Here's a reminiscence Thayer David's nephew, Jonathan Vincent, posted a couple of years ago of Valerie French, Thayer's wife.  (Note: Jonathan calls Thayer "David" because that was actually his given name--David Thayer Hersey.)

Jonathan (Vincent) recalls Thayer's wife, Valerie French:
"She was a B movie vixen. English. Lovely. We spoke the same language.
She died around 1991 of leukemia. She was blonde and busty. Really pretty, but also classy. I loved chatting with her. She'd keep me up all night. Val wore a blonde wig when I knew her. I don't know what her real hair color was. She also wore a corset and a stylized bra. Despite the fact that she was English, she was very easy going and not overly proper. She was funny and sassy. I really liked her. She was more outgoing than David. She liked to entertain and do tea with me. I'm half British so of course I like people who do tea time. We did tea a lot in the sun parlor. Very lovely person, Val."

Best, G.

I think the occasion was Thayer's marriage to Valerie French, which happened in 1969.

G.

Fans, last Saturday was Thayer David's birthday, and his nephew Jonathan posted these memories on the Thayer David fan club Facebook page.  I thought those who don't do Facebook might enjoy reading this because it is such a vivid portrait of an actor many of us just adore.

Best, G.

From Jonathan Vincent on Thayer David:

I think of all his roles, he liked playing Professor Stokes the most. It was the character that was closest to his real personality (he was my uncle). The mid-Atlantic/British accent was real and he didn't stray from it. A product of the time, and the theater. He also liked playing the villains. It's too bad he died before Nero Wolfe got past the pilot stage. It was picked up... by ABC if I recall. He was really happy about it, and he was going to remarry his ex wife, Valerie French. As it is now, so was it in the 60s and 70s that even many famous actors used to have to work very hard to piece a life together. Most of his time outside of DS, he was from play to play or character parts in films. It took a toll on him. He was a big guy, and liked rich savory things, like a pipe, red wine, and hearty food. He died peacefully in his NYC apartment in an armchair, while reading a book. His home was museum-like. Mostly Victorian portraits, canes, and gothic furniture. I've enjoyed hearing his fans express satisfaction that he really was very much like his screen persona. In fact, he often ad libbed or rewrote his dialog on DS for accuracy, and because those were a lot of lines to memorize over night. He liked to talk, but was often lost in thought, as well. When he was at our family home in Massachusetts, he liked to unwind in relative solitude in his room. It was usually after he came off a project, and he was tired. After a few days, he'd emerge for Sunday dinner and fascinate all of us with his stories. Like many of his DS cast mates, he was shy and social all at once. After wrapping on Fridays, the cast would go to a club, maybe the Gramercy Park, I can't remember. I think people would go there to see the cast, often still in costume. They used to be famous for being stuck in their roles, drinking Manhattans and talking in those mid-Atlantic accents. It is a somewhat sobering experience for me to realize I'm barely any younger than he was when he passed away. He always seemed timeless to me. I suppose in a way he is, on film and video, and in my mind. I'd sell my right hand to have an hour long conversation with him, now.

Fans, this Tuesday, March 7. TCM will broadcast the 1964 film NIGHT OF THE IGUANA starring our very own Grayson Hall, at 8 p.m.

This was Grayson's favorite of the few films she made.  Amazingly, in an all-star cast involving Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr, she was the only participant nominated for an Academy Award.  (She lost to Lila Kedrova in ZORBA THE GREEK.)

Grayson is in the first post-title credits scene!!

Best,  G.

Xmas is mentioned, at least indirectly, during an early Leviathan episode, from December of '69.  I think it was the last time any mundane holiday was mentioned on the show.

G.

Also, I noted one of those little moments that puzzles me whenever I watch hoDS (last time was several years ago now)--when Barnabas and Jeff meet at the party and Maggie asks if they know one another and there's a tense moment before Jeff acknowledges that they have met.  I can't recall if that happened as part of the Nancy Hodiak episode or something else.  I think it is explained in the Ross book but it was the 70s back when I last laid eyes on that... no doubt this will all be cleared up in the current thread MB is doing on the film.

G.

I'd personally call Seaview Terrace Queen Anne with some French features, but let's face it, the house is a complete hodgepodge architecturally.  Of course that just makes me love it all the more.

I'd forgotten Stokes's remarks about the Old House.  Maybe an excuse to revisit the early Stokes episodes...

Best, G.

Hi Patti,

This is a cool article on the history of Seaview Terrace. The existing structure combines two houses.  One house was originally built in Washington DC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaview_Terrace

I think there is a web article somewhere on the Spratt House as well.  Ruins reportedly are still visible on the site.  It is somewhere away from the main grounds I think.

Yeah, here's one page for that house:

http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/spratt/spratt.html

In the original DS backstory, Barnabas, Josette and Jeremiah were all living at Collinwood in the 1830s.  For some reason the date 1837 sticks in my head for when Barnabas originally became a vampire.  I don't know why.  It might have been mentioned in an episode.  The style of Collinwood does not fit at all the period of the 1830s, but I think the style of the Old House does.

Best, G.