ShadowGram Update #153 -- DS Survey / Fest Schedule / Pre-Barn DVD Update, more

[Miranda]

But if you are primarily a fan of say Jonathan and Lara, and you got to a Fest where Jonathan WAS at, then I think it is more of a letdown if you go to a Fest in later years and they have the same old same old stuff year after year....most of the people I know actually got bored after going for a couple of years....

Of course, if one never got to any Fest at all, then I think any almost any DS fan would enjoy attending a Fest at least once....whether JF was there primary interest in the show or not...

[BuzzH]

But if you are primarily a fan of say Jonathan and Lara, and you got to a Fest where Jonathan WAS at, then I think it is more of a letdown if you go to a Fest in later years and they have the same old same old stuff year after year....most of the people I know actually got bored after going for a couple of years....

Well, I guess we're gonna have to agree to disagree here.  I've said many times before, after few Fests, MOST ppl primarily go to see their friends, the stars become secondary. 

[Charles_Ellis]

I see it both ways.  Having been at every East Coast DSF since 1984, I come for the stars and fellow fans that have become friends over the years.  To me it's one big family reunion where everyone can let their hair down and have fun.  On the other hand, I easily confess to spending obscene amount of time in the Dealer's Room to add to my already huge collection of DS stuff.  This year I'm simply salivating to get a copy of Grayson's biography!!

[BuzzH]

This year I'm simply salivating to get a copy of Grayson's biography!!

You and me both Charles, you and me both! 

[Nancy]

Unfortunately, as of now JF doesn't have any intention of attending the festival.  I also believe it is precisely because of how popular a star he is in the DS world that would make the entire event overwhelming for him.  There is no peace for him when he attends these things - people constantly try to find his hotel room and call and the rest of it.  While there is nothing wrong with his health other than being hard of hearing in one ear, JF simply could not sit for hours signing autographs and that would definitely be expected of him.  At 82, while you can still be in good health, there are things you can't endure as well as you once could.  He lives a quiet existence and the whole fest experience at this point would probably just be too much.  I agree it would be a great event but just not likely to happen at this juncture.

Nancy

An even bigger shock, ovation would be if in doing the last episode recreation, the lights go out, they come back on and there is Jonathan doing Bramwell, my God, that would be something, I would think at least a fifteen minute ovation.  But we can dream, can't we??

[Nancy]

Well, I guess we're gonna have to agree to disagree here.  I've said many times before, after few Fests, MOST ppl primarily go to see their friends, the stars become secondary. 

I agree with you, Buzz.  I'm not even interested that much in the programming though I plan on buying the special MPI DVD that ShadowGram mentioned.

Nancy

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, I guess we're gonna have to agree to disagree here.  I've said many times before, after few Fests, MOST ppl primarily go to see their friends, the stars become secondary.

I agree with you, Buzz.  I'm not even interested that much in the programming

I agree with both of you. In fact, I passed up attending the 2003 Brooklyn Fest simply because the friends that I would have spent time with couldn't attend. For me, attending the Fest simply wouldn't have been the same without them.  :-   And it's not that I don't enjoy the stars - I do. There are actually some I really enjoy seeing. But even at that, after you've been to more than a few Fests, seeing them can sort of have a been-there-done-that feeling. 

[BuzzH]

I agree with both of you. In fact, I passed up attending the 2003 Brooklyn Fest simply because the friends that I would have spent time with couldn't attend. For me, attending the Fest simply wouldn't have been the same without them.  :-   And it's not that I don't enjoy the stars - I do. There are actually some I really enjoy seeing. But even at that, after you've been to more than a few Fests, seeing them can sort of have a been-there-done-that feeling. 

Yeah, you know, at last year's Hollywood Fest, I think my friends and I went to maybe 4 things (the Joan Bennet thing, the WB pilot screening, one of the auctions and the Costume Gala--a MUST for all fans, new and old, LOL!).  We spent the rest of the time in the pool or tooling around LA in the rental car.  We still joke about not really attending the Fest by saying, "Fest? What Fest?"    This year we'll do all of the above plus the Grayson Memorial and a few other things.  We just like hanging out w/each other.

[BuzzH]

Unfortunately, as of now JF doesn't have any intention of attending the festival.  I also believe it is precisely because of how popular a star he is in the DS world that would make the entire event overwhelming for him.  There is no peace for him when he attends these things - people constantly try to find his hotel room and call and the rest of it.  While there is nothing wrong with his health other than being hard of hearing in one ear, JF simply could not sit for hours signing autographs and that would definitely be expected of him.  At 82, while you can still be in good health, there are things you can't endure as well as you once could.  He lives a quiet existence and the whole fest experience at this point would probably just be too much.  I agree it would be a great event but just not likely to happen at this juncture.

I wholeheartedly agree Nancy.  As you said, the man is 82!  He's too old for the silliness of the Fest, and ppl would get pissed if he only signed autographs for an hour or so, so who needs it?  He certainly doesn't.  Besides, that man has done more to promote the show (back in the day) and for the fans after the show went off the air--didn't he do like most, if not ALL the Fests from their beginning until 1993?  Not to mention a ShadowCon or 2?  So he doesn't owe the fans a darn thing, IMHO. 

[Raineypark]

I can certainly understand Mr. Frid's reluctance to attend a Fest because of his age.  I'm a whole lot younger and I'm not looking forward to the train ride into Brooklyn....

But I can't say I agree with the notion that Mr. Frid could not be effectivly protected from ill-behaved fans.  This is New York.  We routinely  protect Pro Athletes, Rock Stars, and Heads of State who are at war with one another.

I CAN understand the reluctance to spend the amount of money it might take to keep him entirely undisturbed.  Security comes at a price.

[Nancy]

I wholeheartedly agree Nancy.  As you said, the man is 82!  He's too old for the silliness of the Fest, and ppl would get pissed if he only signed autographs for an hour or so, so who needs it?  He certainly doesn't. 

Absolutely, Buzz.  At the 1993 fest he attended he had to stop signing autographs because his back was acting up and people were pissed.  They don't assume there's a good reason an actor stops signing at a festival.  You're right too Buzz about how many fests JF attended. I think all in all before he stopped in 1993 he had attended about twenty three of them and not just Dark Shadows fests either.  He was very involved in the planning of the fests at the beginning and even had committee meetings at his apartment in New York.  His website is the way JF communicates with fans now and shares what he does.  He can do that at his own pace and without obligations or pressure.


Nancy

[Nancy]

I can certainly understand Mr. Frid's reluctance to attend a Fest because of his age.  I'm a whole lot younger and I'm not looking forward to the train ride into Brooklyn....

But I can't say I agree with the notion that Mr. Frid could not be effectivly protected from ill-behaved fans.  This is New York.  We routinely  protect Pro Athletes, Rock Stars, and Heads of State who are at war with one another.

True but as the person who was paid to be with him at the festival for the purpose of assisting with his presentation and playing the villain with unruly folks, I can tell you that it is still a hassle for an actor like JF to have to move in a measured way at an event when you have been out of that scene for almost fifteen years.  Just the notion of having to live that way is a turn-off.  JF has said to me and others before that there is no way he ever wants to live or be as popular again as he was during the days of DS.  It was too much of a personal invasion of his life and space.  It is a difficult position to enjoy fans but not enjoy the limelight.

And what fans also don't realize is JF has problems just being allowed to live in peace at own home! Believe it or not, some folks will find a way to discover his unpublished address and send him boxes of merchandise they have purchased to him, videotapes and letters - oblivious to the obvious purpose he has an unlisted address - and that behavior just pisses him off.  Then he has the hassle of forcibly stopping the more persistent fans who send stuff and or take out ads in his local paper trying to get him to answer their correspondence to his home.  That has happened.  Then he has to discard or give way what has been sent to him in the mail by people he never gave his address to or wanted to have it.  

I would love to tell you how many fans have sent him mail thinking he remembers them but he hasn't a clue as to who they are.   If they only knew . . .

Right now, all this man wants to do is figure out whether he should feed his cat hard or soft food.

I CAN understand the reluctance to spend the amount of money it might take to keep him entirely undisturbed.  Security comes at a price.

It does and that includes sanity.  I can you from personal experiences in working in shows in NYC with mega-stars not everyone is comfortable with the idea they need to be protected from some fans. I attended an event where singer David Cassidy was present.  He talked about the days when he was so popular and the fear he experienced being in a van taking him from a concert he just did and fans pounding on the van.  They were demonstrating their adoration and excitement towards him but he was in the van, on the floor under a blanket scared to death by the sound and the idea all those people were around him.  He was protected.  The crowd couldn't get to him, but just the idea he needed that protection was a turn off for him.

Nancy

[Miranda]

The reality is that Jonathan is probably 10-15 years or so older than most of the stars that currently attend the DS cons, and I do agree, it would be hard for him to go to those events at this time of his life.  As much as those of us who are primarily fans of his rather than of the show in general would like it, it really would be too much, and after such a long absence, I am sure there would be even more of an uproar at his presence and the more determined fans trying to track him down than when he attended the cons regularly....

And sad to stay, there are the stalkers, etc out there...there is even a girl from California who in the last few issues of Royalty magazine has put in "personal" add trying to track down her "father Jonathan Fried" who was on "Dark Shadows"--weird!! I know there is a British contigent of DS fans, but guess the Royalty magazine editors do not realize how off the wall this letter is, as I guess DS is not known in Britain as a whole unless you watched it on British Scifi....and she doesn't even spell the name right!!

Another thought, David Selby was not in the last episode of DS due to his appendectomy, so maybe he could do Bramwell during the reenactment at the Fest, he and Lara do have SOME chemistry together....(though nothing compared to hers with Jonathan)...

[retzev]

...the Costume Gala--a MUST for all fans, new and old, LOL!

This year's will be my first fest, and the costume gala is something I've planned on skipping. It sounds kinda silly, sorta Trekkie-ish. Is it really worth it?

[Miranda]

Retzev, the costume gala at the DS con is probably similar to the ones at other media/scif cons, people dress up as characters from the show, some people might perform a song, etc. If you enjoy that sort of thing you might like it, when I went to the Fests I skipped it, and I am afraid I crack up when I think of costume galas at any of these sort of things, so I guess it depends on one's preferences.