Brian,  This must be Shelly Burch, right?  There's an interview tape (actually somebody just tape recording Grayson having lunch with a group of fans and just chatting away about every topic under the sun) which was made on August 31, 1982, where Grayson talks at great length about her work on OLTL.  She mentions about Shelly Burch coming to work as her daughter Delilah and cracks, "Euphemia and Delilah ... we're quite a family!"  She describes Shelly as GORGEOUS and mentions, I believe, that she had been in the musical version of 8 1/2 (entitled 9, if memory serves) and was still sort of figuring things out as an actress.  Good to hear that Shelly has such good memories of working with Grayson.  

Thanks again for sharing this,

Steve

Chris Jennings wins hands down in my book.  Tom's scenes with Julia are a real treat--it's marvelous to see something so theatrical and Gothic on a live-on-tape TV show.  And you can tell that Grayson and Don had good chemistry together.  

But with Chris, Don really got to inhabit the skin of somebody more three dimensional, and I think he improved a lot as an actor working on Chris.  He goes from being somewhat stiff and posture-y to being much more fluid and in-the-moment over the months in which he played Chris.

He did excellent work as Tim Shaw, too, a character much less likeable than Chris (though he had just cause for being cynical and embittered).

Chris Collins only had a few scenes, but Don did a beautiful job with the role.  His scenes with Chris Pennock's Dr. Cyrus Longworth are particularly well-layered and subtle.

Great topic, VAM!

Steve

Loved the title of this topic, Gerard!  Gosh, I miss that show.  Remember those ankle length vests she used to wear?  That show really was a hoot.

Collinsport was a seaport, crammed to the gills with seamen (I assure you I am typing this with as close to a straight face as I *ever* get)!  I just wish they had shown some lean, mean hungry saiilors prowling the "Eagle" in their tight white uniform.  Yeah, some unshaven, growling sailors--that's what the show needed!

Fleet's in!  Gothick

Sorry to alarm you unduly, Miles.  What I find REALLY boring are those endless scenes between Peter and Vicki.  They go on till the end of the 1795 storyline. And I'm afraid we haven't seen the last of Peter Bradford, once that is over.

Don't want to spoil the story for you, just warn you of further hair-clutching to come.

Steve

Sci Fi cutting DS episodes isn't just speculation; I've read very well documented statements about this from fans who watch the Sci Fi channel broadcasts AND own the MPI videos. The most extreme case that comes to mind is an episode in the 1969 Leviathan storyline where Sci Fi cut out the entire teaser act, including the beginning voiceover.  

There was another episode where I recall several complaints because they went to a commercial literally in the middle of a scene.

And then there is that ANNOYING logo they insist in putting in the corner!

So, while I'm glad they are running the show (since it helps people who have never seen it get to find out about it), for myself, I have to have my tapes!  I'm so pleased because after years of having them stored in boxes, I got some new shelves and put all of them up in order!  I positively glow with pride every time I go to the shelf to grab a tape.

Another crazed fan,

Steve

HOORAY for HENRY!!!

It's great to see you back!  And boy, do I ever agree with you about Rev Trask and THAT EYELINER!!!  I particularly love this episode where Nathan visits the Rev in his rooms to have a chat and I could swear Trask keeps looking at the good lieut's manhood!  I'm sure I'm just IMAGINING things ... THINGS ... THINGS WITH A LIFE OF THEIR OWN ...

Can't wait to see your post on the Hunk-o-meter!

Setting browser to "cruise" control,

Gothick

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