(Off Topic) Mr. Frid

This entry will be for my friends, like Erica Scott, who share my passion for "Dark Shadows," the good-n-spooky show that ABC began running in the afternoons the summer I was ten.  Schedules at various schools made me miss a lot of episodes during its run in those pre-VCR days, but I was there every time I was able, and was a huge fan of Johnathan Frid, AKA Barnabas Collins.  

I even tried to do a "Frid-esque" vampire one Halloween, spikey bangs and all.  My fangs were fashioned from pottery clay, and the sticky stuff I used to try to glue them over my real canines kept coming loose.   

They put out a record album of the "Dark Shadows" background music, the wonderful stuff by Robert Cobert, and my best friend in junior high, Bill and I employed it in innumerable tape recorder skits, dramatic and comedic and juvenile.  But then, we were juveniles.  The years took their toll, and the vinyl was gone, but then it was reissued on CD, along with two bonus tracks of radio interviews with the cast done at the height of "Dark Shadows" popularity.  I have that now, and, in fact, was just playing it in the car the other day!  (You can get a copy, too, like Erica did after I told her about it, HERE!)

Some years back, the SciFi Channel (which has since altered its name, I think) ran all the episodes of "Dark Shadows" from beginning to end, in chronological order, two per day, so I caught up on the ones I missed.  During the run of the show, about five years, there were some goofy gaffes, to be sure, because they were doing a very complicated show very quickly and without enough dough, and once in a while the scripts meandered in a lost sort of way, but mainly they had remarkably involving stories with a wonderful cast and some particularly chilling, scary moments that hold up even in my jaded age. 

Mr. Frid passed last week, Friday the 13th, at the age of 87.  The Los Angeles Times has a very nice article, which includes a link to co-star Kathryn Leigh Scott's tribute, HERE.

(That's a recent "Dark Shadows" cast reunion picture.) 

I would have loved to have been able to hear the readings from Poe and Shakespeare that Johnathan Frid performed in the last decade or two, or to have seen his performance as Johnathan Brewster in "Arsenic and Old Lace."

Friends, by definition, share a passionate interest in something, but don't have to agree about all its aspects.  Erica won't agree with me about the worth of the new Tim Burton movie out next month (she feels it does a disservice to the original, to put it mildly) but I plan to see it, and will especially be watching for the party-scene cameos by the original cast, and Mr. Frid in particular.  

I suppose more people are rocked by the loss of Dick Clark yesterday, but there are already some splendid tributes up for him, including Erica's.  I saw "American Bandstand" frequently on Saturdays, and the "Bloopers" shows and more, but my connection there was different.  I never tried to be Dick Clark on Halloween. 

(Addition Saturday, April 21:  Co-star David Selby-- AKA Quentin Collins-- has shared a beautiful note to his friend HERE..)

Quentin Collins and the Moon

Fans of the Gothic soap "Dark Shadows" will remember that Quentin Collins was cursed with Lycanthropy-- actually, that boy had a LOT of problems, but I'm trying to keep this relatively short and interesting for the Masses-- but as you'll see, my title is just a pun.  

Step into the Wayback Machine, Sherman, and set the controls for 42 years ago, late March, 1970.  This week "Dark Shadows" begins a story in "Parallel Time."  That is a device, as writers of episodic television and comics know, by which you can do all sorts of new and shockingly dramatic things to your characters without creating story continuity problems in your established "real world."   

(Back in the 60's, DC comics loved to do stories about Superman being murdered, or being married, or having three-headed sons and such, and labeled them "Imaginary Stories."  That was a funny concept, like all the other comics stories they did were Documentaries.)

Anyway, in this alternate universe, Quentin Collins has just married Maggie Evans and carries her over the threshold of Collinwood.  What makes it of special interest to me is that David Selby is carrying Kathryn Leigh Scott (no relation to Erica) right toward the camera in her miniskirt!

TaDAA!!

Long way to go for a blurry upskirt shot, eh?

But what cute li'l panties on a lovely bottom!!

Awoooo!!

The actual scene has a slightly better (more revealing) view, but this is the only version I have right now for you.

Naturally, jaded web wanderers will say, "Meh," but I was 14 when this occurred, and Oh Em Gee.

And I noticed that this particular episode was directed by Lela Swift, and was kinda surprised that she would let this shot pass for millions of viewers to enjoy.  The other directors, who were GUYS, well, sure!

It's possible (maybe not likely, but possible) that Lela and her crew just didn't notice this.  I did, because I was and am an Obsessed Pervert.  But this li'l upskirt "accident" was maybe seven to ten seconds long, and these things happen.  In TV production, especially live, or "live-to-tape" TV, there are hundreds of details to attend to at once, which is why (to do it right) it takes a team of people.  

Now if it WAS on purpose, maybe Lela thought it would spark ratings.  Maybe she wanted to get the sponsors and network brass all hot and bothered, in more ways than one.  Maybe Kathryn's skirt stayed down in rehearsal.  Maybe Naughty Kathryn changed to a shorter skirt for the actual taping!  If that's the case, maybe someone gave her a spank after this episode aired.  (Wolfie's paw shoots up and waves around frantically to volunteer.)   

Well, whatever the reason, it now lives forever on tape and DVD and BluRay and future Holographic Brain Inserts or whatever the next format will be, and I'm grateful.

By the way, here's a recent picture of the law firm of Selby, Parker and Scott.  I mean, "Dark Shadows" cast members David Selby (Quentin Collins), Lara Parker (Angelique) and Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans and Josette du Pres Collins). 

Selby, lucky devil, got to kiss his lovely co-stars often.  I don't recall that he ever got to spank them, at least not on camera.  Or maybe that's not the gentleman's particular thing. because he's had TWO chances to spank Erica Scott and not availed himself of the opportunity!  

I TOLD you Quentin had some problems!!  But we can fix that!  From an older WolfieToon: