Hey, gang,
One aspect of “Dark Shadows” which has not been previously discussed was the various hair styles worn by the DS characters.
During the very first episode of DS, we saw Vicky Winters, wearing that very long hairdo, which she wore pretty much for the next two years. Of course, we also got our first look at Maggie Evans, resplendent as a tough-talking blond, For reasons never explained, Maggie quickly changed her hair color to brunette and sometimes, reddish brown.
Mrs. Stoddard always wore her dark hair in a very high and elegant manner, except at night, when she sometimes let her hair down. Carolyn Stoddard debuted on DS with a gloriously brilliant blond hair style, that was so popular in the 1960s with such other beautiful, young women as Jean Seberg, Carol Lynley and Sandra Dee. Later on in the show, Carolyn’s blond hair did not seem as shining. ((Although, maybe the color was just off on my television set?)
When we first saw the esteemed Dr. Julia Hoffman, she was sporting, to be quite frank, a sort of unkempt, “blach” hair style. And, then, during the time when Barnabas was trying to drive her around the bend (if I remember correctly) she suddenly shows up at Collinwood with this short, tapered hair style. I tell you, she almost looked like a completely different woman, with that very attractive and flattering look. (You think that Barnabas would have come to his senses and take a romantic interest in Julia, but, I digress.)
Probably the greatest hair “metamorphosis”on DS occurred, when Sabrina Stuart, Chris Jennings’ former fiancée and sister of the always-mellow Ned Stuart, showed up in Collinsport in an almost catatonic state and as gray as Mrs. Santa Claus and former First Lady Barbara Bush. After Carolyn magnanimously realized that she was the “third wheel” in the romantic trio of Chris, Sabrina and herself, she very graciously took Sabrina to a hair salon, where Sabrina regained her previous glorious brunette hair color. That trip to the hair stylist certainly restored Chris’ attraction to Sabrina.
Yet, all of these hair color and hair style changes on DS, got me to thinking that it was too bad that we never got to see any of the DS ladies, actually going to the local Collinsport hair salon (or as they were previously called, “ beauty parlors”) for their coiffures. Just think of all the juicy gossip the ladies could have exchanged as they got their hair done at “Mr. Kenneth’s of Collinsport” or at “Hannah Stokes House of Beauty”? ( By the way, didn’t Hannah Stokes have an especially “flamboyant” hair style herself?)
And, let’s not forget the handsome men of Collinsport. Where did they go in town to get their hair cut? Was there a “Luigi of Palermo” barber shop in town? Maybe there was a folksy American barber in Collinsport like Floyd the barber in Mayberry, NC? Perhaps Sheriff George Patterson’s younger brother, Cliff, was that homegrown Collinsport barber? (I hope Cliff did NOT inherit his older brother’s unfortunate male pattern baldness.)
It would have been great to see Barnabas get an “after-hours” (when else?) hair cut at either Luigi’s or Cliff’s local barber shop. Maybe Luigi or Cliff might tactfully suggest to Barnabas that he was a bit too old for the Buster Brown “bangs” look? They’d possibly suggest to Mr. B. that he’d look much more handsome with either a pompadour or a crew cut like baseball player Pete Rose or astronaut Gordon Cooper.
And, speaking of pompadours, just how demanding do you think Leviathan acolyte Bruno Hess was when he strolled into the local barber shop to get his magnificent head of hair cut? Heck, I could see the “slightly” narcissistic Bruno demanding both as manicure and a pedicure from the astonished barbers. “We don’ta do men’s fingernails and toenails back in Sicily or here!” Luigi would likely protest. No doubt, Cliff would also inform Bruno that he didn’t do nails either and that Bruno might want to go to either “Mr. Kenneth’s” or Hannah’s establishments to get his nails done.
And, with Roger continuing to lose his hair, perhaps Luigi and Cliff eventually charged the balding Roger, only half-price for a hair cut? I would have liked to have seen Luigi or Cliff try to engage Roger in light conversation about Red Sox baseball or attractive women or local and national politics as barbers all over America are wont to do. (Somehow, I don’t think that Roger was an especially good tipper.)
Alas, we never got to see Willie Loomis get a hair cut or see little Davey Collins get his very first hair cut in Collinsport. All these truly memorable tonsorial DS moments would have been very appealing and even heart-warming to see, I venture to say.
