betsy and alexandra and kathryn

[Gothick]

Alexandra Moltke did look ravishing on camera as Victoria, and her understated performance provides a much-needed contrast to the goings-on, particularly as the show went WAY over the top during the 1968 storyline (which I happen to love).

Something Nancy wrote above made me think that for most of the people who worked on the show, their work was their livelihood, and that was something of a bottom line for them; whatever they tried to do artisticially with their work on DS, it was also a regular paycheck in a profession where regular paychecks can be scarce as hen's teeth.  Something in one fan's memoir of the last day of taping in '71 made me realize with a shock that Louis Edmonds was really worried about what he was going to do for a living since the show was ending.  I think the aspect of it that he particularly enjoyed, at the time, was the flexibility to go out and do other projects and yet still be on board as a regular of the show.

But for Alexandra (and to some extent, I think, for Jonathan), there wasn't that hunger, that dependence upon making the career work financially.  Their fellow cast members would hardly have been human if they hadn't somewhat resented or been intimidated by the thought of a person with an independent income choosing to do the show as an experience--and then choosing to walk away from same.

While sorting stuff out of one of my boxes Sunday evening, I came across a line in the Grayson Gazette issue from late Summer 1970 stating that Clarice Blackburn had been offered the role of Mrs J in hoDS, but she had refused it.  I'd always thought that she simply had other work to do during the tight window of the hoDS shooting schedule.  It's interesting to think that from this report, she may simply have chosen not to do the movie.  I think she only appeared in one or two episodes during Leviathan (although one of those shows is a humdinger!).

G.

[michael c]

i'm on the fence about kathryn leigh scott being "phased out" at some point.

there is something of a disconnect between kls the actress and her importance on the show and the character of maggie evans.while it is true that if maggie had never taken over as collinwood governess her importance in the "present" might have been limited(it often was)kls the actress' association with josette was so strong that she would have continued to figure prominently in the time travel storylines.

and of course this all depends on what her contract looked like.

ironically while i can picture victoria continuing on as collinwood governess in the present i can't picture alexandra factoring into many of the time travel storylines after 1795.the opposite goes for kls.she had more of a role to play in the past.

[michael c]

another thought...

because i love the show and am also so fond of alexandra's portrayal of vicki it makes me sad to know that she "hated" being on the show.

but her "socialite" status makes her seem a bit like a spoiled brat in this regard.while a stuggling young actress would have been happy to have regular work...let alone a leading role on one of television's biggest hits...because alexandra didn't need the paycheck she could afford to walk away.

still she was a grown woman who signed a contract.she may have disliked roger davis.she may have been unhappy with her storyline.but she could have been more of a trooper for the sake of her co-workers and fans.

at any rate her feelings about the whole thing must have softened up at some point since she's contributed to several of the d.s. related books and is narrating the new dvd collections.

[Gothick]

From what I have been able to gather over the years, very few of the players on DS actually HAD contracts... of any description.  KLS in the original edition of her Scrapbook Memories mentions that when she left the show, she'd been working without a contract for quite some time.  Grayson always described herself as signing a contract for 13 weeks initially but once that ran out they may have just let things run along because shortly thereafter her husband was writing for the show.  I guess it might have depended in part on how aggressive her agent was with DCP at that point.

Towards the end of the show, Keith Prentice was quoted in one of the teen mags as having signed a five year contract which seems out of character for Dan Curtis.  I wonder how much he got when the show was canceled.  Probably not much.  KLS wryly wrote in that first book:  "In general, we were not over-paid for working on Dark Shadows."

G.

[Nancy]

From what I have been able to gather over the years, very few of the players on DS actually HAD contracts... of any description.  KLS in the original edition of her Scrapbook Memories mentions that when she left the show, she'd been working without a contract for quite some time.  Grayson always described herself as signing a contract for 13 weeks initially but once that ran out they may have just let things run along because shortly thereafter her husband was writing for the show.  I guess it might have depended in part on how aggressive her agent was with DCP at that point.

It's nuts to work without a contract or something in writing.  I don't care how well you know your employer, how much you like your employer.  Memories can play tricks on what was ever agreed to and money commitments.  It's not about trust.  One reason for a contract where actors and producers are concerned is so you have proof for your union records.   When I was hired to work for Jonathan Frid and his production company, I was a big fan of his work - no question.  The biggest. But believe me, I had it in writing as to what the financial arrangements were going to be and what was expected of me.  I trust people in general but I do not trust memory.

Towards the end of the show, Keith Prentice was quoted in one of the teen mags as having signed a five year contract which seems out of character for Dan Curtis.

If a performer wants a contract, DC has no choice but to give one.

I wonder how much he got when the show was canceled.

Normally, if a show gets cancelled before a contract is finished, the actor gets paid for whatever is left on the contract.  If there is four weeks left but the show is done, the actor gets paid that four weeks.  If production is interrupted (such as the writers strike now) the contract has provisions whereby the actors may get some pay but not their entire pay.

The actors on DS were paid scale or a little above it, not much more than that.  To make more money, the actors did interviews or went on publicity junkets which paid very well. Frid (forgive me constantly referring to him but that's the one example I know the most about) made great money on the weekend PR tours but they go so crazy and time-consuming he stopped doing them altogether, well paying ventures or not.

Nancy

[Nancy]

another thought...

because i love the show and am also so fond of alexandra's portrayal of vicki it makes me sad to know that she "hated" being on the show.

I can understand that. It's disappointing when you are a big fan of an actor on the show and learn that actor didn't enjoy all or some part of the experience.

but her "socialite" status makes her seem a bit like a spoiled brat in this regard.while a stuggling young actress would have been happy to have regular work...let alone a leading role on one of television's biggest hits...because alexandra didn't need the paycheck she could afford to walk away.

If you don't need the money, that;s fine but a contract is a contract. I can understand wanting out of that contract when pregnant but evidently Alexandra wanted out even before she was pregnant.

still she was a grown woman who signed a contract.she may have disliked roger davis.she may have been unhappy with her storyline.but she could have been more of a trooper for the sake of her co-workers and fans.

I agree.  A contact is a contract and unless your working environment makes it difficult for you to perform your obligations, you stick with the contract.  And you behave like a professional.

at any rate her feelings about the whole thing must have softened up at some point since she's contributed to several of the d.s. related books and is narrating the new dvd collections.

Time can heal, lol.  I also think the situation is different now  - she's not on the set and working with people or a script she didn't care for.

Nancy

[Nancy]

Something Nancy wrote above made me think that for most of the people who worked on the show, their work was their livelihood, and that was something of a bottom line for them; whatever they tried to do artisticially with their work on DS, it was also a regular paycheck in a profession where regular paychecks can be scarce as hen's teeth.  Something in one fan's memoir of the last day of taping in '71 made me realize with a shock that Louis Edmonds was really worried about what he was going to do for a living since the show was ending.  I think the aspect of it that he particularly enjoyed, at the time, was the flexibility to go out and do other projects and yet still be on board as a regular of the show.

If I recall correctly, Louis Edmonds had a tough time finding work after DS was over at least for awhile, didn't he? It's depressing and worrisome to wonder how long your money will hold out.  Frid took on the 13 week gig as it would give him unexpected money for his planned move to California where he planned on teaching drama.  He held onto the gig as it was money.  As Frid has said in many interviews, he would never starve if he didn't work but if you are an adult you are expected to do something to earn your keep and have some self-respect.

hardly have been human if they hadn't somewhat resented or been intimidated by the thought of a person with an independent income choosing to do the show as an experience--and then choosing to walk away from same.

I agree with you.

Nancy

[Willie Loomis]

moltke wanted out because she felt her character was kind of .... well, shallow.   

the wrote her so wrong, which made me not like the character at ALL.    she should have been a little more darker, because supposedly she was a "collins" and she would have fit right in with the clan.   they made her a simpleton at times and a fool. 

[Joeytrom]

I think AM would have played Rachael Drummund in 1897, but like you said, I can't picture her as anyone other then Victoria.  I doubt they would have sent Vicky to 1897 instead of Barnabas.

ironically while i can picture victoria continuing on as collinwood governess in the present i can't picture alexandra factoring into many of the time travel storylines after 1795.the opposite goes for kls.she had more of a role to play in the past.

[Gothick]

TLATKLS had and has her own fan base and I'm sure Dan would have demanded the writers find something for Maggie to do even if Alex had stayed on the show as Vicki.  Presumably Maggie would have gone back to work at the diner and further intrigue would have resulted from there.  It's kind of sad that the diner pretty much disappeared after Laura's story.

G.

[Sandor]

Presumably Maggie would have gone back to work at the diner and further intrigue would have resulted from there.  It's kind of sad that the diner pretty much disappeared after Laura's story.

So true, G. Both Maggie and Susie could sure whip up a mean chicken salad sandwich on toasted marble rye at the Diner. Once Mags moved into Collinwood, she was at the mercy of Mrs. Johnson's choice morsels. No more hot coffee brewing... just witches' caldrons.

On the topic, I think I'll go watch the last Alexandra Moltke episodes and the first Betsy Durkin episodes back-to-back, and then make my decision on style and circumstance. If Maggie hadn't become governess, maybe she and Barnabas would have started dating, or she and Willie would have had a raunchy fling, or her memory of "the past" did return (again) - keeping her involved in the goings-on at Collinwood, if peripherally.

[michael c]

nostalgia can bring with it a rosy glow...

in her interviews on the new dvd collections alexandra speaks in glowing tones of how unique and creative dark shadows was.she also speaks very highly of her co-stars.joan bennett like a "second mother".nancy barrett a bridesmaid at her wedding.louis edmonds a "drawing room comedy".very high praise for jonathan frid and john karlen and mitch ryan and thayer david and clarice blackburn.after she left the series she speaks of missing the "camaraderie".

so it's too bad that(roger davis aside)she couldn't have found in that a way to make her time on the show a more positive experience for herself at the time.

i agree with gothick about the diner set...i miss it too once it departs.funny but that set is the first place barnabas meets maggie and whenever i go back and re-watch that scene it's strange to see him sitting there when we come to associate him with much more gothic environments.i would like to have seen maggie go back to work at the diner too.i like that "sassy waitress" element of her persona that gets lost over time.

[Willie Loomis]

I think maggie was a piviotal character and would have had a story line.   for one, i think she should have gotten involved with willie, and have barnabas dead set against that relaitonship and also have julia in the middle of it. 

and speaking of unhappy alexandria, she didn't seem to be the only one who was unhappy.  if you listen to frid's interviews on the dvd sets, he seemed to look down his nose at barnabas and the fans.   at one point he called one woman stupid.   granted this was not his forte, but please don't forget the fans were the ones who put you were. 

when you here them talk it seems that they were one big happy family, but sometimes i get the feeling that there were problems.   lara parker seemed to take her self to seriously, and i've seen outtakes of her scenes where she just gets annoyed.   but hey, they all did have chemistry, and the show worked, so, really, i don't know what my point is other than moltke was not the only unhappy one on the show.  she's done good for herself and she does do the interviews and gets along these days with the other cast members, so, what's the big deal.   she's even admitted how unhappy she was.

[Midnite]

nostalgia can bring with it a rosy glow...

in her interviews on the new dvd collections alexandra speaks in glowing tones of how unique and creative dark shadows was.she also speaks very highly of her co-stars.joan bennett like a "second mother".nancy barrett a bridesmaid at her wedding.louis edmonds a "drawing room comedy".very high praise for jonathan frid and john karlen and mitch ryan and thayer david and clarice blackburn.after she left the series she speaks of missing the "camaraderie".

so it's too bad that(roger davis aside)she couldn't have found in that a way to make her time on the show a more positive experience for herself at the time.

Doesn't she also say that a few months into her pregnancy, while still on the show, she was already having a difficult time of it and had to lie down a lot?  I think that would make combing your hair and having your eyes made up a low priority, regardless of how you feel about your job.  Anyway, I hope Lara Parker's comments didn't color your view of Alexandra too much; the latter was on the series for nearly a year and a half before the former participated in a single taping, and that's a long time of enduring a grueling schedule and an environment that's high pressure.  But was the show really "beneath her" (LP's words)?  Perhaps, though it doesn't sound that way to me when I listen to Alexandra talk about her time on the series.  She admits that she found fulfillment in motherhood, but so what?  When a woman gives up her career to stay home with her baby, I think of it as merely a choice (that, unfortunately, not everyone has the financial means to make) and I don't assume it means the woman looked down on her job, though some see it that way, even today.  

I wonder if LP would still say those things about her now, especially after watching her speak glowingly about her [important] projects behind the camera.
  <-- feminist soapbox 

[Nancy]

I didn't get the sense from any comments by the DS actors that Alexandra thought working on DS was "beneath" her.  The role wasn't fulfilling for her anymore.  Nancy Barrett commented once that what did creep Alexandra out was what she perceived as fan "over reverence" for the show.  That would explain her not wanting to attend festivals, that plus not liking big crowds much.  Alexandra took the DS appearances through venues that made her more comfortable.  I don't think there is any question she appreciates her fans or what the show represents now.

Nancy