Hey John,

great to see you again!  I think you had mentioned on the old board that you were moving out West, but it had completely slipped my mind.  Hope you're all settled now and enjoying sun & fun in glamorous SoCal!

Don't miss the latest post in honor of our beloved Grayson.  I think it's called Gay Men and Grayson Hall (aka The Big Wingding) and there are some fun and interesting observations in it.

Best,

Steve

Some hunks I have cherished on DS:

Don Briscoe.  Those eyes, that voice.  And then there's that chest.  Pardon me while I go fetch the drool towel.  I have read a magazine interview dated 1969 where he mentioned skateboarding by moonlight in Central Park as one of the things he liked to do for fun, and that is how I prefer to remember him--at ease, carefree, the wind ruffling his beautiful hair.

David Selby.  He just oozed sex--that wide, generous smile, those smoky blue eyes, the long long legs that seemed to go on forever (and then something else that, in certain scenes in 1897, seemed to go on forever, too).  It was a tribute to his prowess as an actor that he could turn all that charisma off and become a ghost, a zombie, or a possessed sorceror, frigid with evil.

Michael Hadge.  Obviously Buzz Hackett is hardly most folks' idea of a dream date, and he SERIOUSLY needed to do something with that hair (I still think it eventually wound up reincarnated as one of Cassandra's wigs.)  But underneath the ratty persona I found Hadge charming and a bit bohemian.  I bet he knew all the best Indian restaurants in the Village before they became a fad and enjoyed watching the comic-book plays at Caffe Cino.

Brian Sturdivant.  He deserved a lot better than what he got on DS.  I wonder whether he read for the role of Gerard?  Although I really enjoyed James Storm's performance in that role, it would have been interesting to see what Sturdivant would have made of it.  Watch for his cameo role in Diary of a Mad Housewife.

John Karlen.  Another master of chameleon-like transformation, he gave an air of the well-heeled lounge lizard to the role of William H. Loomis, alcoholic litterateur, and a surprisingly muscular sexuality to Desmond Collins.

Joel Crothers.  Clothes really made the man here since I found Joe mostly a well-meaning bore, but Nathan really rings my chimes.  Extra points for when Julia cut open Joe's shirt in that scene in the Old House, finally revealing his manly physique to camera view.

Chris Pennock.  At the time I thought it was funny that an evil hippie had come to terrorize Collinsport.  As an adult, I find a new appreciation for Jeb's leather trousers and the mystic Naga that accompanied him everywhere.  Extra points for a yummy shirtless scene during the Leviathans.  Sebastian's groovy threads win this talented young thesp bonus points in the stud sweepstakes.

Honorable mention for the unnamed actor who played the hapless chap from whom John Yeagar rented a basement apartment in PT 1970.  He was CUTE.

Steve

Great idea for a topic, and fascinating to read various fans' perspectives on Grayson's multi-faceted, many-layered appeal.  It is always a pleasant surprise to me to see the kind of passion Grayson arouses in her fans.  For a long time, Grayson fans were a kind of "underground" in fandom--for some reason or other, the status quo in fandom tended to laugh at Grayson and her characters rather than adulate or honor her.  It is always remarkable, though, whenever there is an honoring of DS actors who have passed on at a Festival, the kind of ovation Grayson receives whenever a clip of her is shown.  Her fans have a truly passionate loyalty to her memory.

I think of Grayson as bringing another level of "the diva factor" to DS.  There was already a kind of Old Hollywood diva energy on the show with Joan Bennett's presence (just look at the impossibly glamorous costume Liz was given to wear on that first episode).  I wrote somewhere that Grayson may well have been the first Oscar (tm) nominated thespian to perform a regular role on a soap. Even though I think those statuettes are a dubious barometer (at best) for an actor's prowess, there's no denying the kind of prestige placement in the contest commands.  

Some commentators have tried to explain gay men's love of Grayson, and especially Julia, with the rather simplistic explanation that Dr. Julia Hoffman dressed, moved, and wore makeup like a drag queen.  I don't agree, though sometimes the wardrobe and makeup they gave her went way beyond over the top (we need a special topic for "the scary awfulness of Dr. Julia Hoffman's wardrobe").  I think the reasons why gay male viewers relate to Julia is because first of all, nearly ALL of us have been in the position of having to be regarded as a "friend" by a man we'd rather relate to as a lover.  The cluelessness of Barnabas as to Julia's feelings (although he DOES occasionally acknowledge her feels and even more rarely hint that he does reciprocate them deep down) mirrors the cluelessness many of us knew from our str8 best friend that we had some crazy crush on in high school.  I agree too with Brian that sometimes real life is campy.  Hysterically so.  

A friend recently told me a story that illustrates just how Grayson can hold an entire room captivated with her performance, even on "the night of nights."  I had lent a copy of the "Grayson solo" MPI tape to a friend, who then lent it to another friend, who watched it with his housemate, who fell in love with Grayson at first sight.  This was a guy who was posted in Germany during the Sixties and never got to see DS as a result.  Well, T. insisted upon playing this video at the house's Oscar party to all their friends.  This entire roomful of largely gay men were completely absorbed by Grayson's performance.  They did watch the Oscars, but spent a large  part of the evening taking turns doing impressions of Grayson's acting and discussing their favorite moments in her scenes!

All the best, Steve

My favorite is Cassandra Collins. She always seemed to be on the verge of complete hysteria, which of course gave her spells extra zip.

Angelique always throws in those great one liners while she's revving up for the spell:  "Oh, you'll have him my dear--but not as you had intended!" She had the most complicated spells of any of them.  That card spell for the eye of ice and fire was a doozy.  Someone should do a compilation tape of all of Angelique's spells.  Of course there were several that backfired in a really nasty way ...

Nicholas was so deliciously DEBONAIR.  He brought a delightful charm and elegance to his spellcraft.  One of my favorite scenes was when he first went to the Old House and put Willie Loomis in his power.  They both played that so brilliantly.  Nicholas got so upset when Willie described Cassandra as a witch.

Magda is really in her own category, isn't she?  Her spells had a potency reminiscent of the pungent fumes of freshly ground pepper.  Both Magda and Angelique learned the real-life Craft fact:  A SPELL CAN NOT BE REVERSED.  Its effects can be nullified through the manifestation of new energy, but you can't simply reel it back in.  Just as you can never gather back water into a cup once it's spilled on the floor.  

Love Count Petofi.  His humor was so offbeat.  Even though he liked to paint himself as all-powerful, he never fully controlled his own powers, which made for some interesting twists in his storyline.

Then there's Evan Handley, possibly the show's most incompetent practitioner of the Black Arts.  You have to admit, though, that he did a great job with a spell I'll simply call "The Trask Commission" (for the benefit of those who haven't yet seen the show).

I found Gerard/Judah rather humdrum because his spells became so rote.  I think that was the fault of the writers, though, rather than James Storm's acting.

Natter, natter, natter ...

Steve

This may not make any sense to anyone other than me ... but I think that Vinny Loscalzo (who did the makeup until, roughly, the last year of the series) was sometimes going for "artistic" effects that related to the events of a specific episode.   So Barnabas when the action of the episode called for his "vampiric" nature to be to the fore, got the heavier, more theatrical makeup.

And Josette got extra heavy eyeshadow when grief for Jeremiah or longing for Barnabas had gotten the better of her.

I personally think this kind of thing can be effective.  I guess my powers of suspension of disbelief are higher than average, plus I have to admit that I love theatre and this is one of the more theatrical touches on DS.

16 magazine once ran an interview with Vinny Loscalzo, and he showed a photo of Barnabas that had makeup notes on it he had made, ostensibly for days when he was ill and somebody else needed to pile on the greasepaint.

I believe that Grayson somewhere or other mentioned that on some days those who did not have special makeups to wear did their own.  On days when the actresses have more "natural" use of makeup, it may reflect a day when the actresses were doing their own faces because Vinny was needed to do the werewolf, or an aging effect, or something else special.

Also, don't forget that it was the Sixties.  The eye makeup in 1795 and 1897 is often very 1960s!

I did think that some of the makeup was truly amazing.  Not just feats like resuscitated Josette or aging Cassandra, but more understated stuff like Old Stokes of 1995, or the ghost makeup that made dead Quentiin look incredibly different from the living breathing version.

Well, that's my "counterpoint" to the endless complaints y'all have to offer about the makeup!

Steve

For best male vampire, Tom Jennings gets my vote.  You know I loved that tongue.  I was interested to see an interview Jonathan Frid did for a Baltimore paper (yes, in your home town, Byron!) where he complained about the "almost pornographic" tongue-rolling by a certain actor (Mr. Frid was too gracious to name dear Don).  I personally felt the tongue action emphasized Tom's animality.

This brings up just how different various vampires have been on DS.  Some retained more of their personality than did others.

For best FEMALE vampire, I vote for Angelique.  I just loved watching her work her way through the male cast members.  I guess Lara Parker still recalls that period fondly as well, since she has shown some of those episodes to classrooms when she's worked as a substitute teacher.  (Incidentally, I think the Cassandra period rates as her least favorite--she bluntly told a friend of mine that she doesn't even remember playing Cassandra!  How on Earth could she have forgotten those wigs, and those clothes!  Especially the CLASSIC purple butterfly robe!  What a thing to be wearing while being exorcised!)

I think KLS and Terry Crawford deserve special awards for super-duper honorary vamps.  Both only appeared as members of the Undead in dreams or visions, but both ladies did a wonderful job chewing up the scenery with their "fang cameos"!  Another one who got a lot of bang for fang (oooh you saw that one coming didn't you) was dear Marsha Mason as Audrey the Leviathan Vampire Chick.

That's enough natter for one day.

Steve

A third film was planned and announced, I think in the Fall of '71, but it never got off the ground.

For more info on the movies, go here:

http://www.ultranet.com/~mfmiozza/

Here is a clipping Michael found about the casting of Denise Nickerson in the 3rd movie, tentatively titled "Death of Dark Shadows":

http://www.ultranet.com/~mfmiozza/dods.html

Darren Gross also has a website devoted to the DS movies, but I don't have the URL handy--check one of his columns here for it.

Best,

Steve

Hi Cassandra,

haven't mentioned yet how much I love your handle.  Cassandra is my favorite Lara Parker character on the show, and one of my all time favorite DS characters, period.  I love her clothes, her wigs, her look, the way she swings wildly between smug complacency and rampant hysteria. She's such fun.

The 'five point medallion" Magda and Beth used to protect themselves from the werewolf attack is called a Pentagram.  It is very ancient.  Members of an ancient Greek society called the Pythagoreans (after the philosopher Pythagoras) first used it.  The standard explanation is that the five points of the star represent the 4 elements harmoniously interacting with human beings to produce a dynamic balance in the Universe.  There are several esoteric explanations behind the use of the five pointed star by modern day Pagans and Witches.  Unfortunately, a lot of people think of Satanism when they see the Pentagram.  

Sorry for nattering on,

Steve