Dark Shadows and BeyondPays Tribute to the Man Who Played TV’s Most Beloved Vampire

Biographiesanddocumentariesaboutactorstend to focus on scandalous stuff — their disruptive family life , tragedies , dependance problems … whatever personal turmoil helped ( or hindered ) them as they built their calling . Dark Shadows and Beyond : The Jonathan Frid Story has none of that . alternatively , it offers a thoroughly detailed looking at at a man who loved roleplay more than anything — a quality that help endear him not just to audiences , but to seemingly everyone he ever suffer .

In exceptional , this documentary will attract very powerfully to fans of Dark Shadows — Dan Curtis ’ spooky Georgia home boy opera house that became a daddy - culture sensation in 1969 after Frid was sick as thesoulful , velvet - voiced vampire Barnabas Collins . ( An anecdote shared by Curtis uncover that the choice was made after Curtis saw a picture of Frid in a cape and thought he ’d make a respectable vampire . ) Everyone loving the actor might vocalise defendant , and of course , any documentary film is going to attempt and twirl the story it wants to differentiate . But the people interview in Mary O ’ Leary ’s Dark Shadows and Beyond — representing a wide array of Frid ’s friends , crime syndicate , acquaintances , and Dark Shadows and other co - superstar — are startlingly unanimous in their flattering assessment of the actor , who extend away in 2012 . If you ’re looking for an exposé or Hollywood gossip , you wo n’t get hold it here — but you will find a very detailed , very earnest chronicle of Frid ’s calling , as well as many memories of his kind , generous nature .

The sudden stardom Frid know was a nice surprisal , but TV fame was n’t something the actor had put as a goal ; as Dark Shadows and Beyond explores , he found his career during his Canadian childhood when he was cast in a school free rein , and pursued work in college and grad schooling while becoming a standout in local theater groups . He was classically trained , seem in Shakespeare play alongside Katharine Hepburn and sustain bakshis from his perfection , Laurence Olivier , while ferment in England . Though he did n’t find breakout success until after in aliveness — letter drop a line to his supportive parents and read in the documentary give away his disappointments while audition for part on Broadway — it seems he never lost trust in his gift .

Jonathan Frid looking very distinguished and Barnabas Collins-y on the Dark Shadows and Beyond poster.

Jonathan Frid looking very distinguished and Barnabas Collins-y on the Dark Shadows and Beyond poster.Image: MPI Media Group

Though Dark Shadows was a daytime soap opera house not exactly known for its product value ( or rehearsal time , something think over on by his Dark Shadows cobalt - stars ; the doc features interview with David Selby , Lara Parker , Nancy Barrett , Marie Wallace , Kathryn Leigh Scott , and James Storm ) , Frid learned to keep up with its tight - paced schedule and appreciated how a show that ran every mean solar day gave him the room to explore all facets of his character . “ In this one role I ’ve play a XII roles , ” he says in one of several archival interviews included in the pic . Dark Shadows was adoring of clock time shifts — including a leap backward that allowed Frid to encounter Barnabas before his vampiric shift — but he ’s also speaking about how Barnabas was such a complicated character reference no matter the circumstances he found himself in . As a vampire , he was never only a monster , he was a tragic figure who felt cryptic emotions ( including guilt)—complexities that Frid ’s well - honed performing attainment allowed him to pull off , and in turn , made the character a sensation .

As the championship suggests , Dark Shadows and Beyond also delves into Frid ’s post - TV career , in which he tour in a series of one - gentleman shows that capitalized on the Barnabas Collins fan stem ( the shows often included recitations of Edgar Allan Poe and Shakespeare ) while allowing the histrion to explore his beloved of the stage . There are very few negative moments in the docudrama . It quickly contact on the fact that Frid ’s dislike of how Barnabas was portrayed in the 1970 lineament film House of Dark Shadows ( and his reluctance to signalise on for a sequel ) is what led to his going away from the TV serial publication , which was subsequently strike down . We also get a mother wit that Frid got a little tired of always being expected to dally the vampire for his adoring public . Still , he was a good sport , agree to host a “ Miss American Vampire Pageant ” and go on extend tour in Latin America , where a dubbed - in - Spanish interlingual rendition of Dark Shadows brought him a 2nd waving of superstardom .

Really the only shade thrown in Dark Shadows and Beyond is at theJohnny Depp - star Tim Burton movie , which featured cameos by Frid and his co - stars but is otherwise only briefly ( and disdainfully ) advert here . Frid ’s personal life also gets what feels like short shrift , but it seems there was n’t much to tell — it ’s admit that he was gay , but was private about it and never really had a meaning prospicient - term partner . His most important family relationship were understandably with his friends and family — as well as with his buff , who continued to keep going his love of do until the very end .

Image: MPI Media Group