Main Website Downtime

Regular site visitors may have noticed that the main Dark Shadows Journal website at www.collinwood.net has been out of commission for the last couple of days, due to problems with our web provider. We're currently working to resolve these, and the site should be accessible soon.

George DiCenzo: 1940-2010

It is with sadness that we report the death of Dark Shadows associate producer George DiCenzo, who passed away on August 9 in Middletown Township, Philadelphia. He was 70 years old.

George began his career in television production, before moving into acting in the 1970s. He featured briefly in an uncredited part in House of Dark Shadows, as the sheriff's deputy, and spun an extensive career in character roles, with his film credits including Back to the Future and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, plus guest roles in many television shows, such as Murder, She Wrote, NYPD Blue and Law & Order.

He was best known, however, as a highly-respected acting coach. Burt Reynolds singled George out for praise during an Inside the Actor's Studio interview, calling him "the best acting teacher in America." Donations in his memory may be made to A Woman's Place, PO Box 299, Doylestown, PA 18901.

Actor Updates

• Denise Nickerson (Amy) will be a guest at the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, which runs from August 19-22. For full details, click here.
• Marie Wallace (Eve) is appearing at the Chicago Entertainment Collectors Expo, which takes place from September 9-12. For more information, visit the event's website.
• Paul Ross (King Johnny) is to appear in a new production of The Last Romance, which runs until September 5 at San Diego's Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
• Alec Newman (2004 Barnabas) is currently appearing on BBC One's medical drama Casualty. Alec is also appearing onstage in London in Danton's Death, which runs until October 14 at the National Theatre.
• Kelly Hu (2004 Julia) is appearing at the Wizard World Austin Comic Con, which runs from November 12-14 in Austin, Texas. For more information, click here.

News Bites

• Big Finish Productions have released their new Dark Shadows audio miniseries Kingdom of the Dead on CD and download. The four-part story is available as individual monthly releases and as a special box set. For more information and to order online click here.
• Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie) has just re-issued the audiobook edition of The Dark Shadows Companion as a three-CD set read by herself, Jonathan Frid (Barnabas), Lara Parker (Angelique) and Roger Davis (Jeff). For more information, click here.
• David Selby's (Quentin) two new books, My Shadowed Past, a memoir of Dark Shadows, and The Blue Door, an original novel, are now available to purchase from his official website. For more information, click here.
• And finally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1991 David) can currently be seen in cinemas in the new Christopher Nolan movie Inception.

Revival Series Soundtrack CD

Screen Archives Entertainment have just released a new album collecting Bob Cobert's music scores from the 1991 Dark Shadows remake. Dark Shadows: The Revival Series is a two-disc collection of the show's original soundtrack cues, made available as a limited edition.

In addition to over two hours of broadcast music cues, the CD comes with a detailed illustrated booklet, featuring rare imagery, plus the bonus track Dark Dream, a re-recording of a classic Dark Shadows cue produced for the show's pilot episode, which was ultimately unused. To hear sample tracks and to purchase online, click here.

Jonathan Frid at the Vista

Over 400 fans gathered at Hollywood's Vista Theatre last Friday for a special gala screening of House of Dark Shadows, which kicked off the Dark Shadows Festival's weekend-long celebration of the series. Guest of honour Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) was there to place his handprints in cement, followed by the movie projected from an original 35mm print. Courtesy of our friends at the Vista, here are some images from the day.

Dark Shadows Festival This Weekend

It's the annual Dark Shadows Festival this weekend, and a host of Dark Shadows stars will be descending on Burbank, California to celebrate the show, including Jonathan Frid, David Selby, Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott.

I'll be there to promote my work on the Big Finish series of Dark Shadows audio dramas. We'll be launching the new full-cast Dark Shadows box set Kingdom of the Dead, plus there will be great discount prices for the range across the weekend. If you're attending, please stop by at the Big Finish table and say hello.

For more information on the Festival weekend, click here.

New Writer For Dark Shadows Movie

Deadline New York reports that the Dark Shadows movie project has recruited a new writer, as pre-production continues. Novelist Seth Grahame-Smith is now on board to write the screenplay, replacing frequent Tim Burton collaborator John August.

Seth Grahame-Smith is best known for his novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the latter of which has been optioned by Tim Burton. Current reports suggest that production on Dark Shadows will now begin in January.

DVD Bargains

Amazon are having a summer sale, with great discount prices on the Dark Shadows DVD boxsets. For a limited time, the majority of volumes are slashed in price to just $24.99, saving over 50% on the retail price. Here are ordering links:

Dark Shadows: The Beginning (pre-Barnabas episodes): Collection 1, Collection 2, Collection 3, Collection 4, Collection 5, Collection 6

Dark Shadows DVD Collections (episodes from Barnabas' arrival onwards): Collection 1, Collection 2, Collection 3, Collection 4, Collection 5, Collection 6, Collection 7, Collection 8, Collection 9, Collection 10, Collection 11, Collection 12, Collection 13, Collection 14, Collection 15, Collection 16, Collection 17, Collection 18, Collection 19, Collection 20, Collection 21, Collection 22, Collection 23, Collection 24, Collection 25, Collection 26

Compilations: The Vampire Curse, The Haunting of Collinwood

New Dan Curtis Book Published

Dan Curtis researcher Jeff Thompson has just written a new book, detailing the further works of the Dark Shadows creator. House of Dan Curtis: The Television Mysteries of the Dark Shadows Auteur examines Curtis' work beyond Dark Shadows with new interviews, rare photographs and forewords from John Karlen (Willie) and longtime Dan Curtis Productions associate Jim Pierson.

The book weighs in at 196 pages, with over 70 photos. Look out for a review here on the site in the near future. To order the House of Dan Curtis from Amazon, click here.

Dark Shadows Comic-Con Panel

Hermes Press are to launch their hardcover reprints of the Dark Shadows comic strips at July's San Diego Comic-Con with a special panel, discussing the show – past, present and future.

Lara Parker (Angelique), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie) will be appearing in-person, alongside Jim Pierson representing Dan Curtis Productions. Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) will be represented via a special video message. The event takes place on Saturday July 24 in Room 3 from 5.00-6.00pm. For more information on the convention, click here.

Hermes Press have also unveiled the final cover art for Dark Shadows: The Complete Series Volume 2, which is due out later this month. To pre-order the book from Amazon at a discount price, click here.

News in Brief

• Vince O'Brien (Sheriff Patterson) died on June 19 at the age of 91. His long career as a character actor included roles in the movie Annie Hall, along with stints on television in The Edge of Night and Law and Order.
• Big Finish Productions have just released two new Dark Shadows audio dramas. The Night Whispers features Jonathan Frid's return as Barnabas, alongside John Karlen and Barbara Steele. London's Burning stars David Selby and Doctor Who actress Louise Jameson as Rosie Faye. Both titles are available on CD and download from the Big Finish website.
• Marley Shelton (2004 Victoria) has joined the cast for the upcoming movie Scream 4, which has just begun shooting in Michigan.
• The delayed hardback collections of Dark Shadows comic strips are finally due to debut in July, in time for the Dark Shadows Festival. Dark Shadows: The Complete Collection Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available a discount price from Amazon. Click on the hyperlinked titles to pre-order.

Dark Shadows Festival Schedule

The Dark Shadows Festival has released a tentative schedule for next month's event, which takes place from July 16-18 in Burbank, California. As previously reported, there is also a gala screening of House of Dark Shadows in Hollywood on Friday afternoon before the convention begins. For more information and to register to attend, visit the Festival website.

Friday July 16

6:00pm: Opening Ceremonies/Announcements, followed by a Dark Shadows episode with original commercials

6:30: Collinsport Players Skit I

7:00: Dark Shadows Recollections: Jerry Lacy and Marie Wallace

7:45: Dark Shadows Recollections: Kathleen Cody and Kathryn Leigh Scott

8:30: Dark Shadows Recollections: Lara Parker and John Karlen

9:15: Autographs/Dark Shadows rarities

10:15: Movie: Race With The Devil featuring Lara Parker

12:00: Movie: Seizure featuring Jonathan Frid

Saturday July 17

11:00am: Dark Shadows Fan Videos

11:30: Dark Shadows Video Vault

12:00: Remembering Grayson Hall

12:30: Guest: Set Designer Sy Tomashoff

1:00: Dark Shadows Memorabilia Charity Auction I

2:00: Dark Shadows Reborn - Part 1

2:30: Guest: Music Composer Robert Cobert

3:00: Guest Jonathan Frid Hosts The Game

4:00: Guest: David Selby

4:30: Dark Shadows Cast Reunion

5:15: Autographs/Dark Shadows Bloopers

6:00: Dark Shadows 1991 in an Hour

7:00: Dark Shadows In The 2000s

8:00: Dark Shadows Costume Gala

9:30: Collinsport Players Skit II

10:00: Movie: Night Of Dark Shadows

11:45: Movie: Late Night Horror Classic

Sunday July 18

11:00am: Dark Shadows Today Fan Discussion

11:30: House of Dan Curtis with Jeff Thompson

12:00: Dark Shadows Recollections: Roger Davis and Chris Pennock

12:45: Dark Shadows Video Vault

1:00: Dark Shadows Memorabilia Charity Auction II

2:00: Dark Shadows Reborn Part 2

2:30: Guest: Jim Storm

3:00: Guest: Kathleen Cody

3:30: Dramatic Shadows with David Selby and Lisa Richards

4:00: Jonathan Frid In Performance

5:00: Room Closes/Autographs

7:00: Dark Shadows Banquet Dinner with the Stars (by advance reservation only)

News Catch-up

• Big Finish are holding a Summer Sale, offering selected Dark Shadows audio dramas at discounted prices. The offer runs until June 30 and a price list can be viewed here.
• The latest issue of Big Finish's Vortex magazine features a special behind the scenes feature on Jonathan Frid's (Barnabas) return to Dark Shadows on audio. Download it for free by clicking here.
• David Selby (Quentin) is working on a new book about his time on Dark Shadows. My Shadowed Past will hopefully debut later this year. David is also taking part in FestivALL, a celebration of the arts held in Charleston, WV; He will be reading for In Their Own Words on June 26, followed a staged reading of his play Appalachia Tragedy. For more information, visit his official website.
• Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie) has overhauled her official website with a new look and previously unseen photographs. Pay a visit by clicking here.
• Finally, MPI Home Video have released two double-bill DVDs of Dan Curtis' 1970s TV movies. Shadow of Fear & Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest and Come Die With Me & The Invasion of Carol Enders originally aired as late-night thrillers on ABC. Look out for an appearance by John Karlen (Willie) in Hillcrest. To order either title from Amazon.com, click on the hyperlinked titles.

House of Dark Shadows Screening

Hollywood's Vista Theatre are now accepting bookings for their 40th Anniversary screening of House of Dark Shadows, which takes place on July 16 ahead of the Dark Shadows Festival in Burbank.

The event begins at 12.30pm when Jonathan Frid (Barnabas) will be putting his handprints in cement for posterity, followed by a full screening of the House of Dark Shadows movie from an original 35mm print.

Tickets cost $10.00 each and can be purchased by calling the box office on 323-660-6639.