Why Didn't Frid Become a Major Horror Movie Star after DS?

[Nancy]

This question has been bandied about on this board under various threads, even recently.  For those who aren't really familiar with Jonathan Frid's website, in addition to the opening page of the site where he introduces new matter, there is a place called the Visitor's Corner where people leave feedback and Jonathan and his webmaster choose feedbacks to publicly post and respond to.  For those who want to know Frid's thinking about DS, whether or not the rumor is true he dislikes talking about it, and why he didn't want to pursue the opportunity to make a major star in the horror/supernatural genre after DS - this area of his website is a good place to hear his answers to these very questions.  He even gets "yelled" at by irate fans.     When at the Visitor's Corner, scroll through the questions and Frid's frequently blunt (and sometimes funny) answers.  It's more candid than many interviews and a good way to gain insight into his current thinking and views of fandom, DS and other things.  (I personally enjoy seeing him complain about technology, namely his computer) 

And no, I don't get paid anything for hawking his website, lol.


http://www.jonathanfrid.com

Nancy

[The Ghost of Sarah Collins]

     Hello Nancy.... I believe I know why... although I will keep that to myself.... 

[PennyDreadful]

These comments are from interview transcripts you posted awhile back Nancy.  I think they offer some interesting insights into that question.  I think Jonathan Frid would have unquestionably been the next horror film icon along the lines of Karloff, Lugosi, Price, Cushing etc.. Perhaps I will post the question on Jonathan Frid's website to hear what he has to say about it today...

Jonathan Frid from a November 1971 TV By Day interview:  Ive been offered roles, but I wont do Barnabas or anything remotely related to him.  No vampires, no monsters, no necrophiliacs! 

  From the same interview:   As for movies, well, to be very honest, its a very different
thing from television or the stage.  There is so much waiting around, so much boredom.  You have to stand there while they arrange lights and things, and it takes forever.

  John Karlen from 1977 ShadowCon interview: Between you and me, I feel he (Jonathan Frid) made a great mistake by not doing the second movie, because he was right on the verge of becoming one of the greatest horror film characters in this country. That was totally his prerogative. I think he had it at the moment with that kind of thing as an actor, but to me, if he would have continued on with it, he could have branched out into just about anything. It just didn't work out that way.

[Nancy]

Yes, PennyDreadful I remember those quotes.  I know it would seem odd to many actors, including John Karlen, that another actor would rather leave the business than do work he didn't like.  And Frid explains this on his website in various places and in Q&As back in 1998 and 1999.  I don't know if I ever posted those here or not but he talks about these specific things there.  Hmm, wonder if I should repost them? I could do so in this thread, I imagine.

But yes, please do check out his website as he is starting to talk about these things more and more and his work on DS.

Nancy

[stefan]

I've glanced at his website and find it very suave and entertaining. Looks like he has a hard edged sense of humour. I get the impression though he may not quite understand how beautifully he acted as Barnabas and I also get the impression he's just as obtuse about others on DS as well. I have to wonder about his essay regarding Joan Bennett and one of his first initial scenes as Barnabas. He seems to focus on how nervous he was and how he barely muddles through and how wonderful and helpful Joan B. was. I much preferred his prior scenes with Clarice Blackburn as Mrs. Johnson who goggles at him wide-eyed at the door. Is it because Joan B. was a "famous" movie star? Though I'm sure Joan Bennett was very helpful etc.
I feel JF was not really confident enough as a sexual leading man type to have become a big-time movie star. I think he might have had theater confidence and the potential to become a successful stage actor. Why THAT didn't happen might be due to his depression on being forced to act "Bela Lugosi" like while auditioning for a commercial. Poor guy. He's was so convincing as Barnabas it followed him around for quite sometime. The vampire part of Barnabas doesnt interest me nearly as much as the human guilt aspect of him.

[AMKR]

I believe he did not want to be type cast as a horror actor...even though I must say...hes by far my favorite horror actor. He could of really done things for this genre.

[Gerard]

Joan Bennett didn't seem to have any problem utilizing her role as a "scream queen" after the end of DS, ala Bette Davis/Joan Crawford.  She did a couple things, such as Suspiria, and that made-for-TV movie about that computer-runned house which dispatched people it felt threatened its nefarious plans.  As I recall, the house tossed her into a pool of boiling water.

Gerard

[michael c]

one reason why frid didn't become a major horror movie star after ds could be that the whole climate in hollywood was changing drastically during the late 1960's and early 1970's.
there was a definative move away from artiface in favor of a gritty new realism.look at the kind of films that were being made at the time.with his debonair,cultured manner frid probably seemed like the product of another time(even though he was still relatively young).it's difficult to imagine him in the type of gross-out slasher horror films that became popular in the 70's.
t.v. being somewhat behind filmaking i could have seen him being a major star in a prime time mystery-type show.

the show itelf was somewhat quaint when you think about the tumultuous political and cultural climate of the era.

[Connie]

Why didn't he become a major horror movie star after DS?

I would guess for the simple reason that he didn't want to.  Seems like he was Barnabased to death.  (No pun intended).  Plus, didn't he indicate on more than one occasion that he didn't like the whole film-making process?

Why THAT didn't happen might be due to his depression on being forced to act "Bela Lugosi" like while auditioning for a commercial.

I wonder what product THAT was for.  LOL
All I can picture off the top of my head, is one of those old battery commercials - Duracell was it?
There he is, standing in his cape with the battery on his shoulder....(menacingly) "I dare you to knock this off my shoulder."  (bares fangs)

Oy...


I love JF!!      

[stefan]

it's difficult to imagine him in the type of gross-out slasher horror films that became popular in the 70's.

No, he was a Shakespearean trained actor sooo apparent by his movements, voice, expressions and general style....who happened to be playing a very complex person who happened to have become a vampire in a production that happened to be a daytime soap opera.

I could have imagine him on something like LA Law, X-Files or Star Trek...I'm sure with the right vehicle his talents would have shown through brightly as before.

[Raineypark]

I was under the impression that Mr. Frid has made it very clear why he didn't have the career we seem to think he should have, after DS concluded: He didn't want it!

He was a theatre-trained actor who had already spent years doing television, which was not his venue of choice.  Why would he move on to film-making, which is even less like theatre in the way it's produced?  Hours of sitting around in make-up and costume, waiting for the lighting director and the sound director to let the actual director know that they're ready?  Stopping and starting a dozen times to get the dialogue down right?  Starting all over again when someone realises that the boom mike was in the shot all the while (been there, done that!)?

And all for the sake of yet another "monster" role?

I don't believe he missed out on anything.  More importantly, I don't think he believes he missed out on anything.  I think only his fans do.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

More importantly, I don't think he believes he missed out on anything.  I think only his fans do.

I think that's very true. Though, of course, it's only natural for Frid's fans to wish that they had been able to see more of his work after DS...