Two thoughts that occur to me from skimming this fascinating article--one is the fact that everyone on the show knew "long before the final date was announced" that the cancellation was approaching adds grist to my theory that DC was the one who pulled the plug--and no one else.  I always thought it was just way too "convenient" that DS went off the air right in time for the start of the NoDS filming schedule.

It's ironic that the two main projects JF went on to do in the next couple of years were occult themed.  In that 1973 interview in a monster movie magazine he spoke of wanting to do a film with Jeanne Moreau.  That would have been fascinating to see.

G.

Excellent news!  Many thanks for the alert.  I recently looked at the forthcoming release list on DVD Talk but don't recall having seen this title.

G.

Interesting interview.  Sam sounds more like Truman Capote than ever.  I get that he did not like D. C., but from my one afternoon I spent with him, I recall that Sam used the words "madness" and "madman" in a way that denoted a kind of curious respect.

The one other thing I'll say about this is that if you survive to be very old, you get to say what you think as bluntly as possible and to hell with the consequences.  It may not be pretty or respectable, but I see it as one of the perquisites of the very old.  Just my personal two drachmae.

I spoke with David Selby a couple of times about Grayson, and he always spoke of her very fondly.  I had no idea about the situation to which Sam alludes in his interview.

One of the people with whom Grayson, at least, remained friendly after the series went off the air was Joan Bennett.  I remember Grayson's housekeeper telling me about the time Joan came to visit in Rhinebeck.  Grayson was a guest at Joan's 65th birthday party in '73.  I just love to think of these two ladies, each elegant in her own special way, talking over martinis and cigarettes.

G.

Funny to find this thread here since last night I watched the Jay Nass interview on one of the DVDs and he was talking about Marie and how even back in the old days she always had extra minutes to spare for the fans!

She's a wonderful, generous woman, and I'll never forget how electric she was onstage when she did a one-act set in a bar up on stage one year at a Festival.  Sheer brilliance.

G.

Happy Birthday to Humbert Allen Astredo, a true gentleman and an artist I  have admired since the day back in '68 when I turned on my favorite new show, Dark Shadows, and found a mysterious individual named Nicholas Blair who claimed to be Cassandra's brother at the door of the Great House.  I find the nuances of Humbert's performances on DS to be endlessly fascinating, textured, and authentic.  It's mindblowing to see  how much care and artistry he put into something that was meant to be "simply for the moment."  But then, the same could be said for several other artists who worked on our beloved show.

I don't recall Linda's posts here, but perhaps she is the fan who drew our attention to the recent posts on Humbert's page on the IMDB which provided some recent news about him, including the hearbreaking story about his daughter's death.

G.

Many thanks to our justly-feted El Misterioso for the captivating cameo portrait of handsome, attractive Chris Collins (portrayed by the late, much-lamented Don Briscoe).

In our time, Julia had learned [spoiler] that Chris Jennings actually was a descendent of Quentin Collins, and thus a Collins in his own right.  It was cool that Chris' Parallel Time counterpart actually bore the name of Collins.[/spoiler]

Too bad that Don had to leave the series very abruptly soon after this episode was taped due to health concerns.

G.

How adorable!  but he looks more like Nixon than Barnabas to me.

I can just hear it now:  "you won't have Dick Collins--er, Nixon--to kick around anymore!"  lol

cheers, G.

My hat's off to El Misterioso once again for today's fiercely ruling Hoffman portrait. There can be only ONE, indeed!

Her expression here reminds me of the scene where Hoffman informs AngelExis re Maggie Collins:  "I HATE having to take ORDERS from her!"

Choice stuff and one of the many reasons why I'll always be a huge fan of PT 1970.  Perhaps we'll get a Tim Stokes capture from one of his PT appearances this year?  Of course, that's still some months away...

G.