Dark Shadows Movie Artistry

• Prosthetic make-up company BGFX have released some images of their work from the recent Dark Shadows feature film, including an unused design for an emaciated Barnabas. Check it out online by clicking here.
• Concept artist James Carson has posted a gallery of Dark Shadows artwork on his website, including early designs for the interiors of the Collinwood mansion. To view it online, click here.
• And finally, the Moving Picture Company have posted a video breakdown of their visual effects work on Dark Shadows, which can be viewed in the window below.

Conrad Bain: 1923-2013

It is with sadness that we report the death of veteran actor Conrad Bain, who has succumbed to natural causes at the age of 89. Conrad died on Monday January 14 in his hometown of Livermore, California.

As a jobbing actor, he appeared in four episodes of Dark Shadows as innkeeper Mr Wells, beginning with the show's very first episode in 1966. Two years later, he returned for a final fatal encounter with werewolf Chris Jennings. 

To more recent generations, he is best remembered for his role as Phillip Drummond on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, along with film appearances in Bananas and Postcards From The Edge. Our condolances go out to Conrad's friends and family.

Picture of the Week: Mitchell Gives Chase

This week, it's a publicity still from Chase, the 1973 cop show that starred Mitchell Ryan (Burke Devlin). The brainchild of The A-Team creator Stephen J. Cannell, the high-octane drama cast Mitchell as the leader of a team of undercover Los Angeles cops and ran for one season on NBC.

Chase's short primetime reign was a disappointing experience for Mitchell, who dismissed the show as "badly cast... badly directed," when later reflecting on its troubled production. "When it started doing badly in the ratings, they cut the stunt budget," the actor told The Modesto Bee in 1976: "That was the one area – those chases – where the show was good."

If you would like to submit an image for Picture of the Week, email webmaster@collinwood.net.

Picture of the Week: Drawn-Out George

This week it's a great 1961 caricature of second Burke Devlin actor Anthony George, in his guise as one of the detectives of Checkmate. Anthony is pictured with his co-stars Sebastian Cabot and Doug McClure.

Offscreen, the pressure of heading the cast of primetime television show often placed a strain on Anthony, as he revealed in a 1962 interview with The Evening Independent. "I still haven't figured myself out yet... I'm now getting what I fought for – and, believe me, it wasn't an easy fight – I should be deliriously happy with myself, but I'm not." 

Anthony went on to explain the frustrations of Checkmate's fast turnaround. "Why do they keep rewriting scripts? Do you know what it's like to memorize a script at home with the feeling that no matter how letter-perfect you master your lines, they're going to change it anyway?" He concluded: "To me, it's like driving a car with faulty brakes!"

If you would like to submit an image for Picture of the Week, email webmaster@collinwood.net.