Jerry Lacy watched scenes from the sofa of the Collinwood stage set--Julia begs Tony to hang on to the notebook ("Ohhhhh Rooooooger, ohhhhhh, Roooooooger, noooooo" inspired laughter), Barnabas forces a confession out of Reverend Trask, the bricking up scene, and Gregory and Charity/Pansy (when she gives him a "bump").  David Ford had warned him that being on the show would be a "rough ride."  But it was a lot more fun than he expected.  He "didn't expect to be here today, 40 years later."

What did happen to Tony Peterson?  Lacy said Adam very likely scared him away.

From playing Tony, he got the Trask bit.  Once he was assigned the part, he set about the best he could and worked with the makeup man, and the character came along.  Did he try to make him fanatical?  Within the bounds of the script, he replied.  It was his favorite of them all, he had to say.  His heart goes out to the original Reverend Trask.

Did he do soap operas before?  Not to any extent.  He did one day on The Secret Storm and that was about it.  He went onto As the World Turns after DS.

In recent news, his daughter just completed her last performance of the play, "I Coulda Been a Kennedy."  It's a political drama.  [We learned during another segment that she studies at NYU.]  There were 5 performances, and they hope to get the kinks out.

The Q&A formally began, and he was asked how he prepared his voice for the role of Trask.  He made his voice a little more guttural, and affected sort of a pompous speech pattern.  It wasn't normal.

When asked about Clarice Blackburn, he said he loved her.  Later on, she became a writer on Love of Life, and he knew her a long time afterwards.

He was asked about Play It Again Sam.  It was his first time working with Woody Allen.  He spent a year or more in it on Broadway.  It was out of town before that, and Allen was changing and developing it and they worked together on it.  "He's quite a character, and probably just as neurotic as he pretends."  The resemblance was of course an immediate help in getting the role in his first and only Broadway show, but it eventually became a bit of a hindrance because he was so identified with Bogart.  In auditions for movies, plays, and TV, he was considered more of an impersonator or comedian than an actor.  "It hurt quite a bit."

He was asked to do Bogie and a line from PIAS was suggested.  He said, "That was Woody's line."  The fan qualified that he spoke it while coaching Woody's character.  Then he said he doesn't remember lines from the play and offered to do something for us from Casablanca, though he hasn't practiced and doesn't know if he can still do it.  Then he did a great job reciting, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into mine" and to much applause.

When asked about his commercials, he said he did quite a few in the years afterwards.  He did a Right Guard commercial, and one with Marie Wallace for Right Guard.  He also did some other industrial films for producers, but nothing else mainstream.

He explained that all the Trasks were meant to be similar, though "each and every one had a little idiosyncrasy."  Gregory was older, and as for the butler¢â‚¬¦ "I don't know what his gig was."  Lamar had the same pattern.

I didn't catch the exact question about wine, but he replied, "I love wine.  I wish I had some right now."

Reverend Trask didn't think he was wrong, he explained.  After all, "the fire drove her right out there.  What else could you ask for?"  It wasn't visible on camera, but Trask wore a long black cape, and after Victoria came running out and he grabbed her and screamed, "I have the witch!" she actually walked inside of his cape.  With each step, they went lower and lower until they fell out of view of the camera.  "We ended up on the floor."

Asked about the sets on The Young & the Restless, he said that during the intervening years, technology improved tremendously.  Dark Shadows really had grand, solid and beautiful sets.  When he went directly from DS to As the World Turns, they were still using sets that wiggled and were painted on.  By the time he appeared on Y&R, a good 10 years had passed and the sets were as beautiful as on DS.  The main thing, though, was that you could edit the tape, whereas on DS there are lovely bloopers to see.

He couldn't answer why he didn't appear in NoDS and said that maybe he has never seen the movie.  Someone from the audience (Charles Ellis, I think) answered that he couldn't get released from ATWT.  [lol]

I forgot to mention that earlier that day, Chris Pennock did indeed pause during his reading to allow his daughter to sing for the audience.  Tara Pennock gave a beautiful rendition of "Defying Gravity."

(to be cont'd)

Sunday afternoon's auction offered a neat blueprint of the sets that looked to be in excellent condition; the DS Celebrity Cookbook ($200); an original DS Cookbook ($40); a press kit from the '91 series ($80), D. Curtis' personalized coffee mug (in gothick lettering like the series title); an autographed magazine featuring Donna McKechnie from Chorus Line ($25); Burnt Offerings DVD ($40); Curtis' trading cards; a brick from the foundation of Spratt House ($80); a Spanish kinescope; summaries and file box from the original series ($90); Rebecca Staab's vampire lenses and her Visine bottle ($50); additional daily summaries ($150); Dan Ross' portfolio ($75); the Barnabas portrait from HoDS, unframed ($13,000); and more.


Gothick wrote about RJ Jamison's presentation.  If I may add a bit more, as the Q&A was quite interesting¢â‚¬¦

Author RJ Jamison said that Grayson Hall was not easy to cast; she had a specificity about her, and not every play had a role suited for her.  She loved people but was particular about whom she worked with.

In the 1940s, she relocated to California with 1st husband Ted Brooks, who was older than she, but Grayson didn't like living there.  With more success, she may have been targeted for blacklisting because she fit the supposed profile of a Communist.  For one thing, she was Jewish, and she was outspoken.  She loved the theatre, and didn't care for the local scene.

She was particularly close to Nancy Barrett, who said their relationship was wonderful.  Grayson was eccentric--odd in so many ways, she added.  It made her so fascinating.  At first, people were taken aback by her as she was not an easy person to know, but eventually they became devoted to her, following her everywhere.  "I adored her."  She gave the description of Auntie Mame meets Morticia Addams.  She was mom to the rest of the cast.

There was a question as to whether GH had any medical training for her role on DS.  Sam was fascinated by medicine, but who knows?, Nancy Barrett replied.  She couldn't handle a BP cuff!  Then, "She could fake absolutely anything."

Next came a question about the character Julian Hoffman and her almost not making it onto the show.  Certain myths about her casting are clarified in the book, RJ explained.  Another actress whose name has been lost, backed out at the last minute.  Getting the role on DS meant Grayson and Sam didn't have to move back to Ohio.

Sam and Matthew supported RJ's efforts, giving numerous hours to answer questions and opened their homes and photo albums to her.  Half of the photos in the book are from their private collections.  Unfortunately, a long standing family commitment prevented Matthew from coming that day.

The role of Mrs. Robinson was promised to her by Mike Nichols, who pursued her for the role for some time.  However, she was not cast in the role, and was informed by a reporter in a bar that she had lost it.  Sam called it "the great loss of her career."

Her first date with Sam went horribly wrong, and both were engaged to others at the time (she to Ted). Their 2nd date occurred 4 years later, and they ended up checked into the Algonquin.  Sam is a Protestant from Ohio, and they decided they could only tell his family 1 of 2 things-- either that she was Jewish or that she was divorced.  They opted to tell his family that she was Jewish because being divorced was considered a character flaw.  She was not a devout Jew.  The reason that word of her first marriage was never published was that she never told her in-laws, and it's the reason she never told her fans.

Grayson spoke fluent French, studying it her whole life.  Her IQ was high, and she took classes to the end of her life.  Did the character of Natalie come about because of this [her fluency]?, a fan asked.  Nancy Barrett replied that she didn't know, but Sam was writing then.

(next:  Jerry Lacy and KLS)

Criseyde's David Selby site provides information about his appearances with Eric Stoltz in LA Theatre Works' Cainey Mutiny Court-Martial.  Locations are Tucson, Gainesville, and Miami in October, and the Univ. of Maine in November.  Check out the News section of http://www.ldrweb.com/davidselby under Upcoming Appearances for details plus links to each venue's page about the performances.

LOL, Bob.  I didn't order any food there and STILL got better service. 

Sweetie, sorry, but we don't accept off-topic attachments.  We store attachments indefinitely and prefer to dedicate the space and bandwidth to DS-related pics so that we can continue to offer visitors without access to their own storage space a way to add images to their posts.

I gave up and left and ONLY went back on Saturday w/ retzev where we at LEAST had the pleasure of meeting you! That was the ONLY good thing about the place!

Thank you!  That was cool, and I really enjoyed it.

I didn't attend the Costume Gala because of a private party, so I hope to be able to read about it and maybe even see some photos.  I did see Charles Ellis dressed as Charnak (!), and VAM as Petofi blew me away.  Also, I heard ProfStokes wowed the audience again with a new song.

I didn't see the cast reunion, was he kidding when he said this, or was he grumpy?  Did it get a laugh? 

I took it as a joke and chuckled at it.  JK is a clever man that I think was in a somewhat difficult position up there-- retirement had just been referred to by Lara Parker as "crawling into the casket and giving up."  Karlen had a terrific career in TV, stage and movies, won an Emmy, and has overcome a serious health crisis.  I'm sure his life would make a fabulous book, but that's not to say that he doesn't deserve to stop when he chooses and just walk on the beach.  Besides, we have beautiful beaches in Southern California. 

Lovely, CrazyJenny!

---

The Cast Reunion:

I wrote about Frid's phone call, and the cast's reactions to it, earlier.

The actors were asked to talk about what each has been doing.  David Selby said he has just finished another book, and in addition to writing has been acting and gardening.  He produced a film, and a couple of his movies should be out, he said.  And he enjoys looking after his granddaughter, Brianna (sp?)-- it's "the best thing."

Marie Wallace mentioned her book, published last year.  She has some signings this year and keeps busy as a special events photographer.  NY Presbyterian Hospital is one of her biggest clients; also Columbia Presbyterian. She is no longer acting, though she she fits in a commercial once in a while.  "Tomorrow may be different."  These things are what keep her busy and happy.

Betsy Durkin's book for women about classic men's clothing came out in June.  She said women do buy a lot of their clothes, but she found there was no book out there for them that's down to earth.  It was self-published, so she is promoting it, and men's retail stores have started carrying it.  She has a house in the Hamptons and feels it's good to try a new thing.  You're "never too old to grow."

Donna McKechnie will play Patty Andrews in "Over Here!"

KLS thanked Jim for arranging the phone call with J Frid.  She called it one of his best secrets.  She mentioned appearing in the Huff season finale, calling it X-Rated ("That's Showtime for you"), and she said Jim should show it if he has a copy.  [He didn't have one with him.]  She has written a lot of DS  books, and finished her first fiction--the first in a series of Jinx Fogarty mystery novels.  It took a little over a year to write.  Then she said almost everyone on the panel has a book, and how extraordinary that is.  She's so proud of everybody.

Lara Parker was thrilled to see many new people at the Fest.  It was a great cast, and they have never stopped reinventing themselves and trying new and more remarkable things.  They were all "terribly unusual people."  None of them are crawling into the casket and giving up.  [I feel that was uncalled for, but that's me.]  She has written her 2nd DS novel, and there will be a sequel if everyone buys it.  The new book is a prequel and a sequel to the show:  How the Collins family curse happened, and it picks up with Barnabas no longer a vampire.  It took 6 years to write (!!!) whereas Kathryn is writing 1 per year.  She closed with, "Long live Dark Shadows."

Diana Millay is working on a new book:  "Create Success or Recreate Your Life," or something like that.  She still has her Millay Travel Club, because "you all love to travel," though it's mostly in our dreams.  Last year she planned the Romania on a nickel trip.  But she is passing the mantle to a new Travel Club president, though I only caught the name Jeff (she would have to wait for her scheduled time on stage to introduce him).  "I'm fabulous at choosing inexpensive, wonderful, unused, unsoiled places to go," she said, but Jeff is far better at choosing fabulous places.  She encouraged fans to join her travel club and go places.  It's "my joy to give to you."

Chris Pennock began by making very strange noises that I don't dare try to explain.  He was in "Eighteen Minutes," playing a schizophrenic who thinks he's an orange.  He said it played at Cannes last month.  He also mentioned "Boozin' for Wolves," his response to "Boozin' for Sheep," and do I have a clue what Chris has been talking about?  I really don't.  With much more clarity, he said his daughter Tara is a phenomenal singer, having auditioned for American Idol, and he will pause while reading from his comic tomorrow so that she can sing something for us.  "She is the real talent in the family," he said.  "Hi, Tara."

John Karlen told us that 51 weeks a year he does nothing.  He "waits and waits for this moment now.  I have absolutely nothing going for me."  But he might spend a day at the races, or see a movie--The Marx Brothers.  He said he's smart enough to know when to throw in the towel.  If a fighter is into the 12th or 13th round, then shame on the manager.  And ten years ago he threw in the towel in favor of walking the beaches of California, all alone with an orange.  [Again with the orange?!]  At this point he was cut off, and registered his protest.

Lisa Richards said there's no one better than John.  They did a play in which she wreaked havoc, even pulled out a knife.  This year she appeared with Stephen Mendillo in "Bad Hurt on Cedar Street" and hopes to do another production.  "You do wait."  While waiting, she had a terrific time, playing in "You Can't Take It With You" at the Geffen [in Southern California].  She congratulated Tara Pennock and said her son Alex is in "Ima Robot" and just finished his second recording for Virgin Records.

A fan asked, with the arrival of the 40th anniversary, how has the show remained in your life?

L Parker - She responded quickly that there are still new stories, such as the audio CDs, which she compared to the Dr. Who stories.  She said, "The show won't ever go away."  It's a testimony to how original it was, and it has enriched her life in many ways.

D Selby - It provided a start for him.  He doubts there are many places where he hasn't met a smiling face¢â‚¬¦ "Hi, Quentin."  It always gives him a warm feeling.  He has 40 years of friends right there.

M Wallace - It was a wonderful show to be on.  When it ended, she thought it's over; it was time to move on to another show.  But due to conventions and reruns, it became more important in her life.  The festivals are such fun and it's great to see everyone.  To her, it's a phenomenon.  She gets to see new people, even 15 or 18 years olds saying it's my favorite.  It's heartwarming and wonderful.

B Durkin - She talks to a lot of people at conventions, and they come with their children and grandchildren, saying they're all enjoying the tapes.  They can tell her what she did because, thanks to technology, they just watched it last week.  There are many shows you can't watch now with your kids, but this show is family entertainment that crosses generations and will be here for more time.

D McKechnie - In her travels she meets people who come up to say they saw her on Dark Shadows, and they bring their children.  It's heartwarming.  She thanked Marcy Robin for keeping her in touch over the years through ShadowGram.  She misses it if she doesn't get it and plans to email Marcy about everything she does.

KLS - She thanked the fans for sticking with it.  It has been on PBS, SciFi, VHS, and now DVD.  Dan Curtis was a big part of her life; DS was her first job.  Thanks to Dan, she got work in England and Hollywood, started a publishing company, and began writing.  She attended his funeral and memorial.  Big Finish brought her back to the studio to work together with the cast again on the CDs.  It's an end and a beginning happening at the same time.  "It's quite amazing."

D Millay - She wore flowing velvet robes because she was pregnant and at the time couldn't get a job.  It was a wonderful experience. She liked everyone she worked with, but didn't stay too long--"Thank heavens."  DS will be around for many years.

C Pennock - After DS, it was downhill for him.  Life became a pale reflection.  Now he does comic books about it.  "I'm a happy DS camper."

J Karlen - "Didn't we just do this?  I quit the business.  Do you want to hear it again?... I've had enough of you."

L Richards - If not for the fans, we wouldn't be here.  "Thank you."


I enjoyed the Frid video, particularly his Richard III reading from Act I.  I'm very much looking forward to watching the vid on his website.

I didn't stay for Nancy Barrett's performance.

The pilot was preceded by the Game Show segment (Frid and Alex Stevens on "What's My Line," etc.).  The 70s movie trailers segment ("Race With the Devil" with LP, "A Small Town in Texas" with JK, "Zero to Sixty" with Denise Nickerson) was amusing, but unfortunately you didn't see much of the DS actors in some of them.

The 2004 pilot was screened to a very attentive audience, many of them seeing it for the first time.  Since I watched it last year, I was able to take in more this year of the sets, music and direction.  And I still jumped during creepier scenes even knowing what was going to happen.  The ending that I so love didn't inspire the giggles that I heard in L.A., at least not where I was sitting.  A friend commented that they packed too much story into the pilot, and I have to agree that it did move very quickly.

Thanks, Sunny Collins!

(next:  Sunday)

On Friday, the long line in the main hallway of the Festival area was for Lara Parker, who sold photos and books (one also on audio).  Across from her was the PomPress table where KLS, as friendly as ever to fans, eventually appeared.  The registration table in the next room actually had no line when I arrived, though that wasn't the case when it first opened a few hours earlier.  Yet another room to the right of the registration area was for MPI (who had a limited number of the Bloopers & Treasures DVDs, plus DS clocks, tote bags, shirts, pens, boxer shorts, etc.).  The tables opposite MPI had several photos for sale, also Marcy Robin selling ShadowGram and Kathy Resch with her various books, and behind the latter stood the Barnabas portrait.

Behind the registration area was the entrance to the Ballroom.  I didn't attend any events in the ballroom Friday evening, sorry!, but I'm guessing that ProfStokes will be able to talk about them in her much-anticipated writeup.

On Saturday, also in the main hallway were Big Finish Productions with their first 2 audio CDs, author RJ Jamison selling her Grayson Hall biography, Betsy Durkin, who had photos and her book, tables with memorabilia, and the Central Florida Fan Club's table.  Jay Nass was selling his photos in an adjoining hallway.  In the next room, to the left of the registration area, Chris Pennock was selling comics, Jerry Lacy's table offered photos, and Marie Wallace, Diana Millay and Donna McKechnie were selling and signing their books.  The longest lines were for Lara Parker and KLS, though several of the actors were immediately accessible.

I thought the Vicki painting would bring in more than $700 at auction.  One of our Forum cousins, btw, bought the first foundation brick from Spratt House, and paid much less for it than the one that sold the following day.

In the ballroom on Saturday afternoon, the three handsome representatives from Big Finish Productions took the stage to speak about DS Reborn and play a trailer that gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.  During the Q&A, they explained that CD sales will dictate whether the series will continue.

David Selby read a funny and touching passage from his book "A Better Place," but first he spoke about losing his father a week before, who used to ask him, "Don't you think you should come home?"  His father had a difficult time after his wife passed away, and every day since David left home, he would ask that same question, and, "Is it safe out there?"  He called his father after 9/11; he didn't understand what had happened, but he never stopped asking him, "Don't you think you should come home?"  It was a lovely tribute, but I honestly don't know how he held it together so well as he spoke about his loss.

Donna McKechnie was introduced and we were treated to video of her dancing on Hullaballoo and her singing "Do I Hear a Waltz?," then Grayson's voiceover for #933--lovers Quentin and Amanda wish to be together in the land of the living, but they may not touch, though the tape was stopped, leaving us with a cliffhanger.  She then spoke about her career and how, she said, "life happened"-- with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis came the news that she would never walk again. At the time, she was thinking of herself and how she longed to return to the stage.  When she finally gained the courage to talk about her condition, it was via a NY Times article.  Though nervous that the stigma may have ended her career ("It's all perception"), it felt important to her to get the story out.  But she did not anticipate that she'd receive hundreds of letters as a result.  She then discussed her doctor, who provided her with a food list for his prescribed cleansing diet.  Getting the word out about RA has become her mission.  She explained that her character was killed off, not at Dan Curtis' whim, but because she had to go into rehearsals for "Company."

She was appearing in "Promises, Promises" and had just been dumped by Ken Howard, an Adonis whom she was in love with, when she auditioned for the part of Amanda Harris.  With her heart broken, she went to her appointment with Curtis.  The hairpieces she wore on the show weighed 25 pounds (or maybe it was 20, which is what's in the book, she said) and were attached with long hairpins.  When she told people about her final DS scene, no one believed her until eventually she met someone who was on the set and told her, "I remember how they left you."  We then saw Amanda's final scene amid a cascade of peat moss and Styrofoam rocks, some the size of boulders.  In the rehearsal, btw, she said she was given a plastic bag to protect her face, but was surprised that the final take done in costume and wig consisted of a stagehand dumping 10 times more peat moss than before, and with nothing to protect her face. During the Q&A, she spoke of working on Hullaballoo with the Rolling Stones, Eric Burdon and the Animals, (she was an animal head on a plaque on the wall, but her head unintentionally bounced with the music), Chubby Checker, and Freddie and the Dreamers.  About Michael Bennett, she said she met him as a young dancer on the show, and everyone knew he would do something big; every dancer followed him around.  She announced two upcoming book signings, and when asked said she has developed a sensitivity to persons with disabilities.  This has absolutely changed her life, she said.  "To learn compassion was a difficult muscle for me."

(next:  Cast Reunion)