DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '25 I => Current Talk '02 I => Topic started by: VAM on April 11, 2002, 03:42:50 PM

Title: Professor Thayer David
Post by: VAM on April 11, 2002, 03:42:50 PM: Last week at a FrightVision Q & A session, KLS said that Thayer David meticulously corrected the grammar on DS scripts. I must say that my appreciation for Mr. David"s talents have grown. That range in characterization is much more vivid this time around especially as Ben Stokes.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Midnite on April 11, 2002, 05:49:37 PM: What a fantastic bit of trivia! And now I like him even more too. I've often suspected that many of his marvelous lines were improvised as well.

I confess that I've been tempted to correct the grammar on the assignments my kids have brought home. I'm not talking about theirs; I mean the teachers' grammar. Maybe I'm just too picky, but I think a teacher should be able to put a sentence together. But I haven't done it, though I draw the line at spelling words-- If kids are given a list of words to memorize then I think care should be taken to make sure they're spelled correctly, and I've sent notes to a few teachers asking, "Is this how you want the word spelled?"

Anyway, this morning I'm lifting my cup of coffee in a toast to Thayer David.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Gothick on April 11, 2002, 05:55:09 PM: VAM dear,

Thanks for sharing this wonderful little story. If I ever finish my book on Grayson, I'd love to produce a little memoir on Thayer. Not surprised to learn that he corrected his scripts. I've always thought he probably more or less rewrote large chunks of his own dialogue, especially when he was playing Count Petofi. It just sounded way too literate compared the rest of the scripts.

Steve
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Midnite on April 11, 2002, 06:10:17 PM: This photo was posted on the 1st VantageNet board, which was corrupted ages ago, so I'm bringing it back for ProfStokes and others to enjoy. The source is Frid's scrapbook, and it was generously shared by Nancy.
(http://members.aol.com/MidniteFMR/thayer.jpg)

Thayer David during his days on DS
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Gothick on April 11, 2002, 06:54:55 PM: Thanks for sharing that wonderful photo, Midnite, and thanks to Nancy, too, for finding it and sharing it! and I suppose ultimate thanks has to go to Jonathan Frid, not just for being so generous, but for still entertaining us with his amazing performances!

Some facts that have been posted many times about Thayer David ... this is just off the cuff, in case some of the new fans want to know more about this amazing gentleman...

Thayer David was born David Thayer Hersey in 1927 in Medford, Mass., a suburb of Boston (actually the town right next over from where I've lived--I've checked the Herseys still living in the area in the phone book and thought more than once of calling around to see if any of them are relatives--he had a sister, I believe).

The family owned a paper mill and were well enough off to be upper class if not quite rich.

He attended Harvard University and was in the same circles as Edward Gorey and Frank O'Hara (a distinguised poet who was also a curator at the Museum of Modern Art). O'Hara wrote a poem in honor of Thayer's performance in the role of Prospero in the Tempest (look up David Hersey in the index of O'Hara's Collected Poems).

Thayer was one of the founders of the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. It lives on as a repertory film theatre with the occasional concert or performance.

His first film role listed on IMDB was in 1957's Baby Face Nelson. He achieved somewhat better exposure in Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and The Story of Ruth (1960). He did a lot of theatre on and off Broadway in the Fifties and Sixties. He worked with Louis Edmonds in Cat-stick in '61 (starring the remarkable Patricia Jessel) and with Grayson Hall in the spectacular 1966 flop Those that play the Clowns.

After DS, he was one of the busiest actors in the industry, constantly shuttling between the 2 coasts doing film, television and theatre. Shortly before he passed away from a heart attack he did a feature-length pilot film for a new Nero Wolfe series which presented one of his best performances. I really do hope this is released on home video some day. He looks fabulous in it ... believe it or not, fresh and healthy!

Hope you all continue to enjoy his performances on Dark Shadows.

Steve
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: VAM on April 11, 2002, 07:21:40 PM: Quote
VAM dear,

Thanks for sharing this wonderful little story. .
Steve

Here is one other bit of information KLS shared about Thayer David. She discovered what a huge appetite David had when she, Mitchell Ryan, and David went out to breakfast one time during the filming of the Series.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Patti Feinberg on April 11, 2002, 07:59:33 PM: Do we know about Mr. David's professional training?

I too enjoy and believe hearing about his correcting of grammar...I'm also sure he put in his own depth of character.

Midnite....AGREE about the mis-spelling/improper grammar from teachers :o :o

Patti
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: jennifer on April 11, 2002, 10:35:29 PM: Quote
What a fantastic bit of trivia! And now I like him even more too. I've often suspected that many of his marvelous lines were improvised as well.

I confess that I've been tempted to correct the grammar on the assignments my kids have brought home. I'm not talking about theirs; I mean the teachers' grammar. Maybe I'm just too picky, but I think a teacher should be able to put a sentence together. But I haven't done it, though I draw the line at spelling words-- If kids are given a list of words to memorize then I think care should be taken to make sure they're spelled correctly, and I've sent notes to a few teachers asking, "Is this how you want the word spelled?"

Anyway, this morning I'm lifting my cup of coffee in a toast to Thayer David.

Oh that is great Midnite! i had to do that last year with a math problem my daughter did that her teacher
corrected wrong! This teacher was called "the math queen"too!

jennifer
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: jennifer on April 11, 2002, 10:38:38 PM: Quote
Thanks for sharing that wonderful photo, Midnite, and thanks to Nancy, too, for finding it and sharing it! and I suppose ultimate thanks has to go to Jonathan Frid, not just for being so generous, but for still entertaining us with his amazing performances!

Some facts that have been posted many times about Thayer David ... this is just off the cuff, in case some of the new fans want to know more about this amazing gentleman...

Thayer David was born David Thayer Hersey in 1927 in Medford, Mass., a suburb of Boston (actually the town right next over from where I've lived--I've checked the Herseys still living in the area in the phone book and thought more than once of calling around to see if any of them are relatives--he had a sister, I believe).

The family owned a paper mill and were well enough off to be upper class if not quite rich.

He attended Harvard University and was in the same circles as Edward Gorey and Frank O'Hara (a distinguised poet who was also a curator at the Museum of Modern Art). O'Hara wrote a poem in honor of Thayer's performance in the role of Prospero in the Tempest (look up David Hersey in the index of O'Hara's Collected Poems).

Thayer was one of the founders of the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. It lives on as a repertory film theatre with the occasional concert or performance.

His first film role listed on IMDB was in 1957's Baby Face Nelson. He achieved somewhat better exposure in Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and The Story of Ruth (1960). He did a lot of theatre on and off Broadway in the Fifties and Sixties. He worked with Louis Edmonds in Cat-stick in '61 (starring the remarkable Patricia Jessel) and with Grayson Hall in the spectacular 1966 flop Those that play the Clowns.

After DS, he was one of the busiest actors in the industry, constantly shuttling between the 2 coasts doing film, television and theatre. Shortly before he passed away from a heart attack he did a feature-length pilot film for a new Nero Wolfe series which presented one of his best performances. I really do hope this is released on home video some day. He looks fabulous in it ... believe it or not, fresh and healthy!

Hope you all continue to enjoy his performances on Dark Shadows.

Steve

thanks Steve I could tell he was a "Harvard man"!
also I lived in Medford for a few years while I went to Salem State so it is nice to have that connection!

jennifer
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: ProfStokes on April 11, 2002, 11:16:52 PM: Thank you so much, VAM and Gothick for sharing the information about Thayer David! I haven't had much luck finding information about him, so I greatly appreciate any trivia or anecdotes. I've always admired his ability as an actor, but the more that I learn about him as a person, the more I respect him and mourn his loss. :'(

Many thanks to Midnite and Nancy for the photo as well!

ProfStokes
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: ROBINV on April 12, 2002, 12:49:34 AM: Thayer David sounds like quite a gent. Any man who values food and grammar is fabulous as far as I'm concerned.

The one time I visited the DARK SHADOWS studio many years ago, Thayer David was the only actor I met--he exited a taxi while I was standing in front of the studio in the broiling hot summer sun. I ran over and requested his autograph, but when he tried to sign a shiny copy of a DS script I handed him, the pen didn't work well, and he said his signature didn't show up very well. It was awesome meeting him in person, even if his autograph on that blasted script was smudged almost beyond recognition.

Love, Robin
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Philippe Cordier on April 12, 2002, 01:54:46 AM: Dropped by unexpectedly, only for a moment, and I'm glad I did because I discovered this thread.

I've admired Thayer David's performances on DS since I started watching the series about three years ago (didn't remember him from my childhood viewing). Would so much like to see any of his other work as well.

Thanks for telling us more about him, Gothick. KLS also wrote in one of her books that he battled alcoholism. It's heartbreaking to think of that, along with his early death. I only hope he overcame his addiction before his death.

He was a great talent and we were cheated when he died.

*******

Midnite -- what a sad commentary on teachers!
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: VAM on April 12, 2002, 02:01:43 AM: Quote
Thank you so much, VAM and Gothick for sharing the information about Thayer David! I haven't had much luck finding information about him, so I greatly appreciate any trivia or anecdotes. I've always admired his ability as an actor, but the more that I learn about him as a person, the more I respect him and mourn his loss. :'(

Many thanks to Midnite and Nancy for the photo as well!

ProfStokes

You are welcome...Just Knew information about Mr. David would please you!

P.S. Glad all enjoyed it!
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Dr. Eric Lang on April 12, 2002, 02:06:55 AM: Quote
Last week at a FrightVision Q & A session, KLS said that Thayer David meticulously corrected the grammar on DS scripts. I must say that my appreciation for Mr. David"s talents have grown. That range in characterization is much more vivid this time around especially as Ben Stokes.

Just caught "Journey to the Center of the Earth" this past weekend - hadn't seen the thing since I was a small child. I had forgotten Thayer David's role in that film. He looked quite a bit younger than he did on DS ten years later - it was a real "hoot!"
Title: OT: Teachers
Post by: Midnite on April 12, 2002, 02:17:51 AM: Quote
Midnite -- what a sad commentary on teachers!

Ack, I should add that I think teachers are fantastic and whenever possible I'll give them my support. We entrust our young people to them and if paid according to their responsibilities, I think they should be making the same as doctors and lawyers, if not more. And I owe much to my former teachers (I can picture a certain nun frowning at me for starting this sentence with the "and" ;)), and perhaps it's MY hangup, but I tend to hold teachers to higher standards-- for example, an English teacher when it comes to writing-- just as I would expect another Registered Nurse to not make a medication error if I'm his or her patient.

I apologize if it seemed like I was bashing the profession.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Ben on April 12, 2002, 04:28:08 AM: Quote

Just caught "Journey to the Center of the Earth" ... Thayer David ... looked quite a bit younger than he did on DS ten years later ...

Thayer was barely 40 when he joined DS, yet he effectively played characters much older. Not to mention a range that could encompass an unschooled servant and an erudite professor.

Thanks, Gothick, VAM, and Midnite for the informative bio and tid-bits on Thayer. I highly recommend the CD with Thayer's 1969 interviews with Ron Barry (available through our friend Bobubas).

Ben
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: shadows1 on April 12, 2002, 05:10:13 AM: Quote
Thank you so much, VAM and Gothick for sharing the information about Thayer David! I haven't had much luck finding information about him, so I greatly appreciate any trivia or anecdotes. I've always admired his ability as an actor, but the more that I learn about him as a person, the more I respect him and mourn his loss.

Many thanks to Midnite and Nancy for the photo as well!

ProfStokes

It is then no small wonder that he his often referred to as
"King Thayer."
Quote
I apologize if it seemed like I was bashing the profession.

It did not come across that way at all, Midnite. Until we start paying teachers decent salaries, I believe that we will continue to see a decline in proper education. It is sheer torture for me to stop at a fast food restaurant and have to deal with today's youthful work force. I have seen tumors with hair that have better sense than some of our recently graduated youngsters that work at these places. :-[
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Birdie on April 12, 2002, 05:41:14 AM: Midnite, you did not sound like you were bashing the teachers profession. In our house we have gone through the same thing. My husband itches to correct some of the notes sent home from teachers. He went to Catholic school, all the way through, even college. I have to say he is so much better at grammar and spelling than i could ever dream to be. I hate to say it I am better than my children are. I think it is not the teachers fault it is what TPTB decide what and how to teach. Sometimes we get so involved with all the "new" technology out there that we forget we have to know the basics.

DS was not Shakespeare but the vocabulary is so much better than what is currently used in todays t.v. shows.

Birdie--guess I have blab enough
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Cassandra on April 12, 2002, 07:31:59 AM: I've always enjoyed Thayer David's perfomances. Just recently I had seen him in "Journey To The Center Of The Earth." I hadn't seen too many of his films, and it was great to see him in his younger days as an actor. He was a fine & talented actor and will soley be missed. Thank you Midnite & Nancy for that wonderful picture of him! :)
Title: Re: OT: Teachers
Post by: VAM on April 12, 2002, 08:25:12 PM: Quote

.I can picture a certain nun frowning at me for starting this sentence with the "and" ;)),.
.

So Midnite you also are a product of Catholic education-How many years? I had 12 ::)years with the penguins!
Title: Re: OT: Teachers
Post by: Midnite on April 12, 2002, 09:14:08 PM: Quote

So Midnite you also are a product of Catholic education-How many years? I had 12 ::)years with the penguins!

Hee hee! Twelve here also, and 2 more with a Marymount College before I left parochial schools behind. I must've been a glutton for punishment.;)

I say that jokingly, but it breaks my heart now to watch recent news about the Church. :'(
Title: Re: OT: Teachers
Post by: Carol on April 13, 2002, 12:32:52 AM: Quote

Hee hee! Twelve here also, and 2 more with a Marymount College before I left parochial schools behind. I must've been a glutton for punishment.;)

I say that jokingly, but it breaks my heart now to watch recent news about the Church. :'(

Add me to the list of parochial school graduates. Twelve years of nuns!
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: The charming Mr. Blair on April 13, 2002, 03:37:45 AM: I am a big fan of Mr. Stokes ( as dipicted by Thayer David). Somehow is is both simple and complex. He is strong as an ox, yet kind and gentle. Like Barnabas he feels an intense internal struggle. Where as Barnabas's struggles is with the monster he has become and the man he used to be, Ben's struggle is purly human.
I found the "Matthew" character to be very well play, but not as likable. He was kind of an mean and irritable old goat, as compared to Ben's lovable and faithfull demeanor. Ben is kind of like a beloved family dog (like Lassie, or Rin Tin Tin). However somewhere in his simplicity is a very wise man. An uneducated great mind, Low is self-esteem, and lacking in self-confidence.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Ben on April 13, 2002, 04:44:47 AM: Quote
I found the "Matthew" character to be very well play, but not as likable. He was kind of an mean and irritable old goat, as compared to Ben's lovable and faithfull demeanor. Ben is kind of like a beloved family dog (like Lassie, or Rin Tin Tin). However somewhere in his simplicity is a very wise man. An uneducated great mind, Low is self-esteem, and lacking in self-confidence.

I never took the time to decipher the differences between the two outwardly very similar characters, but I think you hit the nail right on the head. Insightfully so!

Ben
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Stuart on April 16, 2002, 03:11:59 AM: Steve, it's interesting you comment on him looking very healthy in his final roles -- I read that shortly before his death, he was planning to remarry his ex-wife Valerie French, so presumably he would have been approaching a good time in his life had he survived.

He really was the finest performer "Dark Shadows" ever had in its cast -- he was meticulous and had such a range and precision to his work.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: Philippe Cordier on April 19, 2002, 05:00:58 AM: Quote

I highly recommend the CD with Thayer's 1969 interviews with Ron Barry (available through our friend Bobubas).

Ben

Ben, I'm glad you mentioned that CD. I bought it from Bobubas in NY but had completely forgotten about it -- Found it again last night and will look forward to listening to it! :D
Title: Re: OT: Teachers
Post by: jennifer on April 19, 2002, 03:40:28 PM: Quote

So Midnite you also are a product of Catholic education-How many years? I had 12 ::)years with the penguins!

alas i had only six before i "escaped" to the public system. i'm sorry but Penguins is great Vam!

jennifer
Title: Re: OT: Teachers
Post by: VAM on April 19, 2002, 07:47:56 PM: Quote

alas i had only six before i "escaped" to the public system. i'm sorry but Penguins is great Vam!

jennifer

Actually I sometimes joke about Catholic education-but I do appreciate the academic standards that were set by the nuns...and all those prayers.
Title: Re: Professor Thayer David
Post by: CastleBee on April 19, 2002, 09:31:07 PM: At the NYC fest last year I remember John Karlen mentioning something about Thayer being very intelligent and well educated. He seemed really touched thinking of him so I would imagine he was a pretty nice guy too. Now, referring to another thread that mentioned the fact that every opening in the 1795 storyline was almost exactly the same. I wonder if that redundancy bothered Thayer's literary sensibilities at all. It grates on me to the point that I usually 'FF' right through it.