Anniversary of Grayson's passing

[Sandor]

I am grateful that Grayson Hall chose to become an actress. She was memorable in every role she played. Truly she was not meant to become an office secretary or a pharmacist (though Dr. Hoffman's little black bag would indicate otherwise).

[B.Collins]

i haven't seen ANY Of her films. other than "Dark Shadows" well both of them obviously. i NEVER thought of her as a good actress. in some scenes she can be good in. buut in some scenes such as her crying & her acting scared.it's jUst HORRIBLE!
just like Nancy Barret. she can act pretty good. buut when it comes to acting scared or frighted! it's just HORRIBLE! that's really the ONLY complaints i have on those 2.

[CyrusL]

Oh, I miss her so much, and yet, whenever I put on Satan in High Heels, or Night of the Iguana, or one of her stratospherically-megafabulous Magda episodes, it's as if she's never gone.  Her flame still burns brightly in my heart.

And whenever I put on high heels, I feel the flames of Satan.     (just kiddin')

     So much of what made DS work and keeps us all in its spell was all the wonderful chemistry between Grayson and Jonathan.  I hope she would appreciate all the sincere affection you can feel here and at the festivals. If she were still with us, she would rule the gatherings.

Michael 

[BuzzH]

If she were still with us, she would rule the gatherings.

Much to Lara's consternation I'm sure!  

Truly she was not meant to become an office secretary or a pharmacist (though Dr. Hoffman's little black bag would indicate otherwise)

Especially what was IN her little bag of tricks!  

[B.Collins]

ayuh i've read she was an odd one. of the WHOLE cast, she was pretty gothic in real liffe. no wait that what they said on one of the dvd sets interviews!  that honestly surprised me a bit. buut NOT much. she was from what they say QUITE a character even in REAL LIFE!

[Miranda]

Well, I never saw that much in the way of chemistry between Jonathan and Grayson (except as close friends, partners in arms as it were), and I certainly agree with B. Collins that Grayson frequently overaccted in a number of scenes on DS.  I also got frosted listening to that tape where she says Jonathan was "dumb" and "not a very good actor"!!  Hmm, could the green monster had been coming out there, who knows??  But anyway, I know she does have a lot of fans on the boards, so more power to you and I do agree that she would have made an interesting addition to a Fest or Ds gathering, too bad she never made one...

[Heather]

Grayson_rules_

'Nuff said. 

As I said on the JuliaList [raising a chocolate bar]...
"To one gutsy broad..."

[ClaudeNorth]

If she were still with us, she would rule the gatherings.

In my "Grayson Hall at a DS Fest" fantasy, she comes sweeping onto the stage like Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame, cocktail in one hand, cigarette holder in the other, addresses the audience as "darling," and basks in the adoration of her Legion.  This would be followed by hilarious tales of life on DS and beyond, all delivered with great style and wit.

[D_Friedlander]

In addition to regretting that Grayson did not live long enough to attend DS events and that I never got to meet her, I'm sorry she didn't live to see her grandchildren.  Though it's hard to picture as (probably) 85 years old this year, even so, I imagine she'd still be considered the "way-cool Grandma"!

[Nancy]

Oh I think GH was invited to some of the DS events. They started back in 1978 as ShadowCons and had guests like John Karlen and then other actors from the show.  Fans who were involved in the development of the latter Dark Shadows Festivals in 1983-1984 had a luncheon with her.  My impression was that GH wasn't much interested in the idea of attending a convention, at least at that point.

In addition to regretting that Grayson did not live long enough to attend DS events and that I never got to meet her, I'm sorry she didn't live to see her grandchildren.  Though it's hard to picture as (probably) 85 years old this year, even so, I imagine she'd still be considered the "way-cool Grandma"!

[MagnusTrask]

I also got frosted listening to that tape where she says Jonathan was "dumb" and "not a very good actor"!!

Egad.   I might just have acquired a frosting of some sort myself, after hearing this.   I'm up on the lingo of the young, I admit it.

Life is a great big perverse drama.    If there weren't a few abrasive, difficult people in the mix, we'd be "living" in Norman-Rockwell-Land, and regretting each and every moment of it.    GH had no call to be criticizing JF's acting (misidentifying the source of the problem, I think...), but the drama which is life demands its quota of glorious asses.   Some of them wear stylish early 60s suits into the late 60s, and suffer severe headaches under weighty weird-looking wigs.

Grayson was wrong, but in a glorious way.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I also got frosted listening to that tape where she says Jonathan was "dumb" and "not a very good actor"!!

GH had no call to be criticizing JF's acting ...  Grayson was wrong

Well, the perception of whether or not someone is or isn't a good actor can quite often be a subjective thing. And truthfully, Grayson was hardly the first person to say Frid's performances on DS weren't very good - she wasn't even the first (or only) of Frid's fellow DS actors to say it.  :-

Now, of course, the majority of us might completely disagree. But those people are entitled to their opinions, just as we are to ours...

[Gothick]

Some years ago I had the privilege of speaking to one of the women who helped run Grayson's last fan club (that I am aware of--I'm thinking of the group that published the zine Shades of Grayson).  She thought that Grayson held back from attending the Festivals because she had been in at least one mob-scene level crowd at a Frid appearance in the late Sixties and was afraid of her personal safety in the context of crazy crowd behavior.  Grayson had a number of falls and accidents in later life and may have suffered from lowered bone density (we've speculated about this but I don't believe it has ever been confirmed).  At the premiere of Happy End, she went on with her arm in a sling--pretty amazing!  She was a firm believer in "the show must go on."

In an interview with a fan done while she was appearing in the play The Suicide (opposite Derek Jacobi) in '80, he asks her if she'd like to come to a DS Festival and she playfully responds:  "Why not?  We'll go together."

There was a special dinner organized by a few fans that around fifteen people attended in 1982.  It was known as the Grayson Gathering.  Thankfully the event was tape recorded so posterity does not have to imagine Grayson telling all the witty stories and bantering away with her fans.  On that occasion, she spoke very lovingly of Jonathan Frid and called him "a dear man."  I think in '73 when the other tape to which reference has been made here, Grayson and Sam were still smarting from Frid's refusal at nearly the last minute to do the second DS feature film, necessitating a complete re-tooling of the concept for the film.  In the event, I think that NoDS was a more interesting concept--as a film--than a second Barnabas story would have been.  Heresy?  Perhaps.  But it's my opinion.  It helps of course that I think of Carlotta as one of Grayson's most fabulous roles.

cheers, G.

[BuzzH]

Well, the perception of whether or not someone is or isn't a good actor can quite often be a subjective thing. And truthfully, Grayson was hardly the first person to say Frid's performances on DS weren't very good - she wasn't even the first (or only) of Frid's fellow DS actors to say it. 

Indeed, Frid himself has even criticized his acting ability, stating he was always, "a slow study" and that he thought he was 'perfectly dreadful' on the show etc...Hey, who am I to argue?  

[Nancy]

I took the "dumb actor" remark to mean that Frid screwed up and didn't capitalize on his fame the way he could have.  The Halls separately made comments to the effect that Frid was probably sorry he didn't take the second DS movie.  I don't believe that decision was the last minute though, Gothick; the reason for the Halls' displeasure seemed to be tied to the fact that Frid was a cash cow and the biggest draw.  Removing himself from the project hurt in the pocketbook and in terms of visibility.  In the Halls' place, I would be sorely disappointed.

Another point is that there are people who say an actor is a "bad actor" because he/she can't walk and chew gum at the same time in front of the camera.  Working in front of the camera doesn't just require good acting skills but technical skills as well.  Frid didn't have those technical skills.  Does that make him a bad actor? For people who believe a good actor is also a technical actor, yes.

I suppose the litmus test is to try and decide why so many people remember the character of Barnabas Collins 40 years later . . . because of his long teeth? Pointy bangs?

nancy

Some years ago I had the privilege of speaking to one of the women who helped run Grayson's last fan club (that I am aware of--...) On that occasion, she spoke very lovingly of Jonathan Frid and called him "a dear man."  I think in '73 when the other tape to which reference has been made here, Grayson and Sam were still smarting from Frid's refusal at nearly the last minute to do the second DS feature film, necessitating a complete re-tooling of the concept for the film.  In the event, I think that NoDS was a more interesting concept--as a film--than a second Barnabas story would have been.  Heresy?  Perhaps.  But it's my opinion.  It helps of course that I think of Carlotta as one of Grayson's most fabulous roles.