In DARK SHADOWS history, the arrival of Buzz is noted by all authorities as THE pivotal turning point. Ratings shot up and fans wrote in by droves, demanding to know the secret of the Buzz hair and the products used to treat it. Special security arrangements were required as mobs of "teeny-boppers" (in the lingo of this bygone era) made the area around the front of the studio impassable to traffic around the end of taping time. Fortunately, fans still were not aware of the secret "back door" exit from the building, described in one later interview by Thayer David as "like a rip in your sleeve that disappears if you look at it from the wrong angle." Shirtless photos of Buzz dominated 16 magazine in that legendary month of June 1967. It was only when the dazzling glamour of Grayson Hall appeared on the scene that the Buzz legend began to fade. Scholars of Shadows continue to debate the ratings miracle of the "Introduction of Buzz" storyline and how radically it changed daytime television for all eternity.
If you feel it... SIT IT!
indeed. teens began to take note during the Portia Fitzsimmons period. her lunchbox and action figure are covetable to this day...
but it was not until the arrival of
"The Buzz" that the phenomenon truly took off. girls (not to mention a few guys) were known to weep and fall into a faint at the sight of him.
in his later years Frid spoke candidly about how difficult it was to take a back seat to that sort of star power. his was a thankless role.