Barnabas Meets Spike?

[scout75]

Dark Shadows got a shout-out this week from a syndicated article from the Washington Post. Evidently, Jonathan Frid watches Buffy--as observed in this tiny excerpt from a story about James Marsters, who plays a vampire named Spike on the series:

"[Marsters'] mark on the role (of a vampire) was noted recently by none other than Barnabas Collins, that elegant vampire on the '60s soap opera "Dark Shadows."

"I just got an autographed picture of Jonathan Frid," the actor who portrayed Collins, exulted Marsters. "He said, 'You've made it, man!'"

[petofi]

What a rush!  I'd have to say he has made it!

[VAM]

It would be nice to hear some comments from Mr. Frid about these new Vampire TV shows...We now know he obviously watches them.

[Midnite]

I saw the article in the L.A. Times on Saturday but didn't realize it was an edited version.  There was no mention of Frid (it ended at Bela Lugosi), so if you hadn't posted about it, scout75, I wouldn't have known there was more.

For anyone interested in reading the complete article, here's the link--

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61736-2002Aug8.html

[Cassandra]

Barnabas Collins, that elegant vampire on the '60s soap opera "Dark Shadows."

I like that line.  It's so nice to see others recongnizing this as well.
 Had to laugh when I heard J.F. say "You've made it man!!"  If J.F. said this then the guy must be good.
Thanks Scout75!

[Gothick]

That's very nice to read; it's nice to think of Jonathan Frid admiring James Marsters' performance.  They share in common a strong background in theatre (stage) work, and I've seen Marsters comment in interviews that if you want to learn how to act, join a local theatre company and just spend years grinding away at plays.

In my opinion, James Marsters is one of the best actors around today.  And apart from that, he's a damned sexy minx, y'know?

Gothick

[mfmdpt]

It would be nice to hear some comments from Mr. Frid about these new Vampire TV shows...We now know he obviously watches them.

Actually, he doesn't. At least I don't think so.

Over the weekend, my former colleague at the now defunct DSO forum on AOL, AlaneSue (who now runs a huge Spike list), sent out the following notice to her DSnews list (and I'm sure she won't mind if I share it with you):


Subj: [dsnews] Frid Mention in Washington Post
Date: 8/10/02 6:46:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From a story about James Marsters, who plays "Spike" on "Buffy the
Vampire Slayer.

>>>>One of the few obstacles the actor faces is, understandably, the
sun. Spike is necessarily pale, so Marsters, who already undergoes
painful peroxide treatments for his hair twice a month, stocks up on
sunblock and generally avoids the beach until twilight.

The other challenge is "keeping rail thin. I've been after a body
type since I got on the show. When I came to L.A., I was 200 pounds
and working out--and then I got the role. Playing a vampire for six
years, it's hard to be hungry, but I'm a metaphor for hunger,
psychological and sexual. And I noticed that the only vampires to
really hit the American consciousness and stay there were almost
unhealthily thin, with the one exception of the original, Bela
Lugosi."

Still, Marsters is probably the first size 28-waisted vampire in that
colony of actors who have tackled this classic character. His mark on
the role was noted recently by none other than Barnabas Collins, that
elegant vampire on the '60s soap opera "Dark Shadows."

"I just got an autographed picture of Jonathan Frid," the actor who
portrayed Collins, exulted Marsters. "He said, 'You've made it,
man!'"<<<<

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61736-2002Aug8.html

Here's the story behind the story.

Last year, I asked Nancy Kersey if it would be possible to get an
autograph from Mr. Frid to give to Mr. Marsters when I went to a
convention. Nancy was kind enough to not only secure the autograph
but to get it personalized on a photo of JF from the 1897 storyline
that said, "James, Ya made it!"

When I gave the photo (and an autographed program from December) to
Mr. Marsters, he sucked in some air, stared, leaned a little back on
his seat, got slightly red in the face and was struck temporarily
speechless.

It obviously meant a lot to him to be recognized by the original
romantic TV vampire, and it was a great fan moment for me.

And thanks to Nancy and Jonathan Frid for making it all possible.

Alane


Any Spike fans that might want to check out Alane's list should go to this site for details:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bloody_Awful

[Nancy]

No, Jonathan Frid does not watch Buffy (or any vampire or occult programming) although I can see how people would come to that conclusion based on the article.

A fan named Alane posted on the Frid yahoo list that she had obtained a personalized autograph from Frid to James Masters.  Alane runs a yahoogroup discussing the character of Spike.  It was explained to Frid what the television show "Buffy" is about and that the actor who played Spike was a big DS fan growing up.  Frid was unfamiliar with the show and the actor but agreed to personalize the photo as a gag.  Alane then took the autograph to James Masters recently at a convention in Baltimore.  According to Alane, Mr. Masters was quite thrilled and surprised to receive it and evidently remembered it enough to mention it in the interview.

Alane helped Frid with his website when it was first being developed so he was happy to do her a favor.

Nancy

Dark Shadows got a shout-out this week from a syndicated article from the Washington Post. Evidently, Jonathan Frid watches Buffy--as observed in this tiny excerpt from a story about James Marsters, who plays a vampire named Spike on the series:

"[Marsters'] mark on the role (of a vampire) was noted recently by none other than Barnabas Collins, that elegant vampire on the '60s soap opera "Dark Shadows."

"I just got an autographed picture of Jonathan Frid," the actor who portrayed Collins, exulted Marsters. "He said, 'You've made it, man!'"

[Midnite]

Over the weekend, my former colleague at the now defunct DSO forum on AOL, AlaneSue (who now runs a huge Spike list), sent out the following notice to her DSnews list (and I'm sure she won't mind if I share it with you):

I highly recommend her Bloody_Awful (that's Bloody Awful Poet Society) list to any and all Spike fans.  It's high volume (consider opting for digests instead of individual emails) but vastly entertaining, and the members are very good about Spoiler warnings (because some get the satellite feed before eps air on UPN).  I hated giving it up, but when a certain message board began to take off I just couldn't keep up anymore.  So anyway, Spike fans should check it out!