How Hairlarious!

[Bob_the_Bartender]

How about Max Klinger vs. Magda Racosi?

[mfmdpt]

I havn't seen these eps, but the guy can't be that bad of an actor, can he?

It's not so much that he was bad on DS, Miles, it was that he was often limited and not exactly subtle. Understatement wasn't a concept RD had a grasp of - LOL! His vocal range went from normal to screaming with little, if anything, in between. And his method to convey every emotion from the deepest despair to the greatest joy was to touch his hair. His hair isn't even at issue, it's his proclivity to seemingly always be touching it that is.

Say what you will about Grayson and her mannerisms, but the woman could always convey what her characters were feeling with as little as a simple glance to an all out display of emotion. Most of the DS actors could. And that's really the thing that makes RD stick out like a sore thumb.

Let's just say that most of RD's work on DS wasn't his best (though, like several other DS actors, he could be quite good in almost everything else he's ever done).

[Gothick]

Roger Davis says on one of the MPI tapes (I think it might be "Behind the Scenes of Dark Shadows") that he was basically Dan Curtis' pet actor.  Or something like that.  I am always surprised he was so honest about that.  It's very "Norma Desmond" (as in Sunset Boulevard) the way he says that, too--he's wearing this pair of designer sunglasses and removes them slowly, dramatically, and starts talking about his special status on the DS premises.

I actually kind of enjoyed RD's performance as Dirk Wilkins.  I won't say anything to spoil it, but I think that character was designed to let him do something different and he was better at that than the leading man roles Curtis kept handing him.  He did do well in the role of Jeff in hoDS, I thought, but again that role did not challenge him the way some of his DS roles did.  

I will confess here and now that "Peter and Vicki" and their seemingly endless scenes together are a big reason why 1795 never makes my list of my top favorite DS storylines.  There are whole episodes devoted to Peter and Vicki and their trials and tribulations, and in my not-so-humble opinion, they drag painfully.  

Steve

[Minja]

There are whole episodes devoted to Peter and Vicki and their trials and tribulations, and in my not-so-humble opinion, they drag painfully.  

I agree with you wholeheartedly Steve.  These are 2 crazy kids you hope don't make it work.

Roger Davis says on one of the MPI tapes (I think it might be "Behind the Scenes of Dark Shadows") that he was basically Dan Curtis' pet actor.  

I know this one (since I only own 2 MPI DS tapes) and it's on the 30th anniversary tribute tape!  What's funny is at the very end, after credits are ran for the 30th annv. tape, there is addtional footage.  Diana Millay hocking her cookbook, Dan Curtis advertising the Behind The Scenes video, and an old Brut commercial featuring RD.

Spoiler


On this Brut commercial, RD is commenting on what's it's like to be a man of that day and age and guess what...?

He touches his friggin' hair!


The man is definitely obsessive compulsive![silly]


[shadow=teal,left,300]Always, Minja[/shadow]

[Ben]

His vocal range went from normal to screaming

mfmdpt, I think you and I differ in what we each think the word RANGE means.     [LOL! just kidding, of course!]

As for his hair, if any DS actor had to have an OCFC (obsessive-compulsive-follicular complex), well, at least it was someone who got to touch hair that always looked great and nicely coiffed.  

And yet, as much as I may make fun of RD, his over-the-top acting does add to the overall texture of the show that I have grown to love.  

Ben

(wondering if my vague recollection is accurate that RD once did commercials for The Dry Look or some other men's hairspray)

[Nancy]

Dear RaineyPark,

My lips are sealed, but I will say that I was NOT referring to the ubiquitous head of Judah Zachary.

Bob the Bartender, who wishes that we (guys, that is) could have a great head of hair like Ronald Reagan has at his age!

LOL, my brother attended a Broadway show called ARSENIC AND OLD LACE and after seeing Jonathan Frid play one of the leads and then backstage, he came away wishing that when he becomes a senior citizen, he hopes to have as much hair on his head as Frid does! He won't though. He's already receding, poor guy.

Nancy

[Birdie]

How lucky for you to have seen the play.  I would have loved to see A&O.L. with Mr. Frid.   I have always loved the old movie with Cary Grant.  

My dad was very lucky he had a full head of hair until he passed away at 75.  He didn't even gray until he was 70.  My poor brother on the other hand starting losing his hair when he was l9.  We were told it is a gene from the mother's side of the family.

I know Mr. Frid has a good head of hair--but sometimes I wonder if they had him wear a hair piece to acheive a certian hair style.

Birdie

[Nancy]

How lucky for you to have seen the play.  I would have loved to see A&O.L. with Mr. Frid.   I have always loved the old movie with Cary Grant.  

My dad was very lucky he had a full head of hair until he passed away at 75.  He didn't even gray until he was 70.  My poor brother on the other hand starting losing his hair when he was l9.  We were told it is a gene from the mother's side of the family.

I know Mr. Frid has a good head of hair--but sometimes I wonder if they had him wear a hair piece to acheive a certian hair style.

Birdie

I can answer that: no, he didn't wear a hairpiece on DS to achieve any effect. The only time he wore any kind of a piece was in HODS when the old man had significantly less hair than the old man on the series. Frid had to have a hair piece for HODS as the old man in order to have less hair.

Nancy

[RingoCollins]

He's already receding, poor guy.
Nancy

>My poor brother on the other hand starting losing his hair when he was l9. - - - birdie<


Ummm, ... don't you mean exceptionally attractive, appealing, .........

don't ya know the reason???


[I'm really just too tall for my hairline!]

[Luciaphile]

Ummm, ... don't you mean exceptionally attractive, appealing, .........

don't ya know the reason???

[I'm really just too tall for my hairline!]

LOL, well, Ringo, if it makes you feel any better, I thought that Captain Picard was significantly sexier than Captain Kirk.

Luciaphil

[Mark Rainey]

I'm really just too tall for my hairline!

Some of our brains can't think and worry about holding our hair in place at the same time. It's complicated, doncha know.

--Mark

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Dear Fellow Dark Shadows Fans,

I think that the title for the next Star Trek movie will be:

    IN SEARCH OF KIRK'S TOUPEE!!!



Bob the Bartender, who wishes that William Shatner wouuld "open up" more emotionally in his portrayal of James T. Kirk.  He's too darned understated as the captain of the good ship Enterprise.

[Dr. Eric Lang]

Roger Davis says on one of the MPI tapes (I think it might be "Behind the Scenes of Dark Shadows") that he was basically Dan Curtis' pet actor.  Or something like that.  I am always surprised he was so honest about that.  It's very "Norma Desmond" (as in Sunset Boulevard) the way he says that, too--he's wearing this pair of designer sunglasses and removes them slowly, dramatically, and starts talking about his special status on the DS premises.

I actually kind of enjoyed RD's performance as Dirk Wilkins.  I won't say anything to spoil it, but I think that character was designed to let him do something different and he was better at that than the leading man roles Curtis kept handing him.  He did do well in the role of Jeff in hoDS, I thought, but again that role did not challenge him the way some of his DS roles did.  

I will confess here and now that "Peter and Vicki" and their seemingly endless scenes together are a big reason why 1795 never makes my list of my top favorite DS storylines.  There are whole episodes devoted to Peter and Vicki and their trials and tribulations, and in my not-so-humble opinion, they drag painfully.  

Steve

I have that tape too. My impression, from RD's claim that he "never looked at the teleprompter," was that he went off-script a number of times and ad-libbed. That Curtis allowed him to do this is perhaps why the other cast members called him "Director's Pet." I don't know if RD considered himself a "method actor" or just what - but I think his way of working (learning the gist of the scene and ad-libbing the lines) was probably difficult for other actors to work with - it forced them to change their responses on the spot to keep the scene going - not really fair to those who bothered to learn their lines.

I think RD is a decent actor but I don't think he was suited to soaps. Soap actors have to learn an incredible amount of new dialogue each day and that's not something every actor can master.

[Nancy]

I have that tape too. My impression, from RD's claim that he "never looked at the teleprompter," was that he went off-script a number of times and ad-libbed. That Curtis allowed him to do this is perhaps why the other cast members called him "Director's Pet." I don't know if RD considered himself a "method actor" or just what - but I think his way of working (learning the gist of the scene and ad-libbing the lines) was probably difficult for other actors to work with - it forced them to change their responses on the spot to keep the scene going - not really fair to those who bothered to learn their lines.

I think RD is a decent actor but I don't think he was suited to soaps. Soap actors have to learn an incredible amount of new dialogue each day and that's not something every actor can master.

One of the actors on DS who worked with RD (the brief time this actor was on DS), would paste his dialogue around on the set.  RD, knowing this, said at festivals, he would deliberately put his hand over the dialogue/paper or sit on it when doing a scene with this actor.  This actor was only on during one storyline.  

I agree that you can be a very talented actor but not a good technical actor which is what you need to be do to soaps and even movies.  I've never seen RD do anything else so I can't judge what his skills are (or aren't).

Maybe if he spent less time clowning around on the set as he admitted to doing, and studied his script ,he might have learned his lines better. ;D

Nancy

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Maybe if he spent less time clowning around on the set as he admitted to doing, and studied his script ,he might have learned his lines better.

Nancy

Hmmm... Maybe that's why RD kept running his hands through his hair -- he was trying to coax the dialogue out of his brain because he'd never bothered to memorize it in the first place. Or, it could have been a diversionary tactic, hoping that no one in the audience would notice that he didn't have any idea what his next line was supposed to be. It would certainly explain why he did his hair bit so often!