Jonathan Frid - Barnabas on 'Dark Shadows'-is dead
The soap world's favorite vampire passes at 87
Jonathan Frid – Barnabas on ‘Dark Shadows’—is dead
David Hiltbrand, Inquirer TV Critic
Jonathan Frid, a distinguished stage actor who enjoyed his greatest success in a campy soap opera, passed away this week.
Frid, a Canadian native with an MFA from Yale University, zoomed to fame as Barnabas Collins, the vampire on the afternoon soap opera Dark Shadows which was a sensation in the late ‘60s. Here is a scene from 1967, the year Frid joined, and took over the show.
Barnabas was freed from the crypt where he had been held chained for two centuries and returned to his ancestral home, Collinwood. The show has been remade in comedic fashion into a film with Johnny Depp in the Barnabas role. Here is a trailer for the movie which hits theaters next month.
Frid never quite escaped the dark shadows, attending fan conventions for many decades. He died of natural causes in his native Ontario at the age of 87.
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Comments (19)
Jonathan Frid was an absolutely brilliant actor. Not only was I a fan of his portrayal of the tortured soul "Barnabas Collins", but during the 1990's, I enjoyed the consummate experience of watching him reprise the role created by Peter Lorre in a Phila. production of "Arsenic and Old Lace." Again, brilliant. Also, a great guest appearance on "The Mike Douglas Show." Very eloquent - a supreme gentleman. Mr. Frid will most certainly be missed, but not without leaving his "fang marks" forever upon the world. Bless him.— fineprintJK1- "..you go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre / contemplating a crime..."
Sorry...I just got that song in my head and then read your comment and couldn't resist!— uncle meat - Used to run home from grade school to watch this show!— pieman
- Everybody loved Barnabas Collings. Guess he saw the trailer for the new moview and dropped dead because it looks so awful and Barnabas Collins looks like a gay vampire and breakdances.— neddyflanders
- Afternoons on ABC. Never missed it as a kid. The best gothic horror ever. Suck on that, Twilight.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus
- I still remember all those actors names. RIP Mr Jon Frid. I think Dark Shadows was the first series/soap opera involvong vampires/werewolves/witches/ghosts and more— DoomsdayCritic
- I adored that show, and I wanted to be Josette (that is, until she took the dive from the Cliff) And as a 7 year old, I truly believed that Barnabas lived next door to us in Logan...he lived in "Collingswood." To this day, I still expect to see Barnabas and Joan Bennett when I cross over the bridge.— Christine
- I adored that show, and I wanted to be Josette (that is, until she took the dive from the Cliff) And as a 7 year old, I truly believed that Barnabas lived next door to us in Logan...he lived in "Collingswood." To this day, I still expect to see Barnabas and Joan Bennett when I cross over the bridge.— Christine
- The remake is utterly stupid. It's an insult to the revered original.— EdgarX
- remember watching this show on channel 6 as a kid and thinking it was done at channel 6 studios and wanting to go see them film the show in person— ghost78
- Another one of my childhood heroes has passed. Who's next? Sally Starr? Gene London? Or, dare I say it,...Stan "the man" Lee??????????? HEAVENS FORBID!— LODARJO
- He'll be back!LOL— aswamper
It's a shame he lived long enough to see the soon-to-be-released movie made. Tim Burton should be ashamed of himself. Hopefully, his shoddy movie will be nothing more than a bad box-office memory in time and the original series will still retain it's shine.- Say it ain't so! My 2 girlfriends and I used to run home from school and watch Dark Shadows every day at 4:00! We thought Barnabas was so *hot*. Like, smoldering. :) Quentin was pretty hot, too, as I recall. I can't believe they remade it into a comedy. What were they thinking?— Jen D
- I also remember hurrying home from school to see Dark Shadows!— Bobphxville
- I remember running home to see Dark Shadows, getting beat up by neighborhood bully, beaten to a pulp and then watching Dark Shadows through my one eye that was partially open.— neddyflanders
- Jonathan Frid was a teen heartthrob in those days. He was on every cover of every teenage girl magazine. You couldn't pass a magazine rack without seeing his fangs.— Bob1
- Just checking back to see the comments/tributes, and the above comment, referencing viewing "Dark Shadows" with one eye, brings back a memory. My friend and I, as well, used to rush home from school to see the show. When we became "frightened", we would each grab a sofa pillow from my couch, and "watch" the show through the fringes, like a filter! True story! Again, rest in peace, Mr. Frid. You did, indeed, give joy to so many. Happiness, now, on "the other side."— fineprintJK1
- Another part of my childhood has gone....— jonc
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David Hiltbrand
Inquirer TV Critic
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Esther Lee
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