Spooks haunt Tarrytown estate, 1970

The Collinsport Historical Society's new Facebook group The Drawing Room has really been a boon. Lots of readers have helped point the way toward trivia and newspaper clippings, so much so that I'm rushing just to keep up with them. This one comes courtesy of  reader J.R. Nichols, who is as much a clipping junkie as I am. It's an early newspaper account about the making of House of Dark Shadows, at this point still just titled "Dark Shadows." It's interesting for a number of reasons: It includes a rare photo of Kathryn Leigh Scott and Donald Briscoe on location, and it makes mention of many of the behind-the-scenes crew of the film. You can read a transcript of the story below.

Spooks haunt movie making on Tarrytown estate
By Blanche Feldstein
The Journal News (White Plains, New York)
April 4, 1970

If Washington Irving's ghost is wandering around Tarrytown, these days, he will be surprised to find at Lyndhurst some spooks who never haunted his tales of Sleepy Hollow.

Kathryn Leigh Scott and Donald Briscoe look over the script
 for "House of Dark Shadows" on location at Tarrytown, N.Y.

The vampires and ghouls occupying the imposing former Gould estate are part of a large cast and crew who are filming "Dark Shadows," MGM's new film based on the afternoon TV soap opera. Tarrytown is accommodating itself to the influx of celebrities, having already hosted two other films. "Lovers and Other Strangers," a Hollywood production, was shot at the Hilton Inn last fall, and the "Ceremony of innocence," an off-Broadway play for TV, used the Axe Castle as a set.

Lyndhurst, the charming gothic mansion, used as a country home by the Duchess of Talleyrand-Perigard, has taken on the eerie qualities of the movie plot. The gelled windows reflect the grim tale of lust and love played out by vampire Barnabas and those he gets his teeth into. The actors and actresses including Jonathan Frid, who plays Barnabas, and Joan Bennett, who is the elegant Elizabeth Stoddard Collins, in the movie, are imported daily by limousine from New York City.

Monday's bright sunlight after Easter Sunday's surprise snow kept the vampire Barnabas from appearing on the set. But Miss Bennett arrived late and told of the traffic problems which made the usual one-half hour commute to Lyndhurst into an hour and a half. The snow, wrong for the fall setting of the film, forced director Dan Curtis to call an unscheduled indoor rehearsal.

The stars, actors, sound crew, lighting crew, equipment and props moved into the mansion where the priceless collection of furniture, ''objects" and Tiffany glass will lend authenticity to the incredible story. As on the soap opera, the actors play the scenes straight, vampires and victims take their roles seriously.

Making a movie is grueling business. Director Curtis shouts to an actor, "If you don't step in, the whole scene will lay like a lox," as the scene is hot for the 25th time in a half-hour. Kathryn Leigh Scott, seductive young romantic lead who as Maggie Evans captures the vampire's affection, gets kissed about 300 times in one hour by Roger Davis, tall, blond and handsome, who plays Jeff Clark.

Kiss of Passion 
Each time, the kiss must portray passion, concern and tenderness. The director shouts for quiet in the hall. Filled with workers, photographers, makeup men who rush in every other minute to fix Kathryn's hair and powder her nose sound effects men and miscellaneous Lyndhurst personnel, total quiet is not easily accomplished.

Everyone tries, however, and stands frozen from the few minutes the shot is being taken. The actors and actresses with seeming infinite patience get new directions and start the scene all over again, until the director is finally satisfied.

Nancy Barrett, a wispy young actress with long blond hair, who plays Carolyn Stoddard, one of the vampire's victims, has the bad luck to become a vampire herself. Even as a vampire, her lot is not happy. After biting a few people, she is killed by a stake driven through her heart.

Last week, the scene where Carolyn tries to kill David Collins, is played by 14-year old David Henesy, was shot for three long hours in the freezing temperature and decaying atmosphere of what used to be the Lyndhurst swimming pool building. Offering a perfect setting for a murder, the gigantic former pool is surrounded by large pillars, partially eaten away by mold. The debris, mud and ice on the floor is caused by the leaking roof.

Shivers in Shroud 
Dressed only in a shroud over a body stocking, Nancy emerged shivering from the building and spoke of her role which she has played for four years on the soap opera. Biting has become a habit with her she explained and she finds no difficulty playing a vampire. Hot coffee was being sued on the grounds, but Nancy was afraid to have some since the only rest room was over a mile away from the pool building.

Bob Laden is the makeup man for the show. "Have blood, will travel," he says as he dashes around fixing faces and wounds with the proper gore. He also carries vampire bites, vampire teeth and lots of false eyelashes. Prop man is Michael Maloney, who weaves spider webs out of glue and creates fog out of carbon dioxide. He also has a wind machine to get the eerie effect' of the capes blowing in the wind.

Make believe Is very much in the mind of young Henesy, especially since the story calls for his being hanged. "Is that my hanging closet?" he asked the workmen as they carried a large wooden box gingerly through the front hall of the mansion. David explained that he really gets hung on a harness attached to a canvas vest he wears. "It's all fake," he says, "there's no way I can be hurt."

Never be the Same 
When the actors, directors, photographers, sound men, makeup artists and vampires pack up their gear and leave, will Lyndhurst ever be the same?

Hopefully no, says Gerald Fiedler, director of Lyndhurst. The guides and visitors feel the rooms come alive as they are used as settings for the film. An increase in visitors is excited.

Lori Watson, 20, of Yonkers, who works as a guide says, "Naturally it's much different because of the sets. The garden room is being used as a sheriff's office. People are shocked by the darkness but also are thrilled by being on a set."

Mr. Fiedler has some exciting long-range plans for Lyndhurst which includes creating a theater for stage productions and concerts out of the swimming pool building, restoring the greenhouse, the carriage house and barns and possibly creating a restaurant on the grounds. Although a 515 million project, Mr. Fiedler is optimistic about accomplishing much of the restoration, within the next five years. Meanwhile Tarrytown end Lyndhurst are getting known as a good place to make movies.

Ain't no party like a Collinwood party (UPDATE)

There were two kinds of parties in the 1960s. The first tended to involve a lot of herbal essence and the opportunity for surprise nudity. The other: nicotine, scotch and a lot of Half Windsor knots. You can probably guess which kind took place at ABC studios at Halloween in 1968, but leave it to the cast of DARK SHADOWS to still make things a little weird.

On Oct. 31, 1968, ABC executives gathered with cast members from some of its daytime programming at Manhattan's West 53rd Street, where its hit daytime serial DARK SHADOWS was taped. While episode 614 had been broadcast that day (in which Joel Haskell famously tried to strangle Barnabas Collins), the crew had just finished taping 619, an otherwise unremarkable episode. Standing that day were the sets for Nicholas Blair's "house by the sea," the woods around Collinwood, and a hospital bed for poor, doomed Joe.

Some of the actors apparently weren't left with enough time to shed their costumes. Robert Rodan can be seen in photos from the party in full Adam-drag, scars and all. Jonathan Frid is, as usual, in costume as Barnabas Collins, perhaps because of time constraints, or maybe studio pressure to always be "in character" for these kinds of events.

Also attending the party were Peter De Anda of ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Mike Darrow of DREAM HOUSE, Robert Morse of THAT'S LIFE. (Morse would later appear on MAD MEN.) If those were the only guests for the event, though, the party was headed straight for Dullsville. Not even Don Briscoe and his penchant for marijuana-infused werewolf transformations could liven up this joint.

Fortunately, someone had the idea of inviting in some of the fans waiting outside the set. In those days, vigilant groups of teens could be found hanging around outside the Hell's Kitchen studio in hopes of meeting one of the cast members of DARK SHADOWS. These kids generally behaved themselves, and were rewarded on Halloween that year by being invited to the party.

Despite having worked that day, cast members Alexandra Moltke, Grayson Hall and Humbert Allen Astredo are conspicuously absent from the photos. It doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't there ... it's possible they had other obligations that evening. But it might also mean that the photos, for whatever reason, weren't deemed suitable. Moltke, for example, was winding down her tenure on DARK SHADOWS and would take just five more episodes before departing. She was almost certainly gone by the time these photos were published. Heck, even the director of the day's episode, the mysterious Sean Dhu Sullivan, was on the way out and would helm only four more installments of the series.

Briscoe's presence here is a real head-scratcher, though. I'm guessing he'd already ironed out the details about his return to DARK SHADOWS, because he was essentially "between roles" at the time of the party. His first character, Tom Jennings, had been killed off in an episode taped the previous August, and he would not return to the set again until Nov. 12. when Chris Jennings in introduced.

Joel Crothers and Lara Parker.

Robert Rodan, Robert Morse, Lara Parker and Donald Briscoe.

Peter De Anda, Mike Darrow, Lara Parker and Jonathan Frid. 

Jonathan Frid prepares to pounce on an unidentified young fan.

UPDATE!
In the comments section below, reader Alan Gallant provided a few more photos from the Halloween party. I've seen many of these before, but it's nice to finally have some context for them. You'll see Lara Parker, Grayson Hall, her son Matthew Hall, and Humbert Allen Astredo in the new images.

Grayson and Matthew Hall. 

Grayson Hall and Jonathan Frid. 

Lara Parker signs a few autographs.

Humbert Allen Astredo meets his fans.

"Werewolf through a fishbowl," an interview with Don Briscoe

Donald Briscoe doesn't get enough love around here. Sure, Patrick McCray is quick to sing his praises, but the actor's short tenure with DARK SHADOWS couple with his reclusive later years doesn't give us much to talk about here.

Not too long ago, a reader donated a folder of DARK SHADOWS-related magazine clippings to the website. Among those is this story from the March, 1969, issue of After Noon TV. As far as the quality of writing goes, After Noon TV was only marginally better than 16 Magazine. Neither much cared for bylined stories or conflicts that weren't generated in-house. Both publications were relatively benign and are mostly interesting today as curios of their own bizarro editorial standards.
"What would you do if someone gave you a pet lion?" is among the questions Briscoe has to answer without sounding like an asshole. You can read the entire piece below.

HAPPINESS WEREWOLFING, LIFE
GUARDING, AND BEING IN LOVE!

March, 1969, After Noon TV

If there is currently one nationwide werewolf who was educated at Columbia University, and who is a handsome New York bachelor may he stand up and take a bow. We doubt, however, that anyone other than Don Briscoe will be bowing, for Don is probably the only person in the USA who possesses these traits. Yet, when Don refers to the individuality of people he says, "I don't think I'm unique any more than anyone else is. Everyone is unique. People are alike and unique simultaneously."

Don has another quality that makes him in real life, completely different than the maniac he is when the full moon appears and he is overtaken by a desire to kill. He  stands (ironically for a person playing the role of a werewolf) for Peace. He has a point of view, and he is involved. And because he is intelligent it is difficult to doubt the validity of what he says. He looks up to Eugene McCarthy and what McCarthy represents, and he very much admired Jack and Bob Kennedy. He loves hippies and what they stand for, and as far as mini-skirts and almost everything that represents the Now generation, he thinks they are just great. It is, however, his fine education (when he was in high school he wanted to be a physicist; he has his masters degree from Columbia University, and if he were not an actor, he would probably be, he thinks, either a lawyer or an English teacher) that has helped him to cope intelligently with What's Happening.

Don calls himself a "health nut" who likes organic food, Indian curry, yogurt, and fruit juice.

He would like, someday, to make films, and his favorite actor is Charles Chaplin. He would like to
live maybe in Ireland or England (although he has never been there), and if he had two wishes they would be for the elimination of war and the legalization of love. The things that make him happy are being a lifeguard (some years ago), being in love... and right now, being a Dark Shadow werewolf.

The absurd can, to Don, be taken seriously. "What would you do if someone gave you a pet lion?" He ponders the question before he answers. "I used to want a leopard. But I dislike animals being cooped up. I hate cages." Another question: "What would you do if you woke up with a mustache?" He answers immediately, "I'd shave it off." And then: "Suppose a lady showed up at your house and said I must stay for a week." And he answers smiling, "It depends on the lady. If I liked her I would say 'why only a week?' "And if you had a million dollars?" Back to his original thought: "I'd make a film about Peace."

Don takes himself seriously in a very pleasant way. In a brown paper bag he carries the smallest television set ever made ... because it is necessary to see himself in one segment of Dark Shadows. By watching and analysing he finds he is better able to understand his performance. He watches intently as he and Carolyn sit in a bar. He knows what will happen soon - the full moon will come out. The scene changes to the bedroom where he chains himself to the floor, and as the light of the moon appears he becomes a hideous hairy werewolf. He rises, breaks the chains, runs out, crashes through the window of the bar, grabs the barmaid and the scene is over. He looks seriously at the blank television. Those with him laugh. "That was great," says a friend. But you're different in real life. For a moment Don looks worried. He thinks. Then he says, "I'm a different character. I try ideally to create a different person - with some of the attributes of Don Briscoe. But the more he is like Chris Jennings the better I feel my work is.... You have to believe in the part you play."

"Yeah," says the friend, "Don believes in the part he plays. Most of the day he is very, very pleasant, but when that full moon comes out ..."

Jonathan Frid: "They don't schedule Dark Shadows in my home town of Ontario," 1969

  

Below is a surprisingly detailed look at Dark Shadows as the show entered its fourth year on the air. Too many promotional pieces in the 1960s recycled the same bits of information or focused too much on actor Jonathan Frid, who really had little new to say about the character after his first year on Dark Shadows. Instead, this story includes some surprisingly personal anecdotes from Frid, as well as input from Grayson Hall, Joan Bennett, Don Briscoe and Dan Curtis.

"Dark Shadows" Set for New Season
April 20,1969 Sunday Post-Crescent

Within the walls of an innocent-looking, cream-colored structure on New York's West 53 St., there's an assortment of vampires, werewolves, witches, warlocks, ghosts and monsters who have been haunting some critics, harassing each other and delighting millions of afternoon video viewers for three seasons.

These characters, of course, are inhabitants of the world of "Dark Shadows," the ABC Gothic gala which chill-conditions home screens five afternoons a week, and will continue to do so into a fourth season.

Led by Barnabas Collins, the suave, 175-year-old vampire whose menacing exterior has elevated him from the ranks of featured performer to television stardom, the "Dark Shadows" cast has succeeded in capturing the young housewife audience and also has won over the teenage set.

WIDE APPEAL
"Our show varies its appeal," says Dan Curtis, the executive producer whose imaginative brain created the
haunting serial in June 1966. "The housewives are attracted by the appeal of Jonathan Frid as Barnabas and by the situations and intrigues which make all serials popular. The teens go for the 'way out' characters  featured on the show."

Joan Bennett, one of Hollywood's famed leading ladies, has one of the more conservative roles on the  program as the mistress of the brooding mansion which serves as a focal point for the mysterious goings-on.
Nearing the start of her fourth year on the series, Miss Bennett points out that she finds television work  enjoyable, though "There's much more work involved than in the movies. The other day I learned 24 pages of dialogue for a half-hour program. In films, that would have taken a  week.

"The only aspect I can't get used to is the schedule," she says. "Free time has become a cherished luxury,  because a normal work week can involve more than 70 hours in rehearsals, tapings and home study. When I say week, I mean Monday through Sunday."

A STAGE PLAY
Although her running part in "Dark Shadows" keeps Miss Bennett in New York most of the year, she  nevertheless has a clause in her contract which allows her to star in a stage production every summer. In order to explain her brief absences from the serial, the writers Sam Hall (Grayson Hall's husband), Ron Sproat and Gordon Russell have to figure out different ways to write her out of the script each time.

Don Briscoe, the young actor whose characterization of the werewolf keeps viewers in a tizzy, enjoys the advantage of having once been written out of the show.

"Originally I appeared as a fellow who became a vampire and was dispatched with a stake," Don says. "Now I have returned to the show as the vampire's brother with his own hang-up. He's a werewolf."

"Dan Curtis is brilliant in creating new ideas for the serial," says Grayson Hall, who plays Dr. Hoffman on "Dark Shadows" "Who would think of setting up a one-sided romance with a vampire? "It's one-sided  because I'm the one who has eyes only for Barnabas, while he has his mind on other things.

"Women really seem to understand how Dr. Hoffman feels about Barnabas," says Grayson.

JOINED LATE
Jonathan Frid was not a member of the original "Dark Shadows" cast. He made his first appearance on the show April 14, 1967, and was originally signed for a three-week stint. His characterization caught fire  immediately and the rest is daytime serial history. Frid receives more than 1,500 letters a week from fans all over the country. However, he takes his rise to fame in stride.

"I've been a working actor for 20 years, so it didn't happen overnight," Frid says. "I suppose every actor  wants to be a star, but I never consciously worked at it. I never expected any of my roles to bring me stardom, but I'm certainly grateful to Barnabas for making every actor's dream come true."

Jonathan still resides at the same east side New York apartment he occupied before success crossed his  path, but he has had to change his telephone number on several occasions even though his number is unlisted.

"It's amazing how the fans can find out everything about you," he says. "It's almost as if they have a secret language with which they communicate with each other. Sometimes I'll stop in at a restaurant to get a bite (excuse the pun) and the next thing I know there'll be a crowd of youngsters waiting outside."

ONE BIG CHANGE
"Dark Shadows" has brought one major change into Jonathan's life. He travels more. It isn't often that he's able to spend a quiet weekend at home. Usually he'll be off to the airport for a flight to appear before a live  audience, either on behalf of ABC or for some worthy organization. He has been a guest on a number of telethons and his presence has resulted in more than the usual pledges of donations. Although Jonathan's fame has spread  from coast to coast, it wasn't until recently that he was able to convince his mother and brothers in Canada that the "black sheep" of the Frid family, who had deserted home and the family business years ago to try his hand at acting, had finally become a celebrity.

"They don't schedule 'Dark Shadows' in my home town of Ontario," Frid says. "Although I send home some of my better reviews, they still weren't really convinced that I had achieved some kind of acknowledgement as an actor.

"Several months ago when I learned my mother and eldest brother were coming to New York for a visit, I decided to throw a big party in their honor.

"I rented a suite at a fashionable Park Ave. hotel and arranged to have catered an elaborate soiree, inviting the producers, writers and cast of 'Dark Shadows.' performers of other ABC New York-based shows and some friends of mine who have made a name for themselves in show business.

"Hours later when the last of my guests had gone, my mother turned to me and, with a smile, said, 'Son, I think you're finally on the way'."