Adam arrives at Collinwood

I've always been a fan of Robert Rodan as Adam, but it doesn't seem like the character has much of a following among Dark Shadows fans. He doesn't seem to be a figure that has received any particular love or hate for the audience, and it's always been a mystery to my why the character was so hastily written out of the show, and why Rodan was never invited back. Below is a 1968 newspaper story about the character's addition to the Dark Shadows cast, which picks up on the show's early habits of creating "sympathetic monsters." That concept seems to have been discarded by the time characters like Quentin Collins and Count Petofi were introduced.

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Another Sympathetic Monster Added
The Gastonia Gazette, Sun., July 14, 1968

His name is Adam.
And like his biblical namesake, he was created, not born. He first opened his eyes to the world on May 3, 1968, when he was loosed among the characters of "Dark Shadows," the popular ABC-TV daily suspense series seen in color fiom 3:30 to 4 p.m. EST.

Adam is a man-made monster who owes his existence on television indirectly to today's highly advanced scientific expertise and more directly to the fertile imaginations of Dan Curtis and Robert Costello, executive producer and producer, respectively, of "Dark Shadows."

Like Barnabas Collins, the 175-year-old rcsidcnl vampire on the daytime series. Adam is portrayed as a sympathetic monster. Although his current vocabulary on the series is limited, plans are for Adam to develop into a highly intelligent creature. Playing this difficult role is Robert Rodan, a tall (6'6") dark, handsome actor who only recently decided upon acting as a career.

"This has turned out to be quite a challenging role," Rodan said d recently. "Since Adam's vocabulary at the moment consists mainly of grunts and groans with a few choice words thrown in, I've really had to delve deeply into his character in order to present him as a sympathetic creature who looks like an adult but has the feelings and emotions of an innocent babe."

Born in Newark. N. J., Rodan spent his early childhood in Brooklyn. During this period, his only line to the entertainment world could be traced to his grandfather, who was a motion picture exhibitor. When he was 13, his family moved to Miami Beach where he completed his education. He was graduated from the University of Miami as an art major and went directly into the U. S. Army.

As a member of a special services unit, he staged several Army productions and, though he had no conscious desire to become an actor he nevertheless enjoyed the show business atmosphere and people.

Upon his discharge, he went west to build a career as a commercial artist. However, his good looks made him a target for every autograph seeker in Hollywood who quite naturally took him for an actor. Finally, the acting bug did bite. In one week, he quit his job as a commercial artist, signed with a talent agent, and an acting job and bought a big, shiny new automobile.

However, his first week in show business turned out to be a fluke. During the following 12 months, he did absolutely nothing. Finally, he was sent up for a leading role in the movie "Looking For Love," and after many interviews and screen tests, he ended up, as be puts it, "standing around being looked at by Connie Francis."