Picture of the Week: Taping Dr. Jekyll

This week, it's a rare colour shot of Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis and director Charles Jarrott on the set of Curtis' 1967 adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde. After Dark Shadows was commissioned in 1966, the show's producer wasted no time in getting more gothic-themed projects off the ground, and this lavish Canadian co-production was the result.

When the two-part TV special was first announced in October 1966, The Pittsburgh Press reported on plans to tape in London from a script by Twilight Zone supremo Rod Serling, and Jason Robards playing the title roles. By the time Dr. Jekyll finally stepped in front of the cameras in Spring 1967, Serling had moved on and taping had relocated to Canada via New York, with Jack Palance taking the lead role.

The finished production slouched in ABC's ratings but received critical acclaim, netting four Emmy nominations, including one for Dick Smith's special make-up. Dan Curtis used Smith again to create Jonathan Frid's memorable old-age make-up for Dark Shadows. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is available on DVD and can be purchased by clicking here. 

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Picture of the Week: Gypsy Denise

This week it's a ultra-rare photograph of a 10 year-old Denise Nickerson (Amy Jennings) in a Summer stock presentation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Gypsy. Coincidentally, Dark Shadows' Marie Wallace (Eve) appeared as showgirl in the original Broadway production back in 1959. The picture comes courtesy of reader Dale Canter, who takes up the story:

"My neighbour allowed me to scan this photo to share it with you. Unfortunately, this photo is creased having been damaged in a drawer. Denise Nickerson is pictured at the left, circa 1967, in a summer stock presentation at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Denise played the role of Baby June. The leading lady in the production is Gisele MacKenzie, in the centre, as Gypsy Rose Lee. The girl at the right is my neighbour, Nancy Zdeněk, age 12, in the role of Baby Louise. The play was presented for a period of one week. This photo is courtesy of Nancy."

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Picture of the Week Special: A Family Portrait

This week, as a special treat, here's a newly created version of the classic 1967 Dark Shadows cast photograph, presented in colour for the first time. I work as a graphic designer and digital illustrator, and have wanted to have a go at doing this for ages. I love this shoot and experimented with it a while back, unpicking the heavy fish-eye distortion on original. That tweaked frame was eventually used on the cover of the Return to Collinwood book.

Pictured are (L-R), David Henesy (David Collins), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans), Sharon Smyth (Sarah Collins), Anthony George (Burke Devlin), Robert Gerringer (Dr. Woodard), Nancy Barrett (Carolyn Stoddard), Dennis Patrick (Jason McGuire), Alexandra Moltke (Victoria Winters), John Karlen (Willie Loomis), Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins), Grayson Hall (Dr. Julia Hoffman), Clarice Blackburn (Mrs Johnson), Dana Elcar (Sheriff Patterson), Louis Edmonds (Roger Collins) and Joan Bennett (Elizabeth Collins Stoddard).

In common with most other soaps of the era, formal photo sessions for Dark Shadows were few and far between. During the five years of production, only two group photographs are thought to have been taken – this one in 1967, and a second the following year. Shot in June 1967, during the week of episodes that followed Elizabeth's shocking wedding day confession, the production team succeeded in gathering almost the entire cast – David Ford (Sam Evans) and Joel Crothers (Joe Haskell) were the only regulars absent.

Shot to mark the first anniversary of Dark Shadows, amazingly the pictures remained unseen for over 30 years, languishing in ABC-TV's photo archives until they were uncovered in 1998. Since then, this shoot has become one of the most widely-seen from Dark Shadows, with Tim Burton even creating a version of his own to promote the recent feature film. A few other pictures taken on the same day were published at the time, including a shot of Barnabas looking menacingly over Elizabeth's shoulder and Barnabas alone peering through cobwebs in the Collinwood basement with his arms outstretched.

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Picture of the Week: Dan Gets Derailed

This week, it's a candid 1978 snapshot of Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis on the set of NBC's costly failure Supertrain. Conceived as a rival to The Love Boat, the weekly show featured mystery and anthology-style drama on a futuristic luxury train, which came complete with its own gymnasium and disco. For its brief run it was the most expensive show on American television.

Before long, low ratings and backstage creative differences saw Dan Curtis abruptly leave the project to make way for a doomed mid-season revamp. Even before his departure, the cracks were beginning to show. "Put the train on with no scripts and no actors and see how long it lasts," he grumbled about NBC's decision to promote the train as the star of the show. "The train is terrific, but it's only the ambience."

By February 1979, the disgruntled now ex-producer was rather less diplomatic. "It was the biggest mistake I made," he told The St. Petersburg Times. "I directed it under the most insane conditions... With the money I was dealing with and the time, I'd love to see anyone duplicate that one." Signing off, he declared: "I don't care what anybody says about it. It wasn't f**king brain surgery... but that's what they wanted. They wanted a picture like that and I gave them one."

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Picture of the Week: Joan Lights Up

This week, Joan Bennett (Elizabeth Collins Stoddard) lights up in a 1942 advertisement for Chesterfield Cigarettes. During her 1940s heyday, Joan enjoyed a lucrative sideline endorsing products, including a long-term contract as the face of Lux soap. 

Here she's pictured in her American Voluntary Services uniform. During World War Two, Joan was an active member of the organisation, up until when she fell pregnant in early 1943.

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Picture of the Week: Louis' Worldly Ways

This week it's a rare press shot of Louis Edmonds (Roger Collins) in the 1954 New York revival of Restoration comedy The Way of the World. Louis played the lead role Mirabell and is pictured with his co-star Gerry Fleming as Millament. Dark Shadows' Thayer David (Professor Stokes) also appeared in the same production.

Writing in The New York Times, critic Brooks Atkinson suggested that: "Edmonds will make an excellent Mirabell when he speaks with more grace and clarity and relaxes a little bit." Meanwhile, The Herald Tribune's Walter Kerr was distinctly lukewarm about both the play's leads: "Neither lacks the hauteur or diction essential to this kind of verbal antic, but both... spend most of their time chasing musical notes uphill and down dale, letting humour lag."

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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."

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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!"

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Picture of the Week: Period Drama Moonlighting

This week it's a radiant 1969 shot of actress Virginia Vestoff (Samantha Collins), taken during the recording of the cast album for Broadway show 1776. During her stint on Dark Shadows, Virginia juggled her appearances with evening commitments as Abigail Adams in the stage musical. "It's lucky I like period costumes, because I wear them both afternoons and evenings," she told TV Dawn to Dusk in 1970. "I live in three centuries... the 18th on Broadway, the 19th on TV and the 20th in my everyday life – and I enjoy the best of each of them!"

1776's cast also included David Ford (Sam Evans) and later, when adapted for the big screen, Emory Bass (Mr. Best) and Daniel Keyes (Eagle Hill Caretaker). A perennial favourite, the film is still repeated and is also available on DVD.

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Picture of the Week: Necking In The Afternoon

This week, it's a 1982 TV Guide advertisement for Dark Shadows, promoting Barnabas' new lease of life in syndication. Throughout the 1980s, distributors Worldvision scored a hit with the show's huge back catalogue and Dark Shadows soon became a fixture on many PBS stations, as The Los Angeles Times reported in 1987:

"'It has really made our late night,'  said Larry White of KFME-TV Channel 13 in Fargo, N.D." Others were in agreement. "'It's our top membership program,' said Neal Hecker of public television station WNYC Channel 31 in New York."

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Picture of the Week: Miss Emmy 1962

After a brief hiatus, Picture of the Week is back with a May 1962 shot of Diana Millay (Laura Collins) posing for Emmy Award publicity with Bob Newhart, in her official capacity as that year's Miss Emmy. 

Chosen to represent the awards on behalf of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Television Academy, Diana was duly dispatched with a photographer to seek out a backstage scoop. "Being a methodical, if not a method actress, Diana researched the Emmy statuette in the process of its manufacture," reported The Miami News, concluding that: "There's no doubt that the creation of the five-pound 'Golden Girl' never had a prettier observer."

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Picture of the Week: David Daydreams

This week, it's a candid 1969 shot of David Selby (Quentin Collins), rehearsing out of costume on the Collinwood foyer set. "My life has changed so much since I became a regular on Dark Shadows that I seldom have time for thought," David told 16 Magazine in 1970. "But when I do, I welcome a moment of silence to contemplate things."

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Picture of the Week: Without Whom...

David Henesy (David Collins) and Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) pose for publicity in 1967. This one is for all those children who grew up with Barnabas haunting their dreams...

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Picture of the Week: Diana Despairs

This week it's a rare press shot (complete with vintage printing mark-ups) of actress Diana Millay (Laura Collins), taken back in January 1964. In the early sixties Diana had a busy career in episodic television, making many appearances in productions filmed on the west coat. 

"So many of these Hollywood shows deliberately aim for the mediocre," she opined in an outspoken 1961 interview for The Modesto Bee. "You never find this attitude in New York... I think sometimes bad material is a challenge." Clearly on a roll, Diana explained: "I'm a glutton for work. Unless a script is absolutely terrible, I do it. Of course, I'd prefer good material, but I'd rather work than not work, and in television you can't sit around waiting for good scripts."

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

Picture of the Week: Old Friends Reunited

This week, Dark Shadows past meets Dark Shadows present in a special behind-the-scenes photograph from the set of the new movie, courtesy of actress Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans). Kathryn and co-stars Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins), Lara Parker (Angelique) and David Selby (Quentin Collins) flew to England last summer to film a cameo scene and are seen here in costume backstage at Pinewood Studios. 

"Here we are, almost ready for our close-up," Kathryn tells us. "Lara and I still had to finish doing our hair!" Both Kathryn and Lara have written about their experiences on the set in the new book Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood, which features more exclusive photos from the production. You can also keep up with Kathryn's latest activities by visiting her official website. 

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

Picture of the Week: Elizabeth's Unsuspecting Heart

"Innocent Elizabeth! Your unsuspecting heart invites treachery at Collinwood!" This week, it's a brilliant painted cover from the Gold Key Dark Shadows comic book by George Wilson, featuring a cliff-top rescue and an exciting bird's eye view. 

The issue in question featured unlucky-in-love matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard embarking on a relationship with old flame Damon Coldclaw. Alas, her taste in men proved typically ruinous, with Damon soon plotting to take over Collinwood and the family empire. The highlight of the story features her sending him packing with a well-deserved slap. Go girl! From issue 28, The Visitor, published in October 1974.

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Picture of the Week: Karlen Gets Steamy

This week, it's a photo of John Karlen (Willie Loomis) starring in the racy 1971 Belgian vampire film Daughters of Darkness. "Subtle, stately, stunningly coloured and exquisitely directed... this is far and away the most artistic vampire shocker since the Franco-Italian Blood and Roses 10 years ago," said The New York Times upon its release. Today, the movie's curious mixture of art-house styling and highbrow camp has made it a cult favourite, which has recently been re-issued in BluRay format.

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Picture of the Week: Joel Goes Barefoot

This week, it's a rare publicity still featuring Dark Shadows' original boy-next-door, Joel Crothers (Joe Haskell). In 1965, Joel embarked on a tour of Neil Simon's play Barefoot in the Park. The run which would stretch into his stint on Dark Shadows, with the actor juggling both assignments. Here he is seen alongside Joan McCall as his newlywed wife, with comedy support from Wood Romoff.

Barefoot in the Park marked a breakthrough role for Joel, but a few years previously, the St. Petersburg Times had already marked him out for stardom. "Joel Crothers is among the young actors with possibilities for a very bright future," gushed the newspaper's unnamed TV Scout. Thoroughly smitten, they added: "He could have almost any role he wants, because he's a handsome young man and a fine actor. But he only works during the summer months. The rest of the time he goes to college – Harvard."

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Picture of the Week: A Looming Legacy?

This week, it's one of my favourite images from Dark Shadows – actor Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) snapped while being menaced the poster of Bela Lugosi as Dracula that hung in the show's rehearsal room. In 1969 journalist Donald Freeman, writing for the Toledo Blade, noted the picture and asked Frid if Hollywood's vampire had influenced Collinwood's resident fiend:

"Barnabas is like Macbeth, a hero of sorts, but very guilt-ridden," Jonathan suggested. "Every woman among our viewers wants to accept him. Women love to see men admit guilt. Women love men to be vulnerable." By comparison, "Bela Lugosi's vampire loved being a monster, but Barnabas, while being a rotten character, has the emotional qualities of a hero."

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Picture of the Week: Life After Soap

This week, it's a 1976 shot of Anthony George (the second Burke Devlin) appearing in the Country Dinner Play House production of Any Wednesday. Anthony played a heart-hearted millionaire alongside Barbara Sammeth as his mistress. The actor had recently finished a successful five-year run on daytime drama Search For Tomorrow and, having relocated to the west coast, was trying to distance himself from soap opera roles.

"I never thought that working in the soaps was a step down," he told the Chicago Daily News later that year. "I believe an actor has to act, and I've always worked steadily. Daytime drama was new for me, a challenge I had to conquer." Glossing over his 1967 Dark Shadows stint, he explained: "I never realised before what hard work it is... On daytime dramas, actors take half an hour to drink a cup of coffee, which takes three minutes in real life. You have to be a good actor to pull that off – so most of the people working in soaps are very good."

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