I presume it must be fate's wicked sense of irony, that Jonathan Frid, the original Barnabas Collins has passed on. As a kid, Frid's face appeared on the covers of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine & Forry would chat the show up in its pages, but as that kid - I never saw the show. I did see HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS and NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS with my parents though - and thought they were "neat". However, it wasn't until I came to Austin for college that I fell into the right kind of crowd that understood the gothic awesome that was DARK SHADOWS and suddenly the appeal of Jonathan Frid and his very particular cursed vampire. Frid never fully embraced the awesome of Barnabas... He wasn't particularly fond of the role, was never really interested in Vampires and the folks that love them, but his Dark Shadows devotees loved him all the same. Frid did a enormous amount of stage work, one man shows and yes, fan conventions. I never had the opportunity to meet Frid in person, but I have to admit - I was really wanting to bring him to town for a fun DARK SHADOWS event - and now that can never happen. Over the years when I was a dealer of collectibles - I came across an enormous amount of DARK SHADOWS material and the loyal fans that would scoop it all up loved this show and this man fiercely. My heart goes out to the many fans that I know are saddened at this news and to the people that new Frid best.
