a cost-option. Are you at a later point in the series? Because of the pandemic, she had to give her paper virtually. Wallace McBride comments, Dark Shadows functions on a lot of different levels simultaneously. Look up the shows with Reverend Trask, e.g. I do the exact opposite of what that asshole recomnends. But we keep trying, because when it works, its literally magic. They would change color with what I had on. The black and white episodes were especially like watching badly rehearsed theater. For a show with so much amateurism, it did have star quality! On the set of Dark Shadows, our stage manager gave David the all-important task of holding the slate to mark Episode #67, recorded February 26, 1967. Reminds me of riding my bike as fast as I could home from school to make the 4 o'clock broadcast. What impressed me was how sexless it was compared to modern soaps. The show also is much less confusingly organized than it is on Amazon Prime. We were charging 'em five bucks a day for a hot plate.". Astredo may be a straight actor, but he did the part with extra ping! It was constantly fascinating and surprising to me what I was called upon to do. I may try that, R11. There was an instance on a weekend when I was in a tent and there was a mob of people mothers and children waiting to come up and see me. That is exactly the word that describes the change that took place, offers Mark Dawidziak, author of, among others, Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula and The Shawshank Redemption Revealed: How One Story Keeps Hope Alive. I had a crush on the kid who played David. I think it would have been more fun if we had been paid for it. If youve ever uttered the phrase, I used to run home from school every day to watch it, youre well aware of what Dark Shadows was. Im a negative person in that way. See David Henesy full list of movies and tv shows from their career. Fact No. People who tonight are still only shadows in my mind, but who will soon fill the days and nights of my tomorrows. But back to DS - I loved Barnabas but never liked Quentin. Vee is in the biz, you know. Together they operate a . I've had a lot of laughs reading his entries. I was amazed at how good Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie/Josette) and Lara Parker (Angelique/Casandra) looked. It was hanging off my arm! Collins, Daniel Collins, Jamison Collins, and Tad Collins. So 1940 was my first inclination and 1945 I figured that if my friend could do it, I could do it. Eve, a manmade woman, was the first of three "Dark Shadows" roles played by Marie Wallace. And speaking of the stars on DS, Laura the Phoenix was played by a "known" B-actress named Diana Millay. Like all fan events it was culty and as I was not in the cult quite hilarious. Reared in New York City, Henesy was a child actor in film, television, and Broadway. No matter how you blow your lines you just keep going! I knew it couldnt last. I agree that her mystery was compelling as was the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Paul Stoddard (it was obvious Elizabeth killed him, but not why). He's hilarious. The idea was that this vampire Barnabas Collins would be inadvertently freed from his chained coffin and pass himself off as a distant relative of the family. He was very frail and not wearing any pants just pink boxers and dress shoes. I can't say what it is, but there's something about Joan Bennett that is just so incredibly endearing and magnetic at the same time. "No," she said, "never." Otherwise it will start at episode 210 (Barnabas's first appearance). "It's not dependent upon technology or anything. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. David Henesy makes his first ever Dark Shadows related appearance and they all share some interesting stories. David Henesy David Collins: June 30, 1966 - September 24, 1970 Present day Daniel Collins February 19, 1968 - March 25, 1968 1795 flashback Even the entire first series now needs to be paid for. I wonder if it holds up better. Also, I don't know if I imagined it or what, but I thought one of the color episodes started with a closeup of Dr. Hoffman's gloved hand using a pencil to dial a telephone. And then he returned home to Canada, before relocating back to New York in the early 1980s. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Circa 1991, I was visiting a friend in Manhattan and he asked if I'd like to have dinner and watch a small independent film he'd been in over at one of the other actor's apartments. Dark Shadows News Page: David Henesy Checks In. I agree that David Hennessy was a good actor. Anyway, if Amazon ever restores DS to the lineup, I'll go back to watching it again. Deciding he had nothing left to lose, he figured hed go for broke and threw a vampire into the mix. "We had a blast," Nickerson said of working with Henesy. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. It was always campy - it is a daytime soap about vampires and witches.but god love em for takning chances. At one point, my friend mentioned seeing our hosts photograph on a display at Blockbuster, at which point I inquired for what. Following are reflections on the original 1966-71 Gothic soap, compiled by Google Dark Shadows Every Day. ), but would come to include victims of the humankind.