all "our" actors

[michael c]

with a few exceptions like joan bennett(who was a major hollywood star in the 1940's) and david selby(a major prime-time soap star in the 1980's)most of the cast of d.s. had relatively low-key careers in terms of mass audience recognition(at least before and after the show left the air).

some were well known stage actors but most of that work wasn't filmed.so unless you were there you never saw it.

but i was thinking...does this in a way endear them further to "us"?does it make them more "ours" than if they had had careers that cast them in numerous starring roles on other films and t.v. shows where they played other characters that became better known?

would we be as breathlessly excited at the thought a grayson hall or diana millay or lara parker sighting somewhere on the dial if they appeared on different shows all the time?or does the relative rarity of it add to the allure for us?

because this is the most prolific body of work for many of the cast members they can be defined by the characters they played here and that's "ours"(as they began to drift from the mass-conciousness when the show left the air 30-odd years ago).

i've never seen alexandra moltke or nancy barrett or kathyn leigh scott in anything else so to me they are vicki and carolyn and maggie.

anywho...just a thought.

[Raineypark]

I suspect we're so attatched to these performers and their characters because they came into our lives when we were young (most of us) and impressionable.  That, along with the fact that we saw them 5 times a week, made for a lot of memories! 

[Ian]

Well, besides Joan and David, I know that quite a few fans of All My Children mourned the passing of Louis Edmonds. I think he had a pretty long-standing role on that soap since it started.

As for most of the others, you're absolutely right. To me, they'll always be those characters, and we'll always love them, no matter how much one may touch his hair.

[CastleBee]

I also think John Karlen's work beyond DS has been somewhat prolific making him recognizable outside the series along with Selby and some of the others.  Whenever I mention the actors from the show to non-DS folk I always refer to him by saying, you know, he played Harve on Cagney and Lacy.  Almost everyone will get that one if they can't recall our beloved Willie Loomis.

[michael c]

i didn't mean to give short shrift to edmonds,karlen or anyone else in the cast.

i was just wondering if the relative obscurity of most of the cast endeared them to us more,made us more possessive of them,than if they had all been very well known.

[CastleBee]

I hadn't really thought of it in exactly that way before but you definately have a point mscbryk.

[Bette]

Don't forget Kate Jackson. She is more recognized for Charlie's Angels than for Dark Shadows.

Bette

[michael c]

Don't forget Kate Jackson. She is more recognized for Charlie's Angels than for Dark Shadows.

i didn't "forget" anyone.

i think the spirit in which i first posted this topic is being misinterpreted. :-

[murph]

Hi MSCBRYK,

Murph here, I haven't posted in a long time.  I've just been lurking in the shadows......................

You have an interesting point because my two favorites from the show are Jonathan Frid and Lara Parker who will always be Barnabas and Angelique probably more so because I saw them in very few things outside of Dark Shadows.  Whereas I first knew Kate as Daphne in Dark Shdows, I remember her distinctly in "the Rookies" and certainly in "Charlie's Angels".  So in some ways because she is so identifiable to the masses in those other roles she is not as much "mine" as Jonathan and Lara are.  I use the word "mine" in a harmless way I certainly don't mean it in the threatening stalking way.

Thanks for the topic.

Murph  

[Nancy]

This post isn't in response to what anyone here has said, but something to think about.  Maybe.

"Obscure" is a word that is pretty relative.  Actors who might not be known to the general public (via TV or film) are well known to many casting directors, directors and producers of plays all over the country or work for a season or two at a regional theater.   These actors make their living touring in productions from Broadway, developing plays with fellow actor/playwrights, teach the craft at theater training schools and work as artist-in-residence in various school programs from elementary school through college.  As crazy as it might sound, there are actors who will do some TV work (commercials or an episode) and a film here and there for a shoot of really good money but prefer to stay involved in the theater and the kind of work I mentioned above.

Not that long ago, I read on an entertainment board a post by some readers who noted, with sadness, that Jean Stapleton's career after All in the Family just died.   How far from the truth that statement was.  Ms. Stapleton has done nothing but plays (except for a TV movie here and there) in New York and throughout the US since that show ended.  When I lived in New York, she was always in a new play.  She really seemed to enjoy being in newly developed works or those that are not frequently staged in a very commercial production.

Most of the public believe that if an actor is not seen on TV or film, they have no career or had no career prior to becoming famous.   In the case of DS, several of the actors had decades worth of acting work mostly in theater; John Karlen had quite a bit of TV experience prior to his becoming famous as "Willie Loomis" and later on Cagney and Lacy as  "Harvey."

So that's my semi-rant for the day.  Just felt like typing.

Nancy

[Raineypark]

All absolutely true, Nancy.  But perhaps many people don't realise just how many theatres there are in America.  And they're not all on Broadway, either!

  I live in the NY metro area, but not in the city itself.  You would be amazed at how many local and regional theatres there are in my area.  It is absolutely possible to have a life-long career in the theatre, even without traveling far from home.  Combine working in the theatre with TEACHING perfoming or production skills at a local college, and you have an enviable career indeed!

[BuzzH]

To me, they'll always be those characters, and we'll always love them, no matter how much one may touch his hair.

OMG, I must say, because of this site, and Caption This, I now LOOK for RD to touch his hair, LOL!  And laugh hilariously when he does. 

[Nancy]

I agree, Rainey. Most people are not aware that many actors make a living in the theater and combine that work with teaching.  They will go out for a commercial or do a movie or TV spot for  quick money but rather stay in theater.  It's not important to everyone to be famous; just well known to casting directors and producers.

Nancy

All absolutely true, Nancy.  But perhaps many people don't realise just how many theatres there are in America.  And they're not all on Broadway, either!

  I live in the NY metro area, but not in the city itself.  You would be amazed at how many local and regional theatres there are in my area.  It is absolutely possible to have a life-long career in the theatre, even without traveling far from home.  Combine working in the theatre with TEACHING perfoming or production skills at a local college, and you have an enviable career indeed!