Number 145. November 10, 2005

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Hello, Dark Shadows Fan,

ShadowGram (SG), The Official Newsletter & News Source for Dark Shadows (DS), announces the following breaking news.


***  PAULA LAURENCE DIES AT AGE 89

SG sadly reports the passing of Paula Laurence (Hannah Stokes in 1970 Parallel Time), who succumbed Oct. 29 at St. Luke's Hospital in NYC. Her health apparently declined after she broke her hip earlier in October. Her career spanned on- and off-  Broadway and regional stage roles, and she later wrote articles for Playbill, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Cue, and Harpers Bazaar. She joined us at the NY DS Festival in 1993.

Her NY stage debut was in Orson Welles' "Horse Eats Hat" in 1937 and she starred in 1941 as the maid "Hilda" in "Junior Miss," directed by Moss Hart. She appeared in the Cole Porter musical "Something for the Boys" with Ethel Merman. In 1946, she was in "Cyrano de Bergerac" with Jose Ferrar, and performed in "Ivanhoe" with John Gielgud in 1965-66. She understudied Bette Davis in Tennessee Williams' classic "Night of the Iguana" in NY and Chicago. She was married for many years to producer/director Charles Bowden and leaves no survivors.

A memorial mass was to be held at St. Malachy's Catholic Church Nov. 10, located at 239 W 49th St., New York, New York 10019. 212-489-1340.

Those wishing to honor her memory may consider New Dramatists, in which she was very active. Publicity: "New Dramatists is the nation's oldest nonprofit center for the development of talented playwrights." New Dramatists, 424 W. 44th St., NYC, NY 10036. 212-757-6960. www.newdramatists.org

Any fans who have photos of Paula from her time with us at the 1993 New York DS Festival are invited to please share those photos for a tribute to her in SG # 107.

Obituary and career information and photos saluting Paula will be in the next SG print issue, SG #107.


***  KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT'S "DS MEMORIES" AUDIOBOOK AWARD

Kathryn (Maggie, Josette, Kitty, Rachel) asks SG to share the honor bestowed on her "Dark Shadows Memories" audiobook. It was selected as #5 on the Publisher's Weekly Book Life's 2005 Audiobooks List.

The listing states: "Dark Shadows Memories, by Kathryn Leigh Scott, read by the author, Pomegranate Press. Scott is a supremely knowledgeable backstage tour guide to her years on the (oc)cult classic daytime serial." Kathryn is quoted in the listing: "I think the appeal of this audiobook extends beyond the Dark Shadows fan base.... It has a sense of humor and it includes my personal story of the first job I got on one of the biggest cult shows in TV history. This year marks the show's 40th anniversary. We also were very fortunate that Bob Colbert ((sic)) gave us permission to use his atmospheric music."

She tells SG the "consumer magazine" Book Life issue "will be on the newstands in 2 weeks ((approximately late November)) and remain through January. It's really quite exciting as I did nothing to seek out either the review or the Book Life selection." She adds that "DS Memories" is "one of the Top Ten Audiobooks of the Year" and "only one of four that will have the cover and an interview accompanying the article."

SG congratulates Kathryn and Pomegranate Press. To order the audiobook directly: Pomegranate Press, P.O. Box 17217, Beverly Hills, CA 90209. www.pompress.com

Print issue SG #105 (Sept., 2005) featured the Aug. 1 Publisher's Weekly review of the audiobook. Please contact SG at the e-mail or postal-mail addresses below for ordering information. The next SG print issue, SG #107, will have more information about this honor.


***  JAMES STORM ON STAGE

Jim (Gerard Stiles) appears as "Baylor" in "A Lie of the Mind." Publicity: It's "a dark comedy about 2 families struggling in the aftermath of a brutal wife-beating." Playwright Sam Shepard takes a look at "the American family...in all its whacked-out glory in this heartland love story."

Performances: Thurs.-Sat. evenings at 8:00; Sun. evenings at 7:00. Tickets are $15-$20. It opened Oct. 27 and runs through Nov. 20 at the Flight Theatre at The Complex, 6472 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA. 818-754-1423. Athenatheatre.com

More information will be in the next SG print issue, SG #107.

***  Fans attending Jim Storm's play are invited and encouraged to share their reports, pictures, and other material so SG readers worldwide can enjoy the production with you. Please send all material to the SG e-mail or postal-mail addresses below.

Thank you.
Marcy Robin

ShadowGram Editor / Publisher
Marcy Robin, P.O. Box 1766, Temple City, CA 91780-7766
E-mail: ShadowGram@aol.com

Wishing you a very special day, Maybellique!

Ack, I have a handful of items I've been meaning to post and will begin with this one:

This review was published in the San Francisco Bay Area Reporter in September and is posted here with the permission of its author.


"A Life Well Lived in the Theatre"

On Stage And In Shadows
by Marie Wallace
iUniverse Press

     To millions of baby boomers who grew up in the 1960s, Marie Wallace is fondly remembered for the three roles she played on the spooky daytime soap opera Dark Shadows. But her career, and her life, encompass so much more.

     Marie Wallace grew up in a New York City that no longer exists, a city that can still be viewed in magical black and white images on Turner Classic Movies. The Broadway Theatre District was only a few miles downtown from home, and her love of the theatre began at an early age.

     In her new book, On Stage And In Shadows, Wallace shares her memories of a lifetime. A life of hard work, and of dedication to her craft. A life lived to the fullest. A life she greatly enjoyed.

     What's most noticeable about the book is how warm and personable it is. It's as though the author were inviting the reader over for a cup of coffee. It's a beautifully written, almost conversational book, a delightful read from start to finish.

     On Stage And In Shadows is also an educational work. Anyone who might be considering a career in the theatre should read this book, as it will tell you just how hard a working actor's life can be, and what it takes to succeed in the often cuthroat theatre world. It's a life of constant travel, constant rejection, and constant change. Not a life for those with weak constitutions.

     But Marie Wallace was a resourceful and determined girl, and she made the theatre world work for her. She shares her memories or her early days as a print and runway model, and of her first Broadway show, in the chorus of Gypsy with the great Ethel Merman. During this period she also supported Jimmy Durante in his nightclub act. Her memories of working with such theatre greats are a delight, and a hint of what was to come.

     Marie Wallace's credits are impressive. She toured the country in dozens of shows, and, after Gypsy, appeared on Broadway seven more times. She played Ursula in Sweet Charity, directed by and starring the legendary Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. Also in the cast was a young unknown comedian named Ruth Buzzi (Laugh In) who became a lifelong friend. Wallace shares her warm memories of sitting backstage with Buzzi, sewing, laughing, engaging in "girl talk" And she gives us insight into the working lives of Fosse and Verdon, who created so much magical theatre.

     In one of the book's most moving passages, Wallace also displays the true meaning of the old adage "the show must go on". In the early 1970s, while appearing on the soap opera Somerset, her husband took ill. She rushed from the studio to his bedside. He passed away in her arms. A few days later, she dried her tears and returned to work.

     Dark Shadows fans will not be disappointed. An entire chapter of the book is devoted to the two years she spent on that groundbreaking daytime drama, and includes her technical approach to the three characters she played on it. She also includes her backstage memories of the Dark Shadows cast, many of whom are no longer with us.

     At the time, Dark Shadows was a wildly popular show, with a daily viewership of 20,000,000. It was Wallace's one dose of true fame, and she delighted in the support she got from fans, a few of whom she corresponds with to this very day!

     One wonders why Marie Wallace didn't become a bigger name. She is a superb actress who worked constantly for three decades. In the 1970s she played Crystal, the Joan Crawford role, in a Broadway revival of The Women, and followed that as Jackie Gleason's leading lady in a touring company of the play Sly Fox.

     But Wallace took her career, and her life, in stride, and went wherever fate took her. More recently she has put acting on the back burner to concentrate on her new love, photography. Currently the staff photographer at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, she has also exhibited many of her New York landscape photos at art galleries throughout the city.

     Marie Wallace is a survivor and a trouper. Her superb book is a must read for anyone with more than a passing interest in the theatre. Illustrated with many photos from the author's private collection, it is a time capsule of a wonderful time and place that will never be again.

     For more info, please visit MarieWallace.com
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Well, Mysterious Benefactor, now that you've racked up 100 days on DS Forums (!), what are you going to do next?

   

murph,

Wishing you all the best things today.  Happy Birthday!

marcos1,

Wishing you a very special day!

John in SC,

Warm wishes for a great birthday!