Hey gang,

I noticed that Dan Curtis’s two epic series, “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” are on You Tube.  The two series feature several DS actors, including John Karlen, Barbara Steele, John Harkins, Dennis Patrick and Addison Powell.

I had not seen these series in many years and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them again, especially during these days of COVID-inspired self quarantine.

Bob

Hey gang,

As a young kid back in the sixties, I always enjoyed watching Louis Edmonds as the "slightly" haughty and supercilious Roger Collins (in addition to his other memorable characters on DS).

And when Mr. Edmonds was portraying Roger, Joshua, Edward, Amadeus (?), and, I believe, Brutus Collins, there was always something that Mr. Edmonds did (or more to the point) did NOT do; he never wore a toupee on his head.  I can't say this is definitely true, but Mr. Edmonds, going sans the toupee, might very well have had the philosophy of: "When you've got it, worry about it.  When you lose it, forget it!"

I get the impression that Mr. Edmonds could not be bothered, wearing some God-awful rug on the top of his head. (Although, it's rather obvious which fellow male DS co-stars of Mr. Edmonds' DID wear a Cy Sperling "special" for their roles. But, no names, please!)

So, now as an aging, greying and somewhat folliclely-challenged DS fan myself, I praise Mr. Edmonds for his apparent hip and blithely insouciant attitude about his thinning locks, circa 1966 to 1971.

Bob

PS It was a hoot, nonetheless, to see the, by then, completely bald Mr. Edmonds, sporting a William Shatner-like toupee on the ABC soap, All My Children, in his memorable role of Langley Wallingford!

Hey, gang,

Excuse me if this has already been posted, but a new channel, called "Decades" aired about 120 episodes of DS recently.  The episodes began with the arrival of Barnabas at Collinwood going up to the episode where Barnabas was just about to "off" Dr. Dave Woodard.


"Decades" airs classic tv shows like The Fugitive, Mission lmpossible and Kung Fu. Hopefully, they will air additional episodes of DS in the future.

Bob

Hey, gang,

I recently picked up a rather large book at my local library, entitled, "Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares," by the aforementioned Mr. John Landis.

Let me tell you, the book is loaded with great photographs of many of the giants of the horror film genre, including Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Caradine and Sir Christopher Lee, among several others. 

There are several interviews with some of the prominent people in the horror film industry included, such as an interview with the late, great Ray Harryhausen, master of the stop-action film special effects.  Tom Hanks has said that Mr. Harryhausen's almost magical work in "Jason and the Argonauts,"  qualifies it as a masterpiece of special effects.  I liked Mr. Harryhausen's work in "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms."  Seeing that huge dinosaur meandering around in lower Manhattan was a treat to watch.  (I'll bet that particular "critter" would have quickly cleared all of the demonstrators during their so-called "Occupy Wall Street Protest" at Zuccotti Park on Church Street and Cortlandt Street a couple of years ago!)      

Mr. Landis also interviewed the great Sir Christopher Lee.  I found it interesting to read that Sir Christopher stated that he was not overpaid while he was making all of those wonderful Dracula films for the Hammer House of Horror during the 1950s and 1960s. I recall that KLS also mentioned that the DS actors were also not overpaid during her time on the show in her first book, "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows."

The only reference to any of the Dan Curtis projects that I could find in the book was a listing for Mr. Curtis' 1974 production of "Dracula," with the late, and menacingly taciturn Jack Palance.  I don't know why John Landis did not mention either "House of Dark Shadows" or "Night of Dark Shadows."  Then again, John Landis made scant mention of his own film based on a hit television series, "Twilight Zone" The Movie." 

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those of you who can't get enough, reading about "Nosferatu," The Phantom of the Opera," and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"!

Bob

I watched KLS' interview on Volume 2 of the DS DVD Collection 14 recently, which presents the 1897 story line.

Anyway, Ms. Scott spoke of how much she enjoys appearing at the DS Festivals and meeting the many fans of the program.  She mentioned that many friendships and even romances among the fans have occurred over the years.  In fact, at the very end of the interview, Ms. Scott related that one of the DS actors met and eventually married one of the DS fans in attendance at the festival.  This was news to me.   (This reminded me of the time when the late Richard Dawson, as host of "The Family Feud," met one of the contestants on the game show and eventually married the woman.)

Unfortunately, Ms. Scott did not state which DS actor had married a DS fan.  As a lifelong "Nosy Parker," does anyone know who Ms. Scott was referring to?
   

Hey, gang,

I don't know about you, but "Oceans' Eleven" has always been one of my favorite films.  And, how could you not enjoy a film, which featured the legendary members of THE Rat Pack: Mr. Frank Sinatra "THE Chairman of the Board"), Mr. Dean Martin (a/k/a "The King of Cool"), Mr. Sammy Davis, Mr. Joey Bishop, and the junior member of the Rat Pack, Mr. Peter Lawford, all, sadly, now gone.

These men were all so hip and with it, that the new "Oceans' Eleven" crew, featuring that vacuous, albeit now noticeably aging, pretty boy, George Clooney, among other eminent forgetables, literally pales by comparison.

Anyway, as lifelong fans of Dark Shadows, wouldn't it be absolutely tremendous if we could each have a personal rat pack, or close coterie, if you will, of our own Dark Shadows favorites to both hang out with and chill out with?  

I'd like to have a hopefully eclectic band of DS characters to hob nob with, comprising a cross section of some of the greatest minds and wits to ever reside in Collinsport, including Bathia Mapes, Ezra Braithwaite, the Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker, and the somewhat younger members of my personal DS Rat Pack, the voluptuous and sensual Donna Friedlander and the always uber-cool Buzz Hackett!

Oh, it would be like Collinsport's answer to the famed Algonquin Club, having the extreme privilege of being able to sit down with this truly urbane and sophisticated group at a table in the Blue Whale, and discussing such heady topics as will Sheriff George Patterson really stay on Dr. Irwin Stillman's famed Water Diet this time or are Prof. Stokes and Janet Findlay actually more than just "colleagues" and "friends"? 

Are there any specific DS characters with whom you would like to chill out with and discuss the true meaning of life over a couple of tall, cool ones at the Blue Whale?  

Bob


   

Hey, gang,

During the course of Dark Shadows'" run from the summer of 1966 to the early spring of 1971, I believe  that there were only three cast members, who were there for the entire run: Joan Bennett, Louis Edmonds and Nancy Barrett.  These three wonderful actors were there from the initial introduction of the contemporary Collinses to the rather disappointing and, quite frankly, sleep-inducing Collinses of 1840 PT.

Of course, there was one other original  DS actor, who almost made it to the end of the series in April of 1971, that being young David Hennesy, best known for his portrayal of the precocious and generally hell-raising David Collins.  I have wondered why David was not there for the conclusion of the series?  Did he just want to get off of the show?  (I believe  that David gave up acting not long after DS ended.)

Perhaps Dan Curtis and the Dark Shadows writers just could not come up with a character for David to play in the moribund and, thankfully, short-lived 1840 PT story line?

Do you have any ideas on David's apparently sudden and unexplained departure from DS?

Bob

Hey, gang,

Well, we've reached that joyous time of year when we're all feverishly searching for that perfect Christmas and/or Hanukkah gift for those special people in our lives.

No doubt, many of us have already braved the throngs of fellow eager Yuletide shoppers at malls across America on Black Friday.  (By the way, do you think that Maggie, Willie, Carolyn and Quentin, among others, got an early headstart and were in Brewster's Department Store shopping for bargains at around 11:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day?  Perhaps except for ol' Willie, I think not.)  

I wonder if the residents of Collinsport were also making use of the super information highway to purchase gifts for the holiday season? Heck, I love using the internet and store catalogs to spare myself the drudgery and annoyance of schlepping from store to store, in search of that "perfect" gift.

So, what better place to look for Christmas gifts but in the catalog of the world famous store which has been based for over one hundred years in the home state of our favorite Gothic soap opera, the one-and-only L.L. Bean Company of Freeport, Maine!

To illustrate their excellent line of clothes and other outdoor items in their catalog, L.L. Bean has such wonderful photographs taken in the spectacularly beautiful state of Maine, a/k/a Vacation Land, USA!  (Incidentally, I wonder if all of the beautiful women and handsome men, who are seen as models in those great shots, are really all residents of Maine? But I digress.)     

So, in perusing this year's Christmas catalog, I wondered what it would look like if the real life residents of Collinsport were used as actual Maine models in the publication at various scenic sites in and around the great house of Collinwood?  Since I know that most (if not all) of you have the catalog at home for reference, here are a few thoughts I came up with:

Page 154 - The L.L. Bean Ultralight Down Outerwear  (warmest to -30 degrees) - In this photograph, we see a beautiful, fair-haired young woman, who is shown walking thoughtfully through a field as a gentle snow falls all around her.  Now, couldn't this be Carolyn Stoddard, taking one of her long walks through the woods on the way to Widow's Hill, to think things out and determine if she'll ever find the right man in her life? ( Will it be Tony Pertersen, Adam, Chris Jennings of Jeb Hawks?  You make the call on that one!)   

Page 98 - The L.L. Bean 850 Down Jacket (warmer to -25 degrees) - On a much happier note, we see an attractive couple, attired in lightweight down outerwear, and enjoying a sunny day in a Maine field.  Couldn't this comely couple be Maggie and Joe, out searching for just the perfect Christmas tree to put next to the large Bay window in the Evans cottage?

Page 109 - The L.L. Bean Kids'  3-in-1 Parka (warmer to -5 degrees) -  How about the youngest Collisport generation, represented by the always precocious David Collins and his good pal/accomplice Amy Jennings, attired in these verstile jackets with accompanying fleece hats, cavorting in the snow, and deciding just who will be the next adult to play "the game" with them in Collinwood?

Page 150 - The world-renowned L.L. Winter Boots for Ladies - Couldn't you envision Collinwood housekeper and acclaimed new England cook, Mrs. Sarah Johnson, trudging through the snowy, wet, and invariably muddy grounds of the Collinwood estate, as sees to the needs of all the occupants of the great house itself?  (Although, this notoriously frugal and lifelong Collinsort resident might justifiably balk at the cost of a pair of 8" felt boots at $129 a pair!) 

Page 31 - L.L. Bean's 1912 Corduroys - The casual good looks of these popular corduroys are available in six vibrant colors.   I can just see either the venerable Ezra Braithwaite or the almost equally venerable Eagle Hill Cemetery caretaker, slylin' down Main Street in Collinsport in a pair of these sharp looking cords.  By the way, how old do you think Mr. Braithwairte was in 1912 when L.L. Bean first came out with these pants?  In any event, as they say in Maine, Messrs. Braithwaite and the unnamed Eagle Hill Cemetery caretaker would look "wicked good" in these corduroys, especially in the Deepest Red ones, imo.  

Page 173 - The L.L Bean Tartan Flannel Sleepwear - In the photograph displaying these stylish ladies' pajamas, we see an extremely beautiful, blond woman, sitting happily by a Christmas tree.  Maybe I'm just an unrealistic romantic, but I can imagine that gorgeous woman being Angelique, attired in her Royal Stewart Victoria jammies, as she sits by the Christmas tree in the Old House drawing room with a fire burning in the fireplace on Christmas morning, and waiting for her beloved husband, Barnabas, to join her on this holiest and happiest of days!        (Do you think that his amorous couple will even need a piece of mistletoe, hanging from the drawing room chandelier?)
 

Page 14 - The L.L. Bean Scotch Plaid Shirt (The official shirt of Christmas) - What better model for L.L. Bean's trademark winter shirt than Mr. Bob Rooney, Blue Whale bartender extraodinaire, wearing one of his trademark flannel shirts, while mixing drinks for all of the joyous Collinsport Christmas revellers in Collinsport's classiest watering hole?     (I, for one, think that Bob would look especially sartorially splendid in Bean's Grey Stewart flannel shirt.)
 

Page 77 - The L.L. Bean Double-Layer Thermal Underwear - These longtime L.L. Bean favorites feature two layers of cotton and merino wool to keep one warm on even the coldest of Maine winter nights.  Although, there is no model in the photograph for these ultra-warm undies, I can almost see the eminent Prof. T. Elliot Stokes in the photo, chilling out in a pair of the full body Union Suit thermals (preferably the bright Christmas red ones) as he sits at his desk in his living room, enjoying some sherry and cheese, and working on his latest monograph, a discussion of the accuracy of the depiction of supernatural entities in author and favorite Maine homestate boy, Stephen King.

Are there any other Dark Shadows characters, whom you'd like to see as a model in L.L. Bean's Christmas catalog?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and perhaps even Bah Humbug,
 

Bob