David Selby

At times, Selby he seemed all over the map to me, straying occasionally from his two new projects, so I'm just going to do the best I can with this writeup.

The 60s were a time of personal, social and political changes for him, and Dark Shadows was his constant.  He talked about being recruited by the FBI to check out a few places in NYC.  Drugs were rampant on the Upper West Side.  He'd once had a romantic view of the FBI, having written a high school paper on becoming an agent.  But he turned down their request.

Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice "stuck to me."  He understood the things he and Angela Davis were fighting for.  After he came to LA, he'd attend a gathering at the Inglewood Forum.

To a certain extent, the things that still concern us today-- the environment, toxic air, child care, senior care-- began for him back then; they were paramount in his thinking when he came onto DS.  Though somewhat apolitical when he he arrived in NY, he enjoyed the music of Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Phil Ochs ("I ain't Marchin Anymore"), and Bob Dylan ("Blowin In the Wind").

Speaking about the show (which he much less that day than in My Shadowed Past), if Barnabas had left, the show would have died a quick death.  Also, "Has there ever been a better character than what Jerry did with Trask? The true villain, though, was Angelique."  As for Quentin, he only wanted people to like him.

He said Lara Parker once went to DC to protest, and friends of his went to hear ML King's speech.  He wrote his dissertation while on the show, something that David Henesy teased him about.  Frid had gone to Yale, Thayer David to Harvard, Don Briscoe to Columbia, Roger Davis to Columbia and UCLA, Nancy Barrett to UCLA, and Lara Parker to the University of Iowa.  He said he got to know Virginia Vestoff during their occasional walks home together.  He learned she had been orphaned and on her own since she was 10 years old.  She managed to survive in NYC, but she had a vulnerability in her eyes.  Donna, Grayson, and Humbert had a lot of theater experience.  Chris Pennock was from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts; Kate Jackson also went there.  KLS was off a farm in Minnosota, Lara Parker is from Tennessee, and Karlen is from Brooklyn.

His other new book, The Blue Door, is about politics in S. Appalachia.  (Blue wards off evil spirits.)  We must learn to "get rid of those evil spirits" and move on.  He read a couple of excerpts from early in the book; I decided then to buy it, and it didn't hurt that Sally is a strong woman.

He was asked if he felt Lincoln's presence while playing him in The Heavens Are Hung In Black.  He said the Secret Service was everywhere on opening night.  They were "not going to let what happened happen again."  It made him a little nervous to see the military fatigues.  "Don't worry," he was told.  There were helicopters, too.

He got up the nerve to finally look at some DS eps.  The "roving hand"-- if that doesn't bring a smile!  He just about fell over.  "No wonder people laughed."  As for Quentin-- he always had a problem.

About his early career:  Sometimes you can't convince yourself that you're enough.  For his first theater audition, he didn't get the job.  He did not perform "Come to Me" from Brigadoon (he once played Sandy in a college production), but he brought it up here.  Grease (set in 58/59) was and still is special to him, because Sandy's song at the end ("Look At Me") sums up how he felt.

Grayson as Julia knew Barnabas' secret, but what Dan Curtis wanted for Barnabas was the last thing the fans wanted.

Pansity asked if there was a connection between his new book and his play Final Assault.  Yes.  He was told, "What you've got here is a novel."

While Robert Mulligan was signed on to direct Rich and Famous, he wanted Selby's hair to be short.  But the actor's strike went on for 3 months and George Cukor was brought in.  He thought he wouldn't keep the job since Cukor should have his own cast, but Jacqueline Bisset, who was also a producer, said no way.  George Cukor:  "Who in the hell told you to cut your hair?"  He was on the set the day Liz Taylor paid a visit to Fox.  He also met Cary Grant at the commissary one day and thought he was very nice; he'd meet him again while doing Falcon Crest.  (I recommend watching a tape to hear the quotes for these stories; I prefer to leave them alone.)

Joan Bennett, who did Little Women with George Cukor, almost got the lead in Gone with the Wind, but David Selznick wanted Vivien Leigh.  Cukor was replaced but he continued working privately with Leigh; Gable never got him fired.

Jim Pierson seemed to grow restless about the time and started toward the stage, but it was at that point that Selby said he dedicated his new DS book to Pierson and also to Ed Limato.  Pierson stopped in his tracks.

His book seems to tie these thoughts to a central theme.  But while he was on stage, there were a few times when I wondered what the point was that Selby was trying to make.  But that's me.

VictoriaWinters1991, did you mean to edit Logan's Run out of the Doctor and K9's quote?

The president of Spectre Toys was at the Fest and said that he wasn't happy with the Julia prototype and they were redoing it.

Robert Cobert

Cobert, dressed in white, entered to music and tremendous applause and immediately started dancing.  After bonding with the audience by having them shout, "Hi, Bob," he began his praise of Dan Curtis, without whom none of us would have been there.  He was a man who wanted immediate gratification.  Cobert, who was introduced to him by Bob Costello, was hired after 10 minutes.  He was [only] doing 6 other shows at the time, but read the script and it smelled like a hit to him.  He offered to have something in a couple of days, but Curtis asked if he could have it today, then, tomorrow?  Cobert thought he was "dealing with a maniac here."

The theme came into his head while he was shaving, so he found Curtis putting golf balls in his office and whistled it for him.  Curtis smiled with his many teeth and said, "I ___ love it."  [He didn't actually say the word.]  Curtis:  ""When can I hear it with the orchestra?"  Cobert:  "Tomorrow."  Curtis to Costello, "I love this guy."

Later, when Curtis asked how soon he could have a theme for his new spook named Quentin, Cobert said in a minute.  "I did it for Jekyll & Hyde and you loved it."  It was re-engineered; he said he wasn't in the mood to write something new.

Cobert admired Curtis' loyalty.  The only way you would not work for him was if you screwed up really badly, or you were nasty or not good people.

Paramount wanted someone else to score Winds of War, i.e. Jerry Goldsmith (Cobert was a NY composer), but Curtis told them, "I want Cobert and Cobert is the best... I'm going with Cobert."  Cobert:  "And the rest is history."  At Chasen's later, Brandon Stoddard would tell Curtis that he was right ("You made us forget all the rest of those bums").

Cobert repeated a question during the Q&A:  "Do I have a favorite movie composer?  Yeah, his name is Bob Cobert."

Some personal background-- he was originally pre-med but shocked his family when he changed career paths.  Once he had his penthouse on 74th and Park Avenue, he asked, "What about your starving composer son now?"

He said he did not earn a cent from the other (Nancy Barrett/David Selby) commercial record.  ("Crooked company.")  He did, however, make a fortune on Quentin's Theme.

A fan thought they heard his music in a commercial.  Cobert:  "All I can do right now is call my lawyer."

The theremin effect was created using a Yamaha with a string attached-- it was more accurate to handle than a theremin.  NBC used a 25-piece orchestra, whereas the series did it with 5 guys and a piano (also bass, vibraphone, harp, alto flute).  It was much more effective.

For Burnt Offerings, he thought the music in the opening scene should have been done differently, and instead of the music stopping when Karen Black entered the room, it should have carried through to the closeup of the pictures.  He and Curtis fought about it for a half hour, they took a vote and his side won, and yet they wound up doing it Curtis' way.  Later, both of them were watching the movie, and his phone rang and Curtis told him, "It should have gone until she got to the pictures."

Cobert said that the DS theme, and others, will be used for the new DS movie; it's contractually important to them.  He said he doesn't need the money, and why knock himself out?  "But I might."  Jeff Thompson added, "Otherwise, it's not a Dark Shadows movie."  But the bottom line, Cobert said, was that no one has asked him.

Regarding the Blue Whale themes, he said there were 3 or 4 pieces written for the BW.  [It seemed he could hum any piece at a moment's notice-- amazing!]

He said the Revival Series had wall to wall music-- 30 - 40 minutes of it, but he never had more than 3 days to write a score.  Chris Ledesma was the music editor for the '91 series (and is credited on the soundtrack [the first Festival mention of it?!]); his job consisted of taking notes, followed by a spotting session the next day; but for the series, the music supervisor (Sybil Weinberger) determined during rehearsal "what music went where."  Cobert would not be in the DS studio, but when the time came, he would be told, "Bob, I need more music."

He ended with a second mention of the '91 soundtrack.

SATURDAY cont'd

The only thing I came away with at Saturday's auction was the belief that there's a dearth of good stuff available.

There was a varied assortment of DS mugs, a DS Companion with red lettering instead of white, DS The First Year, an original script autographed by Frid ($400), Shadows on the Wall, mint Josette's music boxes, Curtis' English language episode kinescopes, and sets of bordered trading cards.

From the '91 series-- a framed cast photo from Curtis' office ($100), a set of videos, DS Resurrected video and hardcover book, and a set of the Innovation comics.

From Curtis' walls-- his framed Emmy plaque for War & Remembrance and the series' Golden Globe certificate.  Also, a package that included the DVD set, soundtrack autographed by Cobert, booklets autographed by Hart Bochner and Jane Seymour, and a plaque (a mere $200).  The Humanitas certificate for Saving Milly was also auctioned, as was his 16 Magazine award plaque.

The neatest item may have been the original artwork of Collinwood used on the Volume 2 LP; it sold for $265.  A promotional poster for Night Whispers autographed by Barbara Steele went for $230.

After the introduction of Frid's nephew and his children, a pair of JF's shoes, autographed, went for $60.  Next, his handwritten genealogy notes-- research for "My Fridean Connections"-- sold for $200.

I should mention that there was a slight communication problem this year that resulted in personal items from Frid's collection NOT arriving in Los Angeles.


Dark Shadows Reborn, Session I

The panel:  producer/writer Stuart Manning, Ursula Burton (Susan), Andrew Collins (Barnabas), director Darren Gross, writer Eric Wallace, producer Jason Haigh-Ellery

To prepare for the role, Andrew Collins watched a cross-section of DS to get a sense and feel for the character.  Ursula Burton called her experience wonderful; she is the only castmember to have recorded in both the UK and the US.  The latest series ("Kingdom of the Dead") recorded in LA, NY and London, and its cast hails from every version of DS.

Darren found the experience challenging-- the last day used 8 or 9 actors in one massive session.  There was a chemistry the cast had that was evident behind the scenes-- it was "like 40 years ago."  Jason noted a love that the actors had for the series, and said it was great to meet them.

Eric said he was a Trask fanatic to begin with and meeting Jerry Lacy caused him to "geek out majorly."  He mentioned that his wife was pregnant when he co-wrote KotD in 2008, and Urusula said she was pregnant twice, beginning with her participation in the first series.  Stuart said he wasn't pregnant during any of this.

Listening to Frid reprise his role as Barnabas had some of them "grinning like schoolchildren."  Andrew recorded lines that were later replaced by Frid, and the end result was seamless.  Stuart was excited when Barbara Steele agreed to join the cast, and neither Frid nor Steele said they would never do it again.

Andrew Collins, who occasionally gets recognized for his work on The Bold & Beautiful (Nancybe is one of them!), said that two others who work on B&B are also good friends with Jerry Lacy, so the first time he met him was on the set of that show.  He was also approached once by someone who told him, "I do your voice in Spanish."

Nancy Barrett was keen to work on the series.  The cast is their greatest asset.  David Warner was complimented as being an amazing actor.

Charles Ellis mentioned Louise Jameson's participation (in "London's Burning") and asked if there will be a Dr. Who/DS crossover.  Eric excitedly volunteered to write it.  Properties and rights were mentioned as an issue.  A panel member added, "You never know."

Andrew Collins and Ursula Burton were available later for autographs.

I felt so guilty when KLS only talked about Julia and Magda.  RJ, ever on the ball, asked for recommendations of a good Josette/Natalie scene as well as a Karlen/Grayson scene.  Bette and I told her where to find the latter (classic Magda!), but in lieu of any scene suggestion I made a snarky comment about the former because I'm just not what you'd call a big KLS fan.  The Carl/Magda scene made it into the retrospective, and when KLS failed to recall her character's Aunt Natalie, I turned to Nancybe and said oh crap. 

SATURDAY

Remembering Grayson

RJ told her audience that Sam, at 89, was alive and kicking, and that Matt said hello and was sorry he couldn't be there.  It's a shame that Karlen missed her superb video, especially since it included a clip of Magda opposite Carl Collins.  I think it was one of the emcees that said, in response to the photos of Grayson from The Screens, that it was more of Grayson than he'd ever seen.  RJ:  "Styrofoam."

KLS talked about how she and Lara Parker consulted on their wardrobe choices because heaven forbid they wear the same thing twice, but there really was a point to that, because she had just complimented RJ on her outfit:


The author in front of the Daily Planet,
er, Grill (in fabulous red shoes)

KLS also brought up Grayson's stylishness, saying she loved fashion and had her own kind of look.  She also loved to cook-- Mexican, Japanese, etc.-- and she used all the right pots and pans and special ingredients.  Her gazpacho was made from scratch (is there any other way to make it?) and part of an entire Mexican meal.  KLS had no idea at the time of her visit that their last conversation had taken place.  As a young actor, she was blessed to work with veteran actors of TV, film and stage, including Grayson, who had received her Academy Award nomination only two years before.

RJ joked about planting questions with the visitors to her dealer's table, and the first person to ask a question admitted to being one (though it was a matter of being asked to take her question to the Q&A).  Debbie wanted to know how RJ became interested in taking on Grayson's biography.  RJ spoke of her interest in the theater, and was impressed by her in That Darn Cat when she scratched her name on the back of the watch, but also recalled her from other things.  A friend sent his audition tape for NoDS, and she became involved in online posting-- the SciFi boards, etc. and she "got sucked in."  And she talked about Gothick's research that led to her own.  Grayson had a certain range, she said, and she was brilliant at it.  Plus, she had an affinity for 40 year old red-headed ladies.

A fan asked if Grayson really was descended from Romanian gypsies.  RJ:  Magda was a gift from Sam, who patterned the character after her grandmother.

KLS was complimented for her good imitation of Grayson in one of the Big Finish audio CDs, which I'm curious to hear more about!  She admitted that Grayson was an exceptional and unusual character on her own and declined to reprise it for the audience.  Then, seemingly out of the blue, she asked if Gary from Baltimore, MD was present, but there wasn't any answer.  Apparently, Gary rang her room at 3:05 a.m. and she just wanted to say, "It's not the thing to do."

James said he enjoyed KLS' books and asked if it was intimidating to work with Grayson.  KLS answered that although Grayson had an edge, she was not.  She added that if Grayson felt snarky, she would get snarky.  She also found her terribly funny, and spoke about how their relationship would revolve around food-- the cast going to the favorite watering hole after work, and dinner at strange places, including a particularly odd Chinese establishment.

RJ was asked what the most surprising thing was that she found out about Grayson.  RJ:  The great mystery of when she was born.  Grayson was very secretive about her age, and her lie began when she shaved off a year at the age of 19; even Matt didn't know her real age, and he had some difficult dealings in the past because of it.  RJ also brought up the mystery of her first marriage, which she said changed Grayson fundamentally.

John Karlen finally arrived and asked if everyone slept okay.  KLS:  "Not all of us."  He spoke about "lovely Grayson," unique and the best Mexican cook ever, and she was charismatic and "just fun to be around."  The same fan asked KLS to relate her most vivid memory of Grayson on the set, and what came to mind was Grayson's first day when her own character was at the sanitarium, and Magda "in all of that hair," but no single scene stood out for her.  She said Grayson was a little bit nervous when she came on.  RJ:  "It was this show or Ohio."  KLS and Karlen shared more recollections-- Grayson's many mannerisms, and watching her smoke and blow into the air; there were her freckles, and she was so subconscious about her pale skin.  So when she brought up KLS' false eyelashes, she brought up Grayson's leg makeup.  KLS:  "You can tell I was not intimidated."  More recollections:  Grayson had a great face.  But you had to watch what you said around her, because someone else would hear it down the line (!).

Karlen called her a wonderful woman and spoke about her apartment on 57th, across from Carnegie Hall (?), and it was dark, and it was good, and it was rent controlled.

A fan who was introduced to Julia through his partner talked about the trust her character inspired, and was told that she took on a maternal role with the cast, though not necessarily with KLS.  She told the story of Lord and Lady Finch, the birds that died in her care while Grayson was on vacation in Acapulco.

It was a wonderful segment.  And if anyone has any additions or corrections to what I've related, please do share!

But I spied Bob Costello at the costume party.

Seeing HoDS again on the big screen along with having the advantages of both sitting up front and next to Guy Haines (who pointed it out) allowed me to see a goof-- a crewmember reflected in a glass pane that I'd never noticed before.