Dark Shadows...

http://community.netflix.com/profile/frankgodbey

I put a video of the introduction of Barnabas Collins in the middle of my blog. This clip changed the history of the show. The show was actually 3 weeks from being canceled when Dan Curtis had the idea of putting a vampire on the show. This clip was from DVD Collection1 Disc 1. I'm currently watching DVD Collection 6 Disc 1... over 70 hours of my favorite show from my childhood. Thank god for Netflix! The link at the top of this post is my Netflix blog. It will link you to another page called "Fans of Dark Shadows". Netflix Community blogs are very interesting and if you have a Netflix account, you ought to look into joining one. If you don't find a group that suits you, you can create your own group... that's what I did with the Dark Shadows group. Also, just a quick bit of trivia for you. Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) was doing theater at the time Dark Shadows began and had told his agent that he was done with acting and was going out west to further his academic career... teaching. He also told his agent that he didn't know when he was coming back to NY. He had been in Florida for two weeks on vacation and went back to his apartment in New York. As he was unlocking his apartment door, the phone rang. Jonathan put his bags down outside his apartment and went in to answer the phone. It was his agent telling him about the Dark Shadows role. Jonathan didn't want to do it because he was going to go to California to teach, but his agent asked if he would do it as a favor and it would only last a few weeks and that Jonathan could use the money to pay for his trip out west. The ONLY reason Jonathan Frid took the role was to pay for his trip to California. The rest is history, Jonathan was on the show almost 5 years. True story. On one of the Dark Shadows DVD's Jonathan Frid is interviewed and recounted that story. Good stuff! Another quick note... The Vampire in my book is named Jonathan Hale. In honor of Jonathan Frid and my best friend growing up, Jimmy Hale... thought you might like to know that.