The second day looked and felt more like a Festival. For me, it started with a return to the storage room to put the finishing touches on the gift bags and transport them to the banquet room to place them on all the chairs. A couple of friends who weren't even scheduled to work kindly volunteered their time and their strength to help us move the heavy luggage carts and the boxes of bags and memorabilia that would be up for sale in the day's auctions. We started at 8:00 and finished shortly before the posted time of 10:00 for when activities would begin.
KLS and James Storm each had tables in the lobby for selling their respective books and photographs and signing some preliminary autographs before the ballroom doors opened for the luncheon. MPI also had a table of merchandise for sale that included Big Finish audio dramas, reprints of Marilyn Ross's novels, Barnabas rings, and sweatshirts with the DS logo. One fan had brought in a replica of Quentin's gramophone and fans posed for photos with it. Later, during the actual autograph session, the gramophone was placed at David's table.
Tickets for the luncheon started to be distributed a little bit after 11:00 instead of at 10:30. Despite long lines of attendees that coiled outside the ballroom and around the tables of the hotel's patio restaurant, everyone was seated and the program was ready to start shortly before noon. The volunteers had prepared 350 gift bags, and despite being told of about a dozen cancellations, it looked to me like every table had full seating.
Jim Pierson briefly opened the event with another slideshow, this one without music, to highlight the actors and prominent fans whom we've lost in recent years. First, he showed a picture of a young Marcy Robin and Ann Wilson (Festival founders and long-time volunteers) clowning around, with Ann menacing Marcy with a Barnabas cane. He then showed a still from Night of Dark Shadows of Chris Pennock and Thayer David, followed by individual pictures of Robert Cobert, Robert Rodan, Diana Millay, Denise Nickerson, and John Karlen.
Next, Jim announced the luncheon raffle. In addition to receiving a gift bag containing fabulous merchandise (a DVD of the Frid documentary, a copy of Dark Passages by KLS and Produced and Directed by Dan Curtis, a headshot of Lara, a Big Finish audio drama or Marilyn Ross/KLS audiobook, a 2015 DS calendar, and a QR code for The Great Nick D), one person at each table had the chance to take home the table centerpiece, a special bottle of wine dressed in a Dracula cape donated by Vampire Vineyards (Vampire Vineyards also donated the T-shirts worn by the Festival volunteers). The winner had a card taped under their seat. This set off a flurry of people twisting and fumbling under their chairs in search of the golden ticket. Some mistakenly tore off the chair manufacturer’s label; I saw several labels scattered over the floor. When the excitement subsided, Pierson offered the first auction items for sale.
The morning’s auction consisted of various items that had belonged to Lara. Proceeds were to benefit Peace4Kids. A second auction much later in the afternoon would consist of more traditional DS collectibles and books as well as some items that had belonged to Dan Curtis. Lara's auction included Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of some of her books, the first draft manuscript of The Salem Branch with editorial notes written in the margins, copies of Angelique's Descent that Lara had personalized to each of Jonathan Frid and to her father (sadly, Jonathan died before he received his copy), a photo album of Lara assembled by the president of her fan club, a script from a TV show she had made with George Peppard (Doctors Hospital), and promotional materials from her book tours. That auction went quickly. Many items were grouped together in lots instead of being parceled out one at a time, which is what happened in the afternoon auction. To my surprise, the lots went for only $200.00 or less. I had thought that the uniqueness of the items having belonged to Lara personally would add value to them, but as one friend pointed out, the fact that the auction would only accept payment via cash or check might have deterred many people who have become accustomed to paying electronically.
The end of the auction signaled the beginning of the celebration of Jonathan Frid's life and career. This day was billed as the 100th anniversary of Jonathan's birth, although he was actually born in December. (His birth year was 1924). Mary O'Leary welcomed us to the event and gave us a brief overview of Jonathan's career. At one time, he embarked on a program to teach English teachers how to present Shakespeare in the classroom. A former alum of that program, a woman named Cindy, was at the banquet. Mary invited her to stand, and Cindy waved to everyone. It would have been nice to have her speak at the event, too. She would have been able to share an original perspective about Jonathan.
Kathryn took the stage first and spoke about the first time she met Jonathan when he came to the studio for hair and makeup tests. His arrival drew little attention at the time, probably, she joked, because the refreshments for the day had just been delivered. She remembered him appearing fully formed as Barnabas, posing in costume with his cape, cane, and styled bangs. He had a regal presence. She said her favorite scene with Jonathan was when Maggie meets Barnabas as he arrives at the diner when she's locking up. Kathryn said she felt like they had a lot of chemistry in that scene and thought the writers must have noticed, because they later cast her as Josette, Barnabas's eternal love interest. She said that Jonathan was the linchpin of the series. Even though it was an ensemble show, when he joined the cast, it felt as though he became the captain, guiding them along. "Jonathan saved our show. Because of him, we went from the brink of cancellation to having 20 million viewers. More than that, Jonathan affirmed our position as the show that celebrated the Other, the outcast, the outsider.” Children who ran home from school to watch DS put aside whatever had happened during the day or in the classroom to sit briefly in the safety of Collinwood where they could watch monsters striving for acceptance. Kids who didn't feel like they fit in could relate to Barnabas. "Many people don't just tell me that they ran home from school to watch, they say that DS got them through their childhood." She cited a number of people then in attendance who had gone on to do creative work in television or film and had cited DS as a source of inspiration.
Next, Kathryn introduced the video interviews. Promotional materials for the event had teased a video interview with a surprise guest. Speculation focused on either David Henesy or Alexander Moltke. Indeed, it was Henesy, who has also worked with the cast in a YouTube dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol. Kathryn also said that she is still in touch with Alexandra, who sends her best wishes, and with Nancy Barrett, who was devastated that she wasn't able to attend the event as originally planned.
David greeted Kathryn as "Katie" because, "That's what I used to call you." "You still can," she encouraged him. Asked about his memories of Jonathan, David recalled that the show didn't feature any supernatural elements originally, but instead was a Gothic series about the tormented and dysfunctional Collins family. "When we first heard there was a going to be a vampire on the series, we said, 'Ohh OK, that works. This is a quirky family. He'll fit right in.' He recalled Jonathan as an elegant man with a formal presence and a dry sense of humor. His most vivid memories were of Jonathan in makeup, walking around with tissues stuffed under the collar of his shirt. He also spoke generally of his time on DS, how everyone always treated him like an adult ("which caused problems for me later in life"), and what the studio was like: the metal folding chairs that served as the coffin, the old coffee machine, and the old Xerox machine. "I wonder if David Selby ever paid ABC back for all the copies of his dissertation that he made on that machine." As David and Kathryn stared into the camera, scolding, Selby, who was seated at the table next to mine, doubled over laughing. The interview was brief and looked like it had been edited, possibly because the connection was choppy. It was nice of Henesy to join us in spirit. (KLS recently posted a 20-minute version on FB that includes additional memories of Henesy's co-stars and is worth watching).
Kathryn also played two other videos, from Marie Wallace and Donna Wandrey, respectively. I was especially happy to see Marie, as she's long been a favorite of mine. She looked radiant on the screen and spoke with warmth and verve about Jonathan. She first met him as Eve, a woman that Julia created out of old bones from the family mausoleum, but though she interacted with Jonathan during the series, she wasn't particularly close to him. After two years and three roles, her time on the show ended. “I thought, ‘Well, that was fun, but it's over now.’ But it wasn't. A few years later, the Dark Shadows Festivals began, and that's when I really got to know Jonathan.” Frid would bring dramatic material to perform at the conventions, and Marie enjoyed watching his shows. After one such performance, Jonathan and a producer named George Moore invited her out for dinner and pitched to her the prospect of appearing as Eleanor of Aquitaine in a production of The Lion in Winter at Georgia College. Marie eagerly agreed, anticipating that Jonathan would play her King Henry. But no, Jonathan was going to direct. “I don't know if you know this, but he got a degree in directing from Yale. However, he had never directed anything before.” Marie and Jonathan stayed at the Governor's Mansion in Milledgeville on the top floor. While the students were in class during the day, he rehearsed scenes with her. Marie shared with us Jonathan’s favorite of Eleanor's monologues (I’ve taken the text from imdb.com), reciting it for us with feeling:
"Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It's 1183 and we're barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history's forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can't we love one another just a little - that's how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world."
“I wondered why he loved that monologue so much, and then I realize it’s because it's a speech about love. Jonathan was all about love. He loved all of you. As you go about your day, think about that love and your love for him, and be kind to one another.” I thought that was an uplifting note and a lovely way to honor Jonathan's spirit and memory.
A taped piece from Donna Wandrey followed. She also emphasized Jonathan's warmth and kindness. Donna recalled how anxious she’d been as a young actress joining the cast of long-running principles. “Every day, one of the directors—whom I won't name —would make a comment to me that just tore me down. Jonathan noticed this, and one day he called me to his dressing room. I was panicking. I thought, ‘Oh no! The director hates me, and now the star does too.’ But Jonathan told me, ‘Don't pay any attention to him.’ I said, ‘I have to pay attention to the director.’ ‘Yes, pay attention to where he tells you to go, how many steps he tells you to take, when he wants you to enter, but as for the rest of it, forget it. As soon as someone new joins the cast, he'll start picking on him or her and he'll leave you alone.’” And indeed, that's what happened. Virginia Vestoff, who was then starring in 1776, became the target of the director’s aspersions. “Virginia didn't let anyone push her around. I learned a lot from her and from Jonathan.”
Donna also shared tragicomic memories of a public appearance she and Jonathan had made. “I had never been on tour before. I had never flown first class before. To Minneapolis. For the Auto Show. Where the other guests were Tiny Tim, Miss Vicki, and Arnold the Pig. Kathryn was kind enough to make me a jumpsuit covered with sequins. I thought I would look so sharp. I ended up sitting on the hood of a car as it drove in circles again and again, all day. Finally, I stopped and waited for Jonathan's line to finish. They ended up cutting Jonathan's line because the line for Arnold the Pig was longer. Then, Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki invited us out to eat. That's what we called them: Tiny Tim and Miss Vicky. They were the most unusual people I had ever met. They acted like they ruled over us. They sat at table above us; Jonathan and I sat on cushions on the floor. Jonathan managed to extricate us from that dinner fairly quickly with his wit and good humor and got us back to the studio in one piece.” Donna’s wry facial expressions and euphemistic descriptions made the anecdote especially amusing. She said the most important lesson she learned from Jonathan was kindness. It’s a lesson she’s carried with her always. Donna closed by saying, “I'm sure Jonathan is looking down on us now, along with. Grayson, Thayer, Lara, and so many others”.
We had one more video greeting to watch, this time from the Director of the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute in Columbus, OH. Mary explained that she had arranged to donate all of Jonathan's paper to the Institute. In her greeting, the Director explained that she herself had been a fan who ran home from school to watch Jonathan. She discussed the history of the school, which is named after the authors of Auntie Mame and Inherit the Wind (one of my favorite movies, though I've yet to see the play), while stock footage of the campus played in the background. The Research Institute is open to the public. She invited everyone to come to Columbus to peruse John's papers. No date was given as to when they might be become available. Mary explained that she's still in the process of putting the collection together for transfer.
The next person invited to speak was James Storm. He seems surprised to be called up, though he was listed in the program. He certainly had delightful memories to share. Jim spoke of the first time he saw Jonathan when he attended a Shakespeare Festival to see Jon Voight perform in The Tempest. The actor who really impressed him, however, was the one who played Caliban. “I saw this creature moving from upstage left across the stage. It was such a powerful transformation. He was able to be so sympathetic. I’d never seen the role performed that way before. Years later, when I walked onto the set of DS, I saw Jonathan and thought, ‘Ah, it's him! Caliban!’” Storm also talked about his last meeting with Jonathan during Fred's final Festival. “I’d just finished singing and had moved off-stage, down the stairs, and into the hallway. I saw Jonathan approaching with some other people. He looked up at me and said, ‘Oh, it's Jimmy Storm!’ Right away, he picked up the last conversation we'd had when we bumped into each other in New York on 4th Street and Lexington. He asked, ‘How is Jonathan?’—my oldest son, who had just been born at that time. He remembered my son's name, my wife's name, and he was fully alert.” Jim was clearly touched at being so well-remembered.
Lisa Richards spoke next, acknowledged that she hadn't interacted very much with Jonathan. “I was in love with the werewolf, Chris. Then he went back to Tennessee, and I fell in love with Chris Pennock. I was his lab assistant. Then, Dan invited me to join the cast of House of Dark Shadows. I was thrilled—until I saw the script. I died on the first page! Still, I did my best to get into the Method. I thought about being dead and how it would feel to die. The make-up man painted some marks on my neck. I screamed and then lay down in the driveway and died. You could say it was love at first bite between me and Jonathan.”
Rounding out the cast, Roger Davis spoke. He claimed not to have interacted much with Jonathan either, though they certainly did share many scenes. “I mostly saw him in hair and makeup. Vinnie Loscalzo was always trimming his bangs.” He pointed to Kathryn in the audience. “Didn’t you take some of his hair once? Of course, we worked together in House of Dark Shadows. What was I doing in that movie? I hadn't been on the show in years. At the time, I was under contract to Universal for a pilot with Pete Duel, which later became the series Alias, Smith and Jones, but Dan lured me back. He told me, ‘You'll be the hero who destroys the vampire. You'll have a great romance with Kathryn.’ But it was a bait and switch. Most of the romance got cut out of the movie. It didn't advance the plot.”
The scene he most remembered was Jeff’s climactic confrontation with Barnabas. “The atmosphere was very thick that day. Some people will tell you that atmosphere doesn't matter, but that isn't true. I picked up the crossbow, aimed it at him, and then he turned.” Roger pointed his finger onto the audience and bellowed, “Claaark!” in an effort to emulate Frid, though, he confessed that his voice wasn't as powerful. “He locked eyes with me, and then—” Roger motioned with his hand, as though directing somebody to move down. “—he started guiding me. I followed him all the way down the stairs. He said, ‘Every wedding must have a witness, and you shall witness this one.’ Then, we took a short break to set up the prosthetics, the fake blood for the staking scene.”
“Dan Curtis took me aside. He said, ‘When you hit Jonathan, I want you to give it all you've got.’ I said, ‘No, you can't do that to Jonathan.’ But Dan ordered me, ‘Just do it.’ It’s very dangerous to give me permission [to push someone around]. You remember what happened when I pushed Joan Bennett [during a scene in 1897]. She fell over, and a little flask rolled out of her pocket. She was feeling around onstage for the flask. She never spoke to me again after that. Dan yelled, ‘Action!’ I stepped forward and punched my fist into Jonathan's back as hard as I could. I had to push with all my might. Jonathan was a big guy. He wasn't tall, but he was very broad. He arched his back, and all the blood spurted everywhere. We did it all in one take.
As an actor, you strive for that one perfect take. It doesn't happen very often, but that time it did. When the scene was finished, Jonathan turned to me slowly.” Roger adopted a hulking stance, made a steely expression with his lips twitching into a snarl, and spoke slowly and menacingly. “He said, ‘You really pushed me hard and it hurt.’ I was panicking, expecting him to punch me out. Then he said, ‘Thank you.’” To my surprise, Pierson announced HoDS would screen later that night; it wasn’t listed in the program/
The highlight of the tribute to Jonathan was brought to us by the combined forces of Mary O'Leary and David Selby. Instead of reminiscing about his friendship with Jonathan, David read selections from Jonathan's personal letters to his mother back in Hamilton, Ontario. “Telephone calls were expensive in those days,” Mary reminded us, “so Jonathan wrote letters. He was a wonderful, witty writer. We've really lost the art of letter writing.” She explained that she had edited down the letters to the sections that focused primarily on DS. Mary further explained that David would be reading the letters from a music stand because that was how Jonathan read his scripts when he did his one-man shows. She indicated the music stand onstage and told us it had once belonged to Robert Cobert. We were also told that Jonathan had a deep sense of gratitude to his parents for supporting him emotionally and financially in his drive to become an actor. Sadly, his father passed away in September of 1966, so he never got to see Jonathan's rise to fame as Barnabas. The letters to his mother documented the character’s growth, both in art and in popularity, as well as Jonathan's own excitement and insecurity about being able to maintain the momentum of the character, and above all, to deliver truly good performances. Jonathan was indeed a brilliant letter writer, and David's readings were amusing and entertaining. I can only do my best to paraphrase the content.
Jonathan's first letter was about successfully completing his first paid television appearance. His character recited three pages of Old Testament scripture. Jonathan confessed that memorizing the lines was a challenge and said he would decide whether doing television work was a good thing or not after he saw how the broadcast turned out. Another early letter foreshadowed DS when Jonathan described some recent dental work. "I now have a pair of very white, very even, temporary fangs." He wasn't entirely happy with them, as the short-term model wasn't a good fit, and expressed his hope that the permanent product would be more comfortable.
In early 1967, he wrote about completing the screen test for his new role as a vampire member of a rich family with a lineage long enough to include a vampiric ancestor. Jonathan explained that Barnabas's true origins and motives would become apparent only with time. He discussed the design of his character. “I've been fitted for two Mod, six-button suits from Ohrbach’s and they’re making an Inverness cape for me. I'm supposed to look vaguely Edwardian or Regency. I shall carry a furled umbrella instead of a cane because that would draw too much attention.” Jonathan complained about the challenge of crossing the stage and trying to hit his mark, which was about the size of a cigarette butt, without looking at the ground to see where the mark was. He added that he had investigated whether any ABC affiliates near Hamilton, ON carried the show so his mother might be able to watch it. “It's playing in Rochester and Cleveland, but not in Buffalo.”
Another letter described a fire at the studio during taping. (I knew the set had caught fire during the Phoenix storyline, but wasn't aware that it happened multiple times). “I could see smoke rising over the shoulder of my lady love and flames reflected in the glass. The fire appeared to be near the main exit. I heard a loud clattering and commotion as people attempted to put the fire out, but the person in the control booth didn't yell to us to cut. I continued with my scene, but I'm afraid I fumbled my dialogue because I was distracted by thinking of other ways to exit the studio. I was not about to die in service of DS. Unfortunately, they decided to keep that take instead of reshooting it. The budget really is that tight.”
More mishaps occurred in a later episode where Barnabas menaced his sleeping victim-to-be, showing his fangs and revealing his vampirism for the first time. During the dress rehearsal, an assistant had passed him his fake fangs as he entered, and Jonathan easily snapped them into place. However, when it came time to film the actual episode, the fangs simply would not fit. Jonathan described the nerve-wracking process of trying to get the fangs into place in time to deliver his sinister smile. The script required that he pause for the camera to show a telltale close-up of his distinctive wolf's head walking stick (that furled umbrella went by the wayside), and Jonathan tried to strategically stall just long enough to get his fangs in order. Nothing worked. Finally, Jonathan confessed he shoved them in the back of his mouth and bared his own canines as fiercely as he could.
Jonathan also described his growing popularity, from “I'm being told I've received fan mail” to “The PR man tells me that I've received more fan mail than anyone else in the cast, including Joan Bennett. Some of the letters are of a sexual nature. The most passionate ones are written by married women.” And finally, “My new assistant has come up with a brilliant strategy. She says we should pull out the letters written by married women and not respond to them because they were probably written behind their husbands’ backs.”
In his letters, Jonathan frequently cited the unslacking pace and the frequency with which Barnabas appeared in the episodes. He remarked that he at first worried that the writers would pull back on his part. “Now I'm irritated that they're not.” His missives described his dedication to developing Barnabas's character and to giving his best possible performance.
He was especially proud of his work on a series of episodes set to air from July 17th to the 21st, in which Barnabas throws a costume party for his family. The second episode of the costume party dealing with the results of the seance, which would air July 24th, was so worthwhile to Frid that he urged his mother to come to Rochester and stay in a hotel so she could watch it. He provided detailed instructions about how to contact the ABC affiliate in Rochester to confirm which episode would be airing on that day and if it would be the same episode that aired in NYC. He also advised her to contact the hotel to confirm that it could get a clear broadcast. “There's no point in making the trip if you can't see the show.”
Of course, playing a popular character didn’t hurt. Another letter reported, “The director’s 13-year-old daughter has a crush on Barnabas. Linda Curtis visited the studio today and followed me around all day. Maybe I should ask for a raise. . .”
Yet, Frid also presented as a realist, uncertain of how long his good fortune could last. “I was told we are soon going to begin a sequence in which the actors will play ancestral members of the family. This will explore the origins of how Barnabas became a vampire. That should give me at least four or five more weeks of work. We'll see what the ratings are like.” Jonathan seemed ambivalent about the 1795 flashback once it began. “Now that the focus is on Barnabas as a love interest, I look ridiculous calling Joan Bennett ‘Mother.’”
One of the final letters described Frid embarking on his first publicity tour to lobby ABC affiliates who were reluctant to change the time slot of the show from 3:30 to 4:00 so that more children, and not merely the fastest runners, could enjoy watching it after school. David received rousing applause for his wonderful interpretation of Jonathan's journey through DS. It was fascinating to hear Jonathan's naive perspective on his character and unexpected fame as events were unfolding. I'm grateful to Mary for gifting us that peek into his life and to David for presenting it to us.
The next event shifted focus slightly, as it was the presentation of a Saturn Award to Mary for her work on Beyond Dark Shadows: The Jonathan Frid Story. Eric Wallace, producer and DS fan, provided a short biography of Mary and named her many achievements in daytime television. With every mention of another soap opera—Guiding Light, Another World, One Life to Live, The Young and the Restless—another batch of devoted fans applauded. He told of how Mary had contacted Jonathan after watching one of his one-man performances to ask if he needed an assistant. Jonathan swiftly replied in the affirmative, launching what would be an eight-year partnership and friendship. When Mary took the stage to accept her award, she recalled that the last time she had seen Jonathan had been in the Burbank Marriott Hotel at the 2008 Festival when they went out to dine together. He had thanked her for all the help she'd given him over the years. She appreciated hearing that form him in person.
We had a short break before the Q&A session with the actors. Lisa, Roger, David, Kathryn, and James took the stage with Jim Pierson moderating. He asked each person to give an update on what they’ve recently been working on. Lisa talked about the other TV series she’s worked on after DS and about her children. Currently, she’s teaching at the Actors' Studio.
Roger began by commenting on how the number of chairs onstage had shrunk, alluding to the many regular attendees who have recently passed away. In particular, he mentioned John Karlen. "You never knew what was going to come out of his mouth. One minute, John would tell you how much he loved you, the next minute he'd tell you how much he hated you." He then spent an excessive period of time discussing all his business ventures. “Do you remember years ago when I was selling T-shirts and tote bags? My company was the Original Fruit Crate Company. I only had that company for five years, then I sold it for $15 million. One of the T-shirt designs we sold had the slogan ‘Baseball Forever’ on it. Kevin Costner wore one when he did an interview for Field of Dreams. That shirt became so popular that Columbia Sportswear bought my company.” Roger added that he had brought a few shirts and bags to sell during the autograph session, then he went on discussing his real estate ventures, which he had previously brought up the night before in relation to Lara Parker.
He then grew serious and discussed a major health scare. Roger explained that he had a brother who had died of a heart condition. (It wasn't clear to me if he said his brother died in 1968 or his brother died at age 68). Consequently, Roger was concerned about his own health and got examined, but his doctor assured him he didn't have the same condition. Then, one morning around 5:00 or 5:30, he received a call from the doctor. "He was in tears. He said, 'I made a mistake. You do have the same condition. You might die within the next 30 minutes if we don't get you into surgery right away. You have a major blockage.'" Filled with concern, Roger rushed to the hospital. "I woke up about 20 hours later. I was cracked open and the doctors were working over me." He imitated someone pulling on a rope or a line. "I heard someone say, 'We've got to get him back into surgery!' and another doctor replied, 'He won't survive another surgery. We've got to clear these lines now.' Then I slipped back into unconsciousness." It sounded like a harrowing experience. During his story, many people in the ballroom, called out in support, 'We love you, Roger!" Others signaled with a show of hands that they, too, had undergone bypass surgeries. Roger said, "I consider myself very lucky to be here at the age of 85, especially when so many others are not." He quoted The Shawshank Redemption: "Get busy living or get busy dying."
At various times during Roger's monologue, Pierson dropped heavy hints that it was time to give someone else a chance to speak, but Roger, evidently oblivious, kept going. At one point, he paused for breath and KLS turned to Selby and said, "David, what are you working on these days?" But Roger quickly picked up the thread of his own story.
"Is it a line from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?" 'Was it her dress that made me so digress?' That's what I do. I digress all the time. I had a terrible upbringing. My father was a serial womanizer." Roger took care of his father in his old age. "I always dressed him in Brooks Brothers suits. He looked sharp. We went to a funeral for a neighbor. During the funeral, he became very upset and begged me to take him home. I didn't understand. We didn't really know [the deceased] very well. He told me, ‘I just couldn't stay there and face all those old ladies. I had affairs with all of them, all those friends of your mother’s.' I said, 'Dad, you say some disgusting shit.’" It seemed to me Roger was blaming his hyperactivity and tendency to digress on his father's bad behavior. I thought the story was in poor taste. Poor Kathryn looked mortified as he was telling it. I shared her pain.
Selby finally did get to speak and joked about how much time had passed while Roger was speaking. "Are you all hungry again by now?" He also shared the update that he's working on another project with Kathryn. On her turn, she elaborated that they are filming additional episodes of Smartphone Theater, working with Susan Sullivan and Granville Van Dusen. She also said she's working on another project with Ansel Faraj but didn't go into detail about it. James told us he's married to a beautiful photographer and they're planning another road trip later in the year to Montana, Wyoming, and possibly the Dakotas. He recalled his post-DS career and how nervous he was about calling up Dan Curtis when he got to California. “Dan said, ‘Where the f*** are you? I’m down at the Playboy building. Get over here right now!’ When I got there, he told [the other staff members], ‘This is the best young actor. Get him an agent! Get him some work!’” Storm was grateful for Curtis helping to launch his broader career.
Finally, the floor was open to questions. One of the first came from a young fan who praised David for his portrayal of Count Petofi during the brief body switching of 1897. She asked if he had any memories to share from that time period of working with Thayer David. Selby merely said Thayer was wonderful and had a strong presence, but didn't speak about that particular story line.
Another fan complimented David for his portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge in the actors' online performance of A Christmas Carol three years ago. "What was the impetus that brought that about, and is that program going to be available anywhere for home viewing?" "They should show that every year," David agreed. Kathryn said that Dan Curtis had always wanted to do A Christmas Carol, and that someone named Todd (she didn't mention his last name) had finally brought everybody together to do it. As for whether it would ever be released on a DVD or Blu-ray, nobody said. (It currently can be streamed on YouTube).
Another fan asked the cast members who had played multiple roles on the show which was their favorite. Lisa said she liked being the girlfriend of the werewolf best. Eventually, Selby said he liked the original Quentin, Kathryn said she liked Maggie because she was ambitious and always had her eye on the next thing, and James said he only got to play one character. (Actually, he played a parallel time version of Gerard in one episode). He was being fitted for costumes for a new character when it was announced that the series would go off the air. Before the latter three could speak, however, Roger commandeered the microphone again.
He told a story about his work on The Twilight Zone prior to DS. "I was playing an alcoholic in an episode with Diana Hyland. I was supposed to walk drunkenly across the room and say something like, 'How ya doin'?' But the night before, I was at a party with Jack Nicholson. I know it sounds like I'm name dropping; I don't mean to. He knew that I'd been working on a Long John Silver piece and said, 'Why don't you do that?' So, when I came through the door—" Roger stood and slipped into a pirate accent, delivering a short monologue from Treasure Island. "Diana sat up and said, 'What in the world was that?' But the director said, 'I don't know, I kind of like it. Let's pick up and keep going.' I remember it was raining that day. When I got to the studio, I saw a man wearing a raincoat and a hat, but I didn't pay too much attention to him. I asked him to run lines with me, and he did. He told me, 'Good luck. You don't know your lines.’ After my episode aired, I got a call from MGM studios. I was surprised and wondered, How did MGM studios get my number? What do they want? I called back and was connected to the man who had been trying to reach me. It was the guy in the raincoat.
I said, 'What do you have to do with MGM Studios?'
He said, 'I produce The Twilight Zone.'
I said, 'Rod Serling produces The Twilight Zone.'
'That's right.'
'You're Rod Serling?'
'That's right.' Serling asked Roger how he had managed to pull off his scene. "'I saw the episode. You did well, and you didn't know your lines before.'"
Roger concurred. He said, "Something happens to me when the cameras come on. It's risibility." I love The Twilight Zone and Rod Serling, so I thought that was an interesting story. However, it had nothing to do with the original question. Roger eventually named Dirk Wilkins as his favorite role because vampires had the most fun.
Other people called out questions. One person asked Selby if he liked working with Kate Jackson as Daphne. This prompted Roger to remind us that he had been married to Jaclyn Smith. "Do you know who bought the house next door to us? Kate Jackson. Jaclyn went over there one day. She came back and said, 'We've got to have Kate over to our house all the time!' Do you know how many times she came to visit us? None. Why do you think that was?" (I'm thinking she didn't want to get trapped into listening to Roger's obnoxious stories for hours).
James got to tell his own Kate Jackson story in response to a question about whether anything spooky had ever happened on the set. "Yeah, I got knocked out." He explained that during the 1840 story line, he had a scene that required him to throw Kate on the bed, which he did. "She hit her head on the bedpost. That brought down the censors. They said we couldn't throw a woman on the bed; it was too sexual. So, the writers came up with a scene where Kate would hit me in the head with a breakaway bottle. Now, she was a new actress. This was her first role on a soap opera, and she was very nervous about hurting me. Our director that day was Harry Kaplan, who had zero sympathy. He said, 'Darling just hit him with the bottle.' 'But what about--' 'Just do it!' So, she hit me—with the solid, spun glass bottom of the bottle. I went down and woke up in the emergency room with eight stitches. Kate feels terrible about this day."
Pierson finally had to cut off the questions so that people could line up for the autograph sessions By then, it was almost 4:00, nearly two hours past the time the Q&A should have ended, though that isn't unusual for DS events. I took a short walk outside in what was unusually warm, balmy weather and a pleasant respite from the air-conditioned ballroom, then chatted with various other fans in the lobby. I popped back into the ballroom around 5:15 during what was to have been the start of the Frid documentary but, due to the time lag, was the beginning of the second auction.
Most items were DS memorabilia, including CDs of Bob Cobert's music, out-of-print or limited-edition books like Dark Shadows: The First Year, or the Hermes Press collection of comic strips, Angelique and Quentin action figures, a prototype for the talking Barnabas bobblehead (it recites his monologue to the portrait of Josette from after he's released from his coffin). However, a few items were unique. Jim offered up the copy of the Dark Shadows Almanac that Kathryn had gifted to Lara with a personalized inscription. Some of Dan Curtis's property was also available, including an artistic, close-up photographic portrait (Jim asked for a starting bid of $50.00 for this; initially, nobody bid, but I did see someone carrying it through the lobby later, so it seems to have found a buyer), a 35mm print of Episode 208, and another of the Dead of Night pilot “A Darkness at Blaisedon.” (That would have been really cool to own, but I’ve no way to play 35mm films). Also up for bid was a large, floppy, dark green hat that Curtis was fond of wearing. “It’s a large size, for people who have big thoughts,” Jim claimed. I anticipated that this item would fetch a large amount, but when people noted that Ansel Faraj had joined the bidding, they backed down and let him have it. I thought that was a poignant passing of the hat, rather than the torch, from the director of DS to an up-and-coming director who works with DS actors.
I was particularly interested to see what amount a set of scripts that had belonged to Curtis would bring. However, it was then past 6:30 and I was starting to feel restless and hungry. I saw one binder of 1971scripts sell for $350.00. (Pierson said they had used them for research for the 1991 series, though I don't see how; that reboot had nothing to do with parallel time). At least, that was the last bid I heard. It was a challenge to keep up with what people were calling out from the various corners of the auditorium given the acoustics. I stepped out for a bite, then spent time catching up with an old friend I hadn't seen in many years. I finally drifted back into the ballroom just as the documentary was winding down and Mary was taking the stage to answer questions about it.
By that point in the night, the audience had dwindled from a full ballroom to only a few rows. Still, the audience was very appreciative of the film. I was unable to hear the questions because I was sitting in the back and no one in the audience had access to a microphone. I had to infer them from Mary's responses.
One of the first questions pertained to how long it had taken to make the film. Mary said MPI had given her a small budget, mainly for cameramen. She began collecting interviews in autumn 2019 and interviewed two people per day, moving up through the Midwest and into Canada. Then, in March 2020, the world shut down for COVID, and it became much more difficult to arrange meetings. With the interruptions of COVID, it took about three years to finish the film.
Another person asked if it was possible to watch Jonathan's early television performances, such as the one he'd referenced in his letter to his mother. Mary said that most of that material hasn't survived. Jonathan had been contracted to appear in a television adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray in a sizable role, but, “It was very hard to summarize the entire story in one hour, and Jonathan's part was severely cut back. He was still under contract though, so they had to use him. There is one brief scene where some men are talking in the background. You hear one man reciting Shakespeare and see a blur move in front of the camera. That's Jonathan. It didn't make sense to use that clip, though, without giving it context.” One of Jonathan's Shakespearean performances (I believe she said Henry IV) was videotaped. Jonathan had believed it was a live show, but Mary discovered a recording in the UCLA archives. “You can never be certain if what you request is actually what they're going to give you. Some things get mislabeled. Sometimes film is damaged. You have to fill out a request and pay for the film to be pulled from the archives and transferred to DVD.” Luckily for her, and for all Jonathan's fans, the label was accurate and the film was in good condition, so it could be included.
Someone asked if the movie was available on DVD. Mary reminded us that copies were in all the gift bags. (I thought this was very generous of MPI).
Another question seemed to focus on Jonathan's family. Mary mentioned that Frid had a brother, Ken, who had served in the war, been traumatized by service, and become an alcoholic. She then talked about a woman who had married into the family. (I didn't catch whether this was Jonathan's sister-in-law or someone who had married his nephew) When Mary interviewed this woman, she had talked of how intimidating it was to be among so many new people and learn the family’s dynamic. Jonathan was the easiest person to talk to. He was very welcoming and an excellent listener. Mary confirmed Jonathan's good listening skills from personal experience. She also mentioned a niece, Susan, who had been depicted in the film in a picture where she's sitting with Jonathan and he's reading a book to her. “That was Susan's clearest memory of Uncle Jonathan.”
The question must have also had a component about whether or not Jonathan had a significant other because Mary added that Jonathan didn't want a committed relationship. “Unlike many people, he was comfortable being alone. It's like when some people have children and other people don't want them. It's a preference. Jonathan had the opportunity, he just liked being alone.”
I didn't stay in the ballroom to see if HoDS was actually going to be screened. I returned to the lobby to search for friends with whom to chat. Periodically, I could hear music that I recognize from HoDS drifting from the ballroom (then again, it could have been somebody's ringtone).
The second half of the day was much more muted and less active than the first part. That felt odd. Traditional Festivals always had a packed schedule, though of course, this was not intended to be a Festival. Day Two of the weekend did feel most like a traditional convention.
Much speculation abounded among the attendees as to whether this was a final hurrah as far as DS events are concerned or if we would see more scaled-down events down the road. I didn't hear anything official one way or the other, though I didn't spend the entire time in the ballroom and could have missed hearing an announcement. (A few days ago, the organizers sent out an email thanking attendees that concluded promisingly with, “We hope to see you all again at some point in the future. DS lives on!”) Given that Saturday’s attendance sold out, and judging by the enthusiastic reactions of the audience members to the actors and presentations, I believe DS is still popular and can still command a dedicated attendance. I know many people who had wanted to attend the Remembrance Weekend but either couldn't afford the exorbitant costs to travel over a holiday weekend or had already made other arrangements for the holiday prior to the event announcement. Under slightly different circumstances, I think we would have seen an even bigger crowd. Personally, I hope that bodes well for more activities, especially with the 60th anniversary only two years away.
ProfStokes
