I too was taken aback upon hearing the news. While browsing his older posts on his Facebook page, you can tell he had great respect for his fans but really didn't want anything to do with social media.
While the original Dark Shadows will always be my true love, I certainly understand the big impact the 91 series had on me. After organizing the NBC rally to save the show which failed, the effort led to my organizing the Central Florida Dark Shadows Fan Club the next year - which is still going strong today. I always compared Barnabas to James Bond. I always consider Sean Connery THE James Bond but Roger Moore , Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan all did a good job as Bond in their own way. To many of us, Jonathan Frid is THE Barnabas. But if you take the time to binge the 91 series 3 or 4 episodes at a time, you will see what a valid interpretation Ben Cross gave to Barnabas. It's just a shame that Warren Littlefield took over NBC programming at a critical time and he hated the show. I'm certain that had the show been given a fair chance, it would have found its place among DS fans hearts just like ST:NG did with Trek fans. It's also a shame, Ben had such a huge early success with Chariots of Fire and was never able to replicate it again. He was a very talented actor.
