Great shot today! Wonderful work, MB!

I wonder if they had to build some kind of platform to achieve that shot. Those cameras were huge and heavy, as we all know from the times when they'd accidentally show up in a shot.

G.

I happened upon this blog which transcribes a conversation the author had with Elizabeth Wilson (who played Mrs. Hopewell, the administrator of Vicki's foundling home, in two episodes in 1966):

http://s181314165.onlinehome.us/followkellow/conversations-elizabeth-wilson-part/

Haven't come across any references to her brief appearance on DS yet. But there is a fascinating reminiscence of Kim Stanley, amongst many others: Kim was Grayson Hall's favorite actress, according to a couple of interviews Grayson did in the late 60s and subsequently.

The passage about Kim Stanley shows up in part 3.

G.

"order paper gothic opera"? That's a new one on me.

G.

Happy Birthday! Wishing you and your family health and safety!

Best wishes,

Gothick

I thought that scene was quite slashy. Beautiful shot from it.

cheers, G.

Lovely to see Humbert's handsome face today! Great shot of him in that role.

For those who haven't heard it, there's a pretty cool interview with Humbert you can listen to on the Collinsport Historical Society site. He only discusses DS at the very end of the interview. He explained there that Dan Curtis liked him so much when he read for some role or other that Dan had the character of Nicholas Blair created specifically for Humbert.

He was a fine actor and a wonderful presence.

G.

Hi Philippe!

Malcolm Marmorstein took credit for creating the character of Barnabas in a couple of interviews some years back. MM wrote a screenplay, Love Bites, produced in 1993 as a vehicle for Adam Ant who played vampire Zachary Simms. I have never seen the movie, but it sounds kind of like a precursor to the Burton-Depp film. The vampire "oversleeps for 100 years" and emerges from his coffin bewildered by changes in technology, society and culture. He falls in love with a mortal woman and tries to become human again so he can be with her in the mortal way. The film was done as a slapstick comedy and I have to wonder whether Tim Burton really likes the movie--sounds like there are some similar vampire pratfall moments in it.

I have read that Art Wallace claimed that he created a Barnabas-type character in his story plotting notes, but if he did write something, I have never seen it. Sam Hall wouldn't have ever claimed to have had anything to do with creating Barnabas, but he may well have come up with the Barnabas-Angelique-Josette triangle story set in 1795. I don't think many fans even today understand that that narrative was a complete reboot from what had been established in the 1967 storyline, in which Barnabas lived in the 1830s and Josette (originally surnamed La Freniere, if I recall aright) was the bride of his elderly uncle Jeremiah. I think I've read that they chose to set the origin story in the late 18th century because those were the costumes they were able to rent from a supplier.

I've read an interview with Bob Costello where he said he found the name Barnabas on an old tombstone. But he did not take credit for creating the character. And of course, Jonathan Frid's personal interpretation had a lot to do with how Barnabas actually manifested.

My conclusion is that the creation of Barnabas was a group effort. Interesting to see what impact this "vulnerable vampire" had in how media vampire culture evolved after the 1960s. Several Dracula films took on the Barnabas narrative of the vampire searching the world for the reincarnation of his lost love.

G.

Fabulous! You know I love our dear Count!

And maybe there will be a shot of Cassandra informing a terrified Liz: "But I MUST TOUCH you... I have puh-ROMISED YOU that..."

G.