Fans, this link was posted to one of the DS groups on social media this evening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqeuvdumHg4

Cast includes John Karlen, Adam West, Mark Goddard and Tige Andrews.  All of whom became very popular later on in the Sixties.

G.

For some reason, I'd never seen this 8 minute edit of the DS alumni remembering Joan Bennett--shot, I believe, around 1991.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up4sfnJD0BY

G.

I think one of the rare DS 1966 promos included as an extra on an MPI home video release last year is featured at the start of this otherwise rather silly video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVrSWcSMymw

I have certainly never seen it before. Noteworthy for calling Collinwood "Collins House," which of course was featured in the early Dan Ross novels.

G.

A fan edit of the feature film version of the 1979 serial CURSE OF DRACULA starring voluptuous Michael Nouri in the title role has been uploaded to you tube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBH5mS5q-7Y

G.

Fans,

Many of you have read this article about the shooting of a porno film at Seaview Terrace in 1975:

http://www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com/2014/12/that-time-someone-made-porno-at.html

There is now an edit of the movie done by somebody who removed all the actual pornographic content, I guess for those who wanted to either see the story or to view shots of Seaview in the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omc5tVNUmwA

The opening scene has a very DS look to it and appears to me to have been shot inside Seaview (but I don't remember enough about the layout of the house to specify which hallway and room). If you go to the 18 minute mark, there's a nice long tracking shot of the lead actor and actress walking across the lawn to a side of the house that was used a lot in the 1966 film segments on DS. It looks as if filming happened in early March.

In one of the outdoor scenes, the lead actor (playing a character named Jason) wears the same style of cape Barnabas had in the 1795 storyline. It does make me wonder if Damiano was a DS fan.

The plot is somewhat different from what was described in the NY Times review. The main difficulties I had watching even this truncated version were the awfulness of the script--completely artificial, unbelievable dialogue no actual human would ever say--and the awfulness of some of the performances, especially the lead actress. Either her theory was that her character was in a drugged state throughout the proceedings (which I guess would make sense) or she was chosen for her looks rather than her acting ability (of which she appears to have none).

Jason's butler Griffin is played by "Zebedy Colt" aka Edward Earle Marsh, an interesting cult figure in counter-cultural gay circles of the time. He recorded a florid album of showtunes and standards with the lyrics adjusted, in some cases. The theme of the album was one man's romantic quest to find his life partner in his nightly prowl through the bars. It's an interesting period piece.

G.

Photos of this eccentric LA resident, a well known local "character" throughout the 70s and the 90s, were posted on a group I'm on, and I found several blog entries about her, including this one:

https://antebellumgallery.blogspot.com/2016/09/suzan-strauss-rip.html?zx=329c67ee24ed43a6

It mentions that she had no electricity in her house and lived only by candlelight. Other oddities were the plastic kids' furniture with which she filled the rooms and the fact that she lived off baby food and canned goods, according to a friend. She made her own clothes out of dyed burlap fabrics.

Unusual...

G.

Fans,

A friend pointed me yesterday to this blog that a DS fan aged mid-20s started for Strange Paradise. This is one of those blogs where you have to scroll way, way, WAY down to the bottom of the screen to read the initial entry, and then scroll slowly upwards to read each one in succession.

https://www.tumgir.com/michelles-garden-of-evil#!/yxbk7IFbRuy6y

A caveat is that there seem to be incessant pop-ups on this site, and my standard pop-up blocker doesn't appear to work for them. My advice is DO NOT CLICK, EVER, ON ANY POP-UPS, and IMMEDIATELY close out any other pages that may open up.

It's too bad that the site is hosted on this rather whacky space (presumably founded as a competitor to Tumbler, and I wonder how long it will last) because this fan is also a costume historian and she has interesting comments about the clothing, hair, makeup and other details of the 17th century flashback sequences.

G.

Fans who were around for the 1970s may recall a tabloid-style monster mag called The Monster Times. Issue 27 was a vampire themed number and there are a couple of Barnabas pictures included if you scroll through.

https://www.zomboscloset.com/zombos_closet_of_horror_b/2017/04/the-monster-times-no-27-.html

cheers, G.