I was thinking of Grayson off and on throughout the day yesterday, so it was gratifying to log on here and see this space--thank you again, Julia darling.
One thing that is little known about Grayson in the world of fandom (or so it would seem) is how very kind and giving she so often was to Dark Shadows fans. Robert Finnocchio's memoir of the time he spent with her (available on the beautiful Remembering Grayson website maintained by Nancy and Lynn) is typical of how much she enjoyed spending time with fans and getting to know them as people. I have heard of cases of her telling fans they could call her collect. I also heard a story about her calling a child long distance in Maryland to wish the little girl a happy birthday because she had received a note in which the child said hearing from "Julia" would make her day complete.
Grayson was definitely a bohemian. She lived life to the fullest and she had no time for bullsh&t. I've seen a video of a Fest held a year or two after her death in which Bob Costello (I think it was him) described her, with deepest affection, as "a gutsy broad." He was smiling widely as he spoke about her.
Underneath the colorful wardrobe (we all loved the Bulgarian peasant widow look, accessorized with leather bomber jacket), the fabulous laughter and the booming asides, she had a vulnerable side which only her closest friends were allowed to see. This did come out in her acting. If you watch closely in certain scenes, you'll see what DS director Henry Kaplan referred to as her remarkable inner stillness.
Still missing that most fabulous of redheads....
Gothick
