Number 145. November 10, 2005

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Hello, Dark Shadows Fan,

ShadowGram (SG), The Official Newsletter & News Source for Dark Shadows (DS), announces the following breaking news.


***  PAULA LAURENCE DIES AT AGE 89

SG sadly reports the passing of Paula Laurence (Hannah Stokes in 1970 Parallel Time), who succumbed Oct. 29 at St. Luke's Hospital in NYC. Her health apparently declined after she broke her hip earlier in October. Her career spanned on- and off-  Broadway and regional stage roles, and she later wrote articles for Playbill, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Cue, and Harpers Bazaar. She joined us at the NY DS Festival in 1993.

Her NY stage debut was in Orson Welles' "Horse Eats Hat" in 1937 and she starred in 1941 as the maid "Hilda" in "Junior Miss," directed by Moss Hart. She appeared in the Cole Porter musical "Something for the Boys" with Ethel Merman. In 1946, she was in "Cyrano de Bergerac" with Jose Ferrar, and performed in "Ivanhoe" with John Gielgud in 1965-66. She understudied Bette Davis in Tennessee Williams' classic "Night of the Iguana" in NY and Chicago. She was married for many years to producer/director Charles Bowden and leaves no survivors.

A memorial mass was to be held at St. Malachy's Catholic Church Nov. 10, located at 239 W 49th St., New York, New York 10019. 212-489-1340.

Those wishing to honor her memory may consider New Dramatists, in which she was very active. Publicity: "New Dramatists is the nation's oldest nonprofit center for the development of talented playwrights." New Dramatists, 424 W. 44th St., NYC, NY 10036. 212-757-6960. www.newdramatists.org

Any fans who have photos of Paula from her time with us at the 1993 New York DS Festival are invited to please share those photos for a tribute to her in SG # 107.

Obituary and career information and photos saluting Paula will be in the next SG print issue, SG #107.


***  KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT'S "DS MEMORIES" AUDIOBOOK AWARD

Kathryn (Maggie, Josette, Kitty, Rachel) asks SG to share the honor bestowed on her "Dark Shadows Memories" audiobook. It was selected as #5 on the Publisher's Weekly Book Life's 2005 Audiobooks List.

The listing states: "Dark Shadows Memories, by Kathryn Leigh Scott, read by the author, Pomegranate Press. Scott is a supremely knowledgeable backstage tour guide to her years on the (oc)cult classic daytime serial." Kathryn is quoted in the listing: "I think the appeal of this audiobook extends beyond the Dark Shadows fan base.... It has a sense of humor and it includes my personal story of the first job I got on one of the biggest cult shows in TV history. This year marks the show's 40th anniversary. We also were very fortunate that Bob Colbert ((sic)) gave us permission to use his atmospheric music."

She tells SG the "consumer magazine" Book Life issue "will be on the newstands in 2 weeks ((approximately late November)) and remain through January. It's really quite exciting as I did nothing to seek out either the review or the Book Life selection." She adds that "DS Memories" is "one of the Top Ten Audiobooks of the Year" and "only one of four that will have the cover and an interview accompanying the article."

SG congratulates Kathryn and Pomegranate Press. To order the audiobook directly: Pomegranate Press, P.O. Box 17217, Beverly Hills, CA 90209. www.pompress.com

Print issue SG #105 (Sept., 2005) featured the Aug. 1 Publisher's Weekly review of the audiobook. Please contact SG at the e-mail or postal-mail addresses below for ordering information. The next SG print issue, SG #107, will have more information about this honor.


***  JAMES STORM ON STAGE

Jim (Gerard Stiles) appears as "Baylor" in "A Lie of the Mind." Publicity: It's "a dark comedy about 2 families struggling in the aftermath of a brutal wife-beating." Playwright Sam Shepard takes a look at "the American family...in all its whacked-out glory in this heartland love story."

Performances: Thurs.-Sat. evenings at 8:00; Sun. evenings at 7:00. Tickets are $15-$20. It opened Oct. 27 and runs through Nov. 20 at the Flight Theatre at The Complex, 6472 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA. 818-754-1423. Athenatheatre.com

More information will be in the next SG print issue, SG #107.

***  Fans attending Jim Storm's play are invited and encouraged to share their reports, pictures, and other material so SG readers worldwide can enjoy the production with you. Please send all material to the SG e-mail or postal-mail addresses below.

Thank you.
Marcy Robin

ShadowGram Editor / Publisher
Marcy Robin, P.O. Box 1766, Temple City, CA 91780-7766
E-mail: ShadowGram@aol.com

Ben's babes, lol.

Jayne Meadows's first-hand anecdotes fleshed out some of the details of his talk.

She shared that Edie Adams had related at the Beverly Hills signing 2 days prior that the destruction of kinescopes from Allen's show was not to clear space as Ben had been told but was done deliberately and maliciously.  It was due to the fact that the Allens owned 50% of the show and was accomplished by throwing them overboard from a barge near the Statue of Liberty.

With politics like that, DS fans are SO fortunate that our beloved show is almost entirely intact. 

I think privacy concerning a person's health is huge (duh, I'm a nurse), but when I see the "health risks" on, as an example, Kate Jackson's NNDb page when she has discussed in magazine and talk show interviews, even Larry King Live, her smoking and breast cancer (and open heart surgery, which her editor forgot to mention), then I don't have a problem with it.  It's very weird, though, to be provided a link to a list of every other celebrity in the db who supposedly has the same health issue, but I guess that might suit somebody's needs. 

Anyway, celebrity databases such as these do serve a purpose and I don't think any one of them should be considered a definitive source anyway.  One friend of mine refers to IMDb as the Incorrect Movie Database.  But I think it's a good thing to see the DS actors included, so no worries, CastleBee.  

PatrickM sent this from Sunday's Orlando Sentinel:

Bunnies are redesigned from the tail up

The article includes a photo of KLS in her bunny outfit c. 1963 followed by one of the updated bunny suit (click each photo to see the full images, cuz you shoe nuts MUST see the shoes in the modern pic  ), and the text quotes from her book, "The Bunny Years."

Thanks! 

The SItS party was given its own topic after a couple of cousins said they hadn't seen victoriawinters' post or her fab makeup.

   Spike, sigh

You'll see the Old North Church on your right and the entrance to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery will come up very quickly after that.

It's the Old Dutch Church, Rainey.