'Dark Shadows' Re-arises

The Hour, April 12, 1982

If the 1990s were the revival of DS with the release of show on video then the 80s surely was a re-awakening as the show ran in syndication across the US. This article from the Norwood, Connecticut daily The Hour states that reruns were being aired on Channel 4 at 4:30 in the afternoon. Which was pretty much as it was during the original run in the late '60s and early 1970s.

'Dark Shadows' Emerges Again With Video Releases

The Boca Raton News, January 26, 1990

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While the release of the DS catalogue in monthly installations in 1990 was big news for fans of the show it was tedious old hat for Jonathan Frid. He had waded through years of media and fan frenzy and was long-settled into his career as an ensemble and solo stage presence. Maybe he was really bored with the whole Shadows phenomena or just wasn't getting a cut of the $79.98 price tag on the 4 cassette 20 episode box sets. Either way he continued to do what he loved most by acting out his one man shows for both paying and non-paying customers in college towns around the US. The shows were appropriately titled "Fools and Fiends," "Fridiculousness" and "Shakesperian Portraits."

Historic Site For Filming 'Shadows'

The Windsor Star, April 13, 1970

Another HODS blurb from the Canadian side of the fence although Windsor, Ontario is more or less South Detroit (as you have to travel south to cross into Canada from Detroit.).

From Shakespeare To Fame As Ghoul

The Big Spring Herald, October 25, 1970

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This is merely another House of Dark Shadows mention simply to get DS in the newspaper sort of article with nothing new in the writing to concern the rabid fan. But like most of these it's fun to see them in an old newspaper seeing as the digital age has killed anything of value in the written word department.

Frid, Fangs And Friends

The Palm Beach Post, May 22, 1970

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I believe that I've posted this Norman Goldstein nationally syndicated piece under a different paper's changed title but I like the pictures and layout so up it goes. If not then nobody's been cheated out of their Frid fix. Myself included.

Frid Seeks Teeth Into Daily Role

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 13, 1969

Since I'm pretty much posting these in alphabetical order by article title and am in the "F" portion of the itinerary it goes without saying that there will be several Frid features forthcoming. This is a 1969 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette potpourri rendering from Charles Witbeck concerning the show which ran on WPGH-TV at 5PM. While the picture is lacking the article isthe prototypical write-up with summary plot lines of the show and biographical backdrop on Frid. Once again a fan mail re-telling steals the show as one recalled to Frid that she had remembered meeting him in 1233. Brilliant. I think I'd kinda like some woman to tell me that also.

Frid Plays 'Barnabas' To Fan Raves

The Gettysburg Times, October 12, 1968

I don't really indulge much in learning the lives of Dark Shadows alumni mainly because I have better things to do but Jonathan Frid has always been a curious sort to me and I wouldn't mind reading a biography of his. Oddly enough I don't think there's really been a thorough rendering of his life story although I think he did write a sort of obscure autobiography about himself which has probably gone out of print with his passing. Anyway, I learned one thing from this biographical article: that he served time in the Canadian Navy during WWII. I'm not sure if it was active duty or what but I never would have suspected it despite his well-mannered character which screams of self-discipline.

Fans Take Their Spook Opera Seriously, Jonathan Frid Finds

The Toledo Blade, December 28, 1969

This is one of the few articles that I've come across where it's mostly Jonathan Frid speaking on the show and Barnabas and little filler from the writer Donald Freeman. He's got some good quotes in here too! And his obligatory Shakespeare and MacBeth references. He was consistent in interviews if nothing else.

K. A. K.'s Dark Shadows Obit

The Bridgeport Post, April 30, 1971

Somewhere right now K. A. K. of Bridgeport, CT is probably at work, tending to grandparenting duties or watching the box set of the show and lamenting the passing of the great Jonathan Frid. But in 1971 he or she was grilling ABC for pulling the plug on America's favorite family of ghouls and wrote this obituary. The not-so-subtle dig at Password, which replaced DS back in 1971, was an appropriate diss of the network's longstanding ability to destroy quality television in favor of ratings and money. According to the editorial response they weren't the only complainant.

DS Blurb from The New York Times

The New York Times, April 5, 1970

This is a short mention of the filming of the first DS movie as it coincided with the television show production. The plot line of chaining Barnabas in the coffin for 5 weeks was probably the death knell for the franchise but Dan Curtis often claimed that he was sick of the program by then and wanted to move on. I'm not so sure that I buy into that rationale as much as he thought that he could pull two projects off at once and failed at making it effectively happen.

Despite Low Ratings, 'Shadows' A Cult Hit

The Times Daily, March 26, 1991

I could have sworn that I already posted this article by Deborah Hastings but I can't track it down through the search function on here so I guess I didn't. It deals with the cult following the show retained up until the time of the second incarnation with the ill-received Ben Cross led series on NBC. A revival which included no original cast members and was often pre-empted by the Gulf War crisis.

While the fans were disappointed with the cancellation of both series Jonathan Frid had no interest in reviving his place in the enterprise. In a 1991 interview with People magazine he said he didn't understand the mystique of the show and quipped that he "always thought I looked like this damn silly ass" while playing the part of Barnabas. Brilliant.