Jonathan Frid - The First Sympathetic Vampire

Jonathan Frid's archetypal vampire character, Barnabas Collins, has been described as the "reluctant vampire," "vulnerable vampire," and "sympathetic vampire." He is the first vampire with a conscience, the first to experience inner conflict and self-loathing about his condition and his consequent actions, a vampire with a tortured soul, with a heart that is more human than monstrous.
"O'er mine own misery and thy vain revenge.-
Three thousand years of sleep-unsheltered hours
And moments-aye divided by keen pangs
Till they seemed years, torture and solitude,
Scorn and despair,-these are mine empire:-"
From "Prometheus Unbound" by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792--1822)

[@Master_Blackthorne]

No, Gloria Holden in "Dracula's Daughter" was the first sympathetic vampire. Check it out.

[@PatriciaArcana1]

Varney the Vampire: first SV in print. Countess Zaleska: first SV in a film. Barnabas Collins: first SV in television. We can admire and appreciate all of them! 🧛

[@55Quirll]

@@PatriciaArcana1 Agreed👍

[@michaelhughes432]

@@PatriciaArcana1 I agree! But the first one is unknown to me? Whom is Varney the Vampire?

[@michaelhughes432]

@Master_Blackthorne. I agree!

[@JohnCee754]

Everyone who was involved with Dark Shadows owes a debt of gratitude to Jonathan Frid. His portrayal of Barnabas Collins saved the series from an early cancellation... and is why people still watch the reruns even today.

[@robertaclark3286]

I agree John

[@jennyclark6183]

Jonathan Frid was incredible in this role.

[@robertaclark3286]

@@jennyclark6183 Yes he certainly was. He made Dark Shadows.

[@themaestroslady1812]

That is absolutely true. I'm a huge fan, 50+ years later! Dark Shadows forever.

[@anitahamlin2411]

No one will ever play a vampire like Jonathan!

[@marilynwillett804]

@@michaelg.5072 I bet no women ever told Lugosi to bite them or sent him their pictures. There was a strong element of romance in Barnabas.

[@michaelhughes432]

@@marilynwillett804 I wonder if later actors who played Count Dracula did, such as Christopher Lee, Frank Langella or Raul Julia?

[@maryclark1897]

My sister and I would run home from school every day so that we can watch this with our mom I wish they would bring it back to TV

[@darlenevicars3988]

Mary Clark Wouldn't be the same it isn't 1967...

[@BM_623]

The Decades Channel airs it. Also you can watch all the episodes on the Tubi app for free. Starting from when Willie frees Barnabus. Hope this helps.

[@jaiblack7116]

AMC is supposed 2b bringing it back

[@acreagefuneral3357]

Mary Clark so did my nana every day after school

[@kmdionis]

Same here. I watched it with my grandmother. Great memories.

[@LoveFlatfootin1]

What a treat it was back in 1967 to come home for lunch and watch Dark Shadows every day. How great to have a vampire soap opera! So glad it's still available to enjoy.

[@donnavaughn5393]

Me too

[@jacquetrosper6763]

ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE SHOW THEN.

[@miriamjewett5438]

What a marvelous actor, Jonathan Frid! What a wonderful, timeless soap opera. All these great actors. Scared me to death as a child. Now, I want the entire series.

[@Fultonfalcons86]

This is what got me so interested in Vampires when I was a kid !!! This is probably the best Vampire show ever created...

[@Master_Blackthorne]

Not really.

[@fun012345]

april 67 untill 71 johnathen frids collins he also had another person to come to ds the house of ds was the death barnabas collins

[@earlfisher1345]

ANGELIQUE, WAS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE. I USED TO DREAM OF HER BITING ME AND, ME HUGGING HER AT THE SAME TIME.

[@kevinpyne5808]

The intent all along with to kill the vampire, but something happened. Fans got hooked on Frid and his performances.

[@patriciolara736]

John Herbert Frid Mac Gregor . Nació en Hamilton de Ontario . Canadá , el 2 - Diciembre - 1924 y Falleció el 14 - Abril - 2012 este comentario lo hace : Humberto Vilches Lara , con mucho agrado

[@jeanettesmith765]

I am rewatching the show from the beginning. I haven't seen it since I was a kid. It is even better than I remember.

[@mariana_1122]

He looks so vulnerable, so sad , so depressed that you actually want to hug him and tell him :" Don't worry , everything is going to be okay , I swear , just relax yourself " His performance was so credible and so real that you could actually feel his pain !! He was such a talented actor !! Today , I vote for him to be on The Canadian Walk Of Fame , he derserves it !! Greetings from Uruguay!!

[@PatriciaArcana1]

Yes, Mariana, we do feel his pain. Mr. Frid was such a talented actor. I'm glad you voted for him. He deserves the recognition from his home country.

[@mariana_1122]

I love when he recites the poem " When I Am Dead " on the Dark Shadows LP !! Everytime that I hear that poem I cry !! It is so sad but at the same time beautiful !! I just can't stop crying !! It's so touching !!

[@mabel8179]

+Mariana Hernández Awww I know. The last scene at the end- where he's saying he despises himself and the pain on his face- no wonder Julia wanted to help him.

[@mabel8179]

+Mariana Hernández Yes, he recites it so movingly.

[@11redlions]

That's not what I want to tell him. I want to say ''baby baby come to mama''.

[@joannatomas1111]

JOHATHAN FRID plays his part ..he is such a good actor. R.I.P Barnabas Collins. 💞💕🤗👍

[@Carol120454]

Great video. Barnabas was surely the inspiration for Anne Rice's vampires. Of course, many others have followed since. But he was the first and the best. There's something about a tall, dark, elegant, romantic man with a dark side that appeals to a lot of women, myself included. Same for Phantom of the Opera. In my case, I've come to believe that they remind me of my father. He could be kind, he could be cruel, and only loved one person his whole life, my mother. No one else could ever measure up. Just like Barnabas.

[@marilynwillett804]

Barnabas had enormous sex appeal which Phantom of the Opera never had.

[@SelenaMulan]

Yes

[@SelenaMulan]

@@marilynwillett804 get Eric was hot

[@swithinbarclay4797]

Well, sometimes when Barnabas was on missions in the past, he'd get terribly distracted by ladies who reminded him of Josette, and I wanted to tell him to stop, because he had other important business--battles, if you will--that needed taking care of. "C'mon Barnabas, enough of that!"

[@michaelhughes432]

@@marilynwillett804 Unless of course, you're referring to Michael Crawford & the Broadway Musical Version?!😀

[@elizabethgarat8493]

I was one of those kids who rushed home after school to watch DS. I am now going through the entire series. I started out on Amazon Prime last year while it was free, have had to jump last week to Tubi. (Thank you so much Tubi for providing it. Just one commercial Break mid way through.) My discovery is that I have a much deeper appreciation today for Jonathon Frid. I LOVED him playing Barnabas as a little kid & felt his magnetic quality then. But today, I understand what a wonderful actor he truly was. So much depth of feeling he brought. Love the cadence of his sentencesssssss, love the expression in his eyes. His character is elegant, and yet he can be extremely intense and fierce when he needs to be.

[@xray86delta]

I watched this show as a child with my brother and sisters after school in the 60's! The fact that Barnabas hated being a vampire, and was a good man at heart, is the only thing that let you enjoy his character so much!

[@55Quirll]

The same with my brother and myself, I am 68, and he is 66, and after school, we would run home and turn on the TV to watch Dark Shadows.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

Hell, I'd even BREAK disciplinary detentions at school, to stay abreast of Quentin's & Barnabas' adventures!! That's why School Districts, PTA's, and religious groups tried to run "DS" off the air; and these same groups tried to stop the musical careers of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.

[@lenardshaw6037]

Without a doubt the coolest vampire ever

[@xray86delta]

I was told that all of these shows were lost! I'm so glad to see these again!

[@RedcoatsReturn]

Frid was positively shakespearean! Such an actor 😲👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😊👍👍🧛🏻

[@libertubey2199]

When Barnabas first appeared on DS, he was supposed to have been a monster. But, three things kept him from being an unsympathetic creature: 1. Jonathan Frid's performance, 2. the tv audience's response to this new character, 3. the writers. Even from the first full episode he was in, it was clear that he missed sunrises and when he speaks to the portrait of Josette, asking why she didn't protect him from turning him into something even Joshua loathed and that he has come back to live the life he never had, whatever that may turn out to be. Even in the following episodes, he drained the blood of animals instead of humans, outside of Willie, who released him. You are talking about a 172 year old thirst for blood. Slowly, the writers added more layers of humanity to Barnabas.

[@shirleycollins7812]

It was the Twilight movie that the Cullan clan drank the blood of animals...and Brad Pitt in Interveiw w/a Vamipire🌹

[@nassauguy48]

And the odd part is that I doubt that the 1795 story line had even been thought up yet. Angelique was not yet even a character when Barnabas was introduced.

[@libertubey2199]

@@nassauguy48 Interestingly, before the 1795 storyline was thought up, there were many clues that Barnabas became a vampire sometime around 1821 or 1822, either through some mysterious fatal illness or, less likely, another vampire. Josette's tombstone stated that her death was 1822 and that its less than impressive showing was more of a punishment from Jeremiah, who was married to her; Sarah and Barnabas were actually closer in age and she died in 1796. The main head of the household was Jeremiah, not Joshua, though they were still brothers and Barnabas' uncle and father, respectively. While Joshua still chained Barnabas in his coffin, there might have been an indication that Jeremiah helped him. Barnabas never got the chance to kill Jeremiah.

[@glenjohnson6727]

I learned fairly recently that Barnabas was originally only gonna be in a few episodes before getting a wooden stake through the heart but he turned out to be the most popular character on the show and without him most likely no one would be talking about Dark Shadows a half century later.

[@EB1878]

@@glenjohnson6727 yep, that is correct. It's also stated in the Dark Shadows alamanc that Barnabas was to last about five episodes or so before being killed off. Thanks in part to massive fan letter-writing and pleas to the show and the ABC network not to kill off Barnabas, is what helped him. I believe it was also Frid's chrisma, and his dynamic portrayal of a guilt-ridden, sympathetic, tragically romantic vampire 'hero' that appealed to many a bored housewife back in the 1960's/70's that also made him being a permanent cast member possible. That, and he came across as not your typical evil vampire, although he was terribly sinister in the very beginning, but as Barnabas continued, his personality was multifaceted, sometimes complex, but inherently, sensual and beautiful. 🙂

[@hollyb6885]

4:55 The blood on Barnabas looks so gruesome !! What a great dramatic scene

[@kevinpyne5808]

Glad I didn't see that when I was a child. Probably would have upset me.

[@hollyb6885]

@@kevinpyne5808 We only had a black and white tv back then so it wasn’t so bad. Seeing it in living color is a whole other thing. 🧛‍♂️

[@swithinbarclay4797]

As a newbie vampire, Barnabas hadn't quite yet learned how to clean up, spruce up, after his kills, his feedings. That would come later.

[@leschurchill804]

One thing I realized that I never noticed before, is that whenever you see Barnabas in his coffin, you never really see him 'step out of it.' Ms. L. Churchill

[@shannonstevens1002]

Les Churchill, he did not fit quite correctly into the coffin. He was too tall, and he had to bend his knees to fit. It was too awkward to see him exiting the coffin.

[@monicacall7532]

Barnabas Collins was my idol for all of the years that he was on DS . I knew before anyone else at my grade school and church that he wasn’t an evil man and was so proud to be proven correct!

[@brandongary8234]

It's amazing that Angelique was afraid of Barnabas when he came out of the coffin terrified of him. And then sometime later he became afraid of her afterwards

[@Slinkygal]

This is one of the best episodes. First, the agony of finding out he's become a vampire & then poor Barnabas is deleriously happy, thinking he's cured & then his despair when he reverts back to a vampire.

[@angelajones8208]

Thayer diffinitely is one of my favorites. After Angelique cursed barnabas I felt so sorry for him.

[@cynthiaadams2392]

One of my favorite throwbacks!!🤗

[@crowleysridgegirl]

"I learned tonight I cannot survive without blood." Ben: "Without what??" Sorry but,I loved the character of Ben.His replies were so predictable but-they were still so believable! Great video!

[@crowleysridgegirl]

***** PS Patricia did you happen to make any videos with the scene of Josette and Barnabus in the Collins mausoleum? I can't find that scene in any videos,including music ones,and that's my favorite encounter with them 'post' their tragic separations with Jeremiah and Angelique.

[@Slinkygal]

🦇I also need blood to survive🦇

[@marilynwillett804]

Nah I couldn't stand Ben.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

That Thayer David; he had the laugh of a stoner's cackle and I loved that!

[@angelmarandola7987]

Ben was such a good actor

[@bethpiercy7099]

Love this but the music alone freaking me out. 😂

[@bobbysands6923]

THE vampire. No one comes close. Not even Bela.

[@markfinney7387]

Yeah he really is the best and certainly the classiest

[@johnlennon4958]

I like others ran home from school to look at this show dark shadows was so dramatic and enjoyable

[@cindyengle5425]

Same to me ...begging school bus hurry home to see this every day after school. Gotta see Dark Shadow! Love it's music.

[@jacquetrosper6763]

This was such a good show. He looks so sad. I loved it since I was expecting my first child in 72. Angelique so evil

[@shounenbat510]

I would argue that Dracula's daughter was actually the first sympathetic vampire, predating Barnabas Collins by around three decades. WIth that said, Barnabas is certainly the first sympathetic vampire to really hit the mainstream, as far as I'm aware. Dracula's Daughter has the misfortune of being a sequel.

[@moomieification]

Angelique shouldn't have attempted to "kill" Barnabas with mallet and stake from the Collin's croquet set.

[@EB1878]

Marilyn M that made me laugh. 😂

[@jennyclark6183]

I think she tried to kill him because it was her fault that he was a vampire to begin with.

[@tubularbill]

The scenes with Ben and Barnabas were the best

[@danbasta3677]

@@Barnee1897 Thyler David, believe was his name.

[@SelenaMulan]

Its sad Ben REALLY was loyal to Barnabas

[@MoosicandCritters]

Poor Barnabus! 💜

[@EB1878]

I can almost see a smile cracking on Thayer's face, yet he manages to stay in character. These two actors had a lot of chemistry just like John Karlen and Jonathan made an excellent duo in modern times. Kudos to both! I enjoyed watching this episode, and it's really creepy watching it in the dark with a glass of milk, Oreos, and pretzels. 😊🥰👍🙂😊❤

[@swithinbarclay4797]

. . . and a few pints of vintage Type-O Negative--or whatever!!

[@nassauguy48]

I think part of Angelique's curse was that Barnabas would HAVE a conscience. That would make him suffer even more. Tom Jennings was a very nice man before Angelique turned him into a vampire, yet he was cruel after he became one, and he did not think twice about it.

[@BruceRamsey-pt1uk]

When I was a kid, I was addicted to this show.

[@angelmarandola7987]

The music makes the show so scary

[@markfinney7387]

Yes I truly love it, to me it's the best ever, outstandingly well crafted. It is haunting, suspenseful and has a serious gravity to it, except that scene at the Blue Whale with Barnabas and Burke lol

[@KamenSentaiMetalHero]

Although I didn't watch the series in its original run(I just turned 20), I'm really enjoying it so far. Dark Shadows is definitely the only soap opera that I actually like, though I do have a new found respect for soap operas because for the longest time they were the only source of serialized storytelling on television.

[@jennyclark6183]

So you didn't like "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"? Hilarious!

[@KamenSentaiMetalHero]

@@jennyclark6183 I've never watched it.

[@CT-uv8os]

This was also a live show when it ran. Fine talent all around on this show!

[@marciamornay1089]

Excellent video presentation, PatriciaArcana1. I really don't think DARK SHADOWS would have been as successful if Mr. Frid hadn't taken the high ground and tried to instill a spark of humanity in Barnabas. That spark made all the difference! And that voice of his...drawing us in to everything...and his beautiful eyes. And his bearing...everything just coalesced into magical performances. Mr. Frid had us under his spell in nothing flat...which is more than I can say about that miserable farce that Depp and Company concocted. Thanks for posting.

[@PatriciaArcana1]

+Marcia Mornay "his voice drawing us in ... under his spell..." Very well put, Marcia. Thanks for visiting!

[@special7217]

I agree. Barnabas would have been a short-lived(and forgotten) character if Jonathan Frid hadn't added to his character, why he's the way he is. Great story.

[@davedvlaries7764]

Frid himself, in _The Dark Shadows Home Companion_ , would admit that his character's seeming awkwardness was, at least in part, often due to Jonathan's inability to see the cue cards without his glasses, a case of inconvenience actually deepening a characterization. According the same book, Dan Curtis was on cancellation probation of a couple months to get the numbers up or the plug would be pulled, and the decision was one of desperation to feature an actual vampire. "What the hell. Better to go down in flames than just sputter out of gas." Nighttime or daytime, in the 1960s ABC needed every hit it could get. The mean joke at the time was, "if you want to end the Vietnam war, put it on ABC, it'll be over in 13 weeks."

[@marilynwillett804]

Absolutely, it was His acting, HIS interpretation of a vampire that saved the show.

[@vinnyvincent53]

@@marilynwillett804 .It had a small audience at that time. Had curtis not taken that chance d.s would've been history and not even remembered

[@dagnabbit6187]

The first sympathetic Vampire ? Yes but Barnabus Collins didn’t start off that way . He was diabolical and moody and acted very ruthlessly on perceived threats and enmity . As Willie Loomis found out , God forbid if you pissed him off . Still Barnabus Collins was a classy,well mannered Heavy and when they went back in time to his origins , yes, he became sympathetic but let ‘s just not end it there . Jonathan Frid ‘s Barnabus Collins was the best vampire ever IMHO.

[@JohnCee754]

In an interview (which you can find here on KZbin), Jonathan Frid said Dan Curtis originally just wanted a monster -- and that's how he played the role in the beginning. But he wanted to add a humanity to the character and that really resonated with the fans. I believe the original plan was to kill Barnabas off after about a year.. but he became the central figure of the series.

[@dagnabbit6187]

@@JohnCee754 Reminds me of Fonzie on Happy Days and Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live . They weren’t the major Players at first but they wound up taking over . When Alexandra Moltke left , they tried 2 different Victorias but decided to call it a day even though Victoria kick started the series . Dark Shadows wasn’t even supernatural at first .Just a kind of Gothic romance , governess type story with the Widow’s Hill line thrown in . There was a mystery with David trying to kill his Father by sabotaging the brake system in his car and other stories I am not sure what spawned it but I think Dan Curtis just decided that that was not going to have any longevity and so he stuck the Supernatural in it . I think the first one was a ghost revenge thing . Then I believe next was Laura the Phoenix and then came Barnabus . The move with Barnabus Collins was the right one . Barnabus ran the gamut from Super Villain to victim to Super Hero , Detective , Time Traveler etc. Victoria was fading and in real life Alexandra Moltke got pregnant and wanted to leave , so graduate Victoria and move to the head of the Class Barnabus . You are now the star pupil !

[@JohnCee754]

@@dagnabbit6187 Good analogies. I think JR Ewing in DALLAS is another example -- he was supposed to be a background character originally.. with Patrick Duffy and Victoria Principal at the front of the show. But Larry Hagman's terrific performance in that show pushed him to the front -- and the rest is history. You're right, DARK SHADOWS was originally focused on Victoria Winters -- and it was a shame when Alexandra Moltke left the series because she was perfect for that role and proved to be irreplaceable. Beautiful lady.

[@jonnyfrench1406]

Day time master piease of true acting vampire Barnabas u well always bee near mi 💟...

[@hollyb6885]

Ben was so loyal.

[@patriciahayes7315]

Barnabas Collins paved the way for vampires Angel and Spike. The difference was that Barnabas wanted freedom from his vampirism and never got it, while Angel and Spike came to terms with theirs and soldiered on.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

The Marquis Lestat de Lioncourt was far, far better, in that he REVELS in his vampirism--and I'm talking about the BOOKS, NOT the movies. He is highly selective as to whom he is to feed upon.

[@hollyb6885]

Thayer David was wonderful as Ben. Actually he was wonderful as any of the characters he played in Dark Shadows.

[@vividwatch47]

He even appeared in the feature film "Save The Tiger" with Lara Parker (Angelique).

[@SelenaMulan]

My favorite Thayer David Character

[@thrillalova1212]

Thayer David in the movie House of Dark Shadows was scary...good movie for fans

[@amourtoujours779]

Professor Stokes 🙌🙌

[@rockyracoon3233]

@@thrillalova1212 . Reverend Strack in Night of Dark Shadows!

[@jeffreyyoung7824]

Dark Shadows always made me wonder what it would be like to be born in a wealthy family with a deep, distant past, and to live in a large, gothic, gloomy mansion where corridors go on forever and there's a zillion hiding places.

[@elizabethgarat8493]

P.s. Danny Horn writes a fantastically smart and funny bold called Dark Shadows Everyday that I heartily recommend to fans of the show.

[@danielscuiry2847]

A very nice montage. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@PoGirlShines]

This stuff is more scary to me now than when I was young and watched it.

[@Slinkygal]

@George Rusch Of course since poor Barnabas had to go thirsty for all those years, he was probably all dried up & had nothing to pee out.

[@Slinkygal]

@George RuschLighten up, It's just a show, not a vampire documentary.

[@Slinkygal]

@George Rusch Oh no, ow ouch, stop! something is stabbing me--Must be you & your voodoo doll. I am getting my voodoo doll out (Yes, I have one--from Marie Laveau's shop in the French Quarter-New Orleans-if anyone else needs one)👁️My voodoo doll will over power your fake homemade one because Marie is the Voodoo Queen! I also have my evil eye trained on your every move, so you'd better stop your evil ways because the eye seesl👁️ & this is not just about a show! No AHAHAHAHAHAHA's here.🦇🕷️

[@Slinkygal]

Brewing up a plan right now. Then you'll regret ever summoning your Legion from Hell!

[@helenadair32]

Vampires don't have to use the restroom or need to eat or drink when they do it it's to be socially acceptable.

[@dianezimmerman4434]

I had a ring that was dark green and about the same size as his. I wore it nearly every day.

[@jacquetrosper6763]

I wonder if his ring was auctioned off or his costume

[@thrillalova1212]

Lol,I used my mood ring😊

[@roseannagraham8980]

I remember coming home from high school. We couldn't wait to see Dark Shadows. I've seen it through three times in my life. The best.I love how the actors play several characters

[@samanthab1923]

That ring on his hand holding the silver wolfs head cane! So scary 👻

[@swithinbarclay4797]

And as I recall, quite a lot of boys and young men back then wore their hair in a Barnabas hairstyle, those signature ringlet bangs slanted across their foreheads. And the next "DS" tonsorial fad, were Quentin sideburns!

[@nancyrobinson3654]

I love this show I watched it when I was a teenager and now I have it back thanks to my son for getting me into on to Roku now I have it all the time. 👍👍

[@tammyembery5763]

He was a great actor.

[@karencarbone2603]

Jonathon Frid was the best character of Dark Shadows. He made the show what is was and still is to people!❤😊

[@michaeltruthson6262]

Why do people always lift coffin lids like they weigh a thousand pounds in these and every vampire movie or shows🤣

[@shannonstevens1002]

Michael Truthson, On Dark Shadows, they used a real coffin, made of solid wood. Wood IS heavy. I think that is why, at least for this show.

[@Renshen1957]

From 31 to 34 seconds the Camera showed the set lights for the screen. I didn't notice these as a child, nor did I care, I was so focused on the scene.

[@those_eyes]

Thanks, Patricia!!!

[@michellecinquegrano4095]

I was 5 an I watched every day I think it was on at 4pm never missed 1 episode now 58 still love it an can't sleep right 😟😟😲👍

[@maryjaneme2675]

Love this show!!!

[@samanthab1923]

I started watching this in grade school. Don't remember how I got into it though. My mom was not a soap watcher. I'm the oldest of 5.

[@Jerry-sr9kq]

Same... I drove my parents crazy, I had to be in front of the TV every day after school for Dark Shadows. Even when my little brother was born, my father said... time to go to the hospital, I was like, are you kidding... Dark Shadows isn't over yet. He was not happy, that was one episode I didn't see till the end.

[@samanthab1923]

Jerry Crazy right? I remember even buying the books at our school book fair.

[@dncnkid]

Barnabas Collins was a very popular character, but he was not the first sympathetic or reluctant vampire character. In the 1936 movie, Dracula's Daughter, Gloria Holden plays the titular character, who is tormented by her vampirism and is attempting to find a cure for it.

[@kmdionis]

Barnabas shouldn't have treated Angelique so bad. Angelique was a sympathetic witch. Fatal Attraction had nothing on Dark Shadows! I loved this show, but the Friday episodes were excruciating, knowing there'd be no DS til Monday. And the way they'd drag out suspenseful scenes. I wonder if anyone could stand it now. 😂

[@Amphitera]

I don't think he treated her badly, he tried to part with her on friendly terms, while she completely overstepped every boundary and revealed herself as a vengeful psychopath (who kills a little girl to manipulate her brother? wth!). If she hadn't been so selfish and evil, she probably could have gotten what she wanted if she had played her cards right- without any magic.

[@kmdionis]

@@Amphitera Here's how I remember it, but I admit it's been years since I saw it. 😂. Barnabas had a fling with Angelique in, I think, Martinique. He knew all along that the relationship wasn't serious--she wasn't of his social class--but she was led to believe that it was. He never intended on being with her. He was actually hung up on Josette. What happened was a Fatal Attraction kind of thing... only for hundreds of years.

[@Amphitera]

@@kmdionis that is the gist of it, but you have to consider the social standards of that era. While high class women were expected to be chaste (wonderful double standards as always), it was pretty much a given for rich men to have a permanent mistress, and if he was very wealthy, probably several at a time^^ that was very common and accepted, it was quite out in the open too. The only thing that was expected of the man was to treat his mistress(es) well, i.e., to pay for her upkeep. If he failed to take care of her properly, he was considered a miser, and some mistresses outed such men publicly. The Regency was a wild time for sure xD

[@kmdionis]

@@Amphitera True, but in the story, Barnabas did provoke her. Despite social standards, feelings were involved. Angelique seemed to live beyond social niceties, anyhow. I still loved Barnabas. He and Angelique both had fine qualities and faults-- in other words, they were great characters.

[@marilynwillett804]

@@Amphitera Yes but when he finally marry her, she should have been happy instead starting trouble about Vickie being up in that bedroom. I also don't believe she caused Sara's death.

[@princesshassim6009]

Of course, if you read the book of 'Dracula', he was another who hated what he was, but of course that's one thing that never reached the movie or TV screen.

[@michaelproctor8100]

I'd be willing to bet that Barnabas was the inspiration for another sympathetic vampire....Anne Rice's Louis from Interview With The Vampire.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

Lestat had a soul, too, but that fact was sometimes lost, when he was portrayed as in the midst of his revelries. And there was another vamp with a soul, Detective Sergeant Nicholas Brabant of the Toronto Metropolitan Police Department, in "Forever Knight".

[@hermanedwards1981]

I use to watch Dark shadows all the time when I was a kid. I loved that show 😊

[@PatriciaArcana1]

Dearest Jonathan, you'll be in our hearts always. Everyone please go to www.canadaswalkoffame.com/nominate and submit your nomination daily for Jonathan Frid to be commemorated on Canada's Walk of Fame. With your help, this will be his year.

[@nedraleggett5507]

I so agree!

[@lindaharr3189]

Have just voted thanks for the information! Great actor!

[@carolyoder2507]

Imissjonathanimissdarkshdowsonlyonecarol

[@EB1878]

I added my vote for Jonathan Frid on the walk of fame. I hope Jonathan is nominated and honored. 🙂

[@CT-uv8os]

@@EB1878 Me too!

[@brendaamata9233]

This is so cool!

[@TigerzLionzPistonzWingz]

Barnabas come for me!

[@Friendofstfrank]

Just think how Sympathetic Barnabas would have been if Johnathan Frid wasn't as blind as a bat and could not read the teleprompter. Further, he was a Shakespearean Actor and slow study on lines. Given the fact that a show was done a day and the script was just handed out a few hours before shooting (no overdo-needed for the news at 5), they kind of kept his lines simple. and that Anguished look was the fear of not remembering the lines. And had the type slip from Julian to Julia Hoffman not occurred, Frid would have left after his 6 week stint and gone on to his job as a college prof. The 2 most popular characters-Barnabas and Quentin-both would have gone on to their college prof jobs if 'fate' had not intervened.

[@anndickson3405]

Actually, he had quite difficult and long speeches during the run of the show. He stated that remembering his many pages of continuous dialogue may it even more challenging to remember his lines.

[@marilynwillett804]

no I believe they took the scripts home at night to study for the next day, there is a tape of him rehearsing lines at home, and he's saying poems.

[@rogerangress9983]

My novel Gothic Storms was inspired by the old Dark Shadows

[@BanksyGirl]

Starting at 13:00 ... his childish excitement is so sweet!

[@mastersadvocate]

Barnabas: " Live? What a mockery I make of that word! For I am dead, and nothing lives, except the hatred that lives inside me!" Poor Barnabas! I do feel sorry for him because Angelique cursed him to become something that he cannot abide! Of course viewers felt sympathetic! Who wouldn't? ~Janet in Canada

[@helkas3316]

I remember every scene. Loved this show.

[@angiebouchard7737]

Magnificent scenes. I think I'd add a credit for Marsha Mason with the others and list them all in the description so that more find this video.

[@PatriciaArcana1]

This selection of scenes serves to illustrate how different Barnabas was from the garden variety blood-sucking vampire. I always include the actors appearing in the credits as tags. Marsha Mason wasn't included because she's seen from the back only and briefly, in this sampler (I don't know if that particular scene appears in its entirety elsewhere on KZbin), but she's tagged now. Thank you for the suggestion, Angie, and for stopping by.

[@donniebrooke-prowrestleruf6735]

In the secret room of the mausoleum, Why are there candles in a secret room for a "dead" person. If they are "dead" they do not need candlelight. And, I wonder why the secret room was built in the 1st place?

[@hagendax]

the secret was built in the Revolutionary War to hide weapons and soldiers during the war. I think it is in show dialogue as I remember from 1966. 🐳👽🐳👽5️⃣2️⃣🎬🇳🇴🎥💰🎱✍️

[@Slinkygal]

The visitors bring the candles & light them for themselves not for the vampire.

[@kevinpyne5808]

Ben in total amazement at 5:12.

[@EricHendrickson-rm3xm]

I was and Still am a Fan of Dark Shadows!

[@mxylpx]

The ladies forget how cruel and evil he was in the early episodes.

[@marilynwillett804]

I haven't forgotten but we still see him as hot. How about episode 900 in the Blue Whale as a Laviathan.

[@dianezimmerman4434]

mxylpx You'd be angry too if you were shut in a coffin for 200 years. Awake and starving.

[@lindaschley5921]

Does not matter .....

[@shirleycollins7812]

I remenber. and how cruel he was to Maggie-and he keeps going from woman to woman. Love him but he's a typical man........YO.......

[@Slinkygal]

@@lindaschley5921 Easy for you to say, you're not a 🦇, are you? 🦹

[@EB1878]

At 19:28 is this black hooded person Chris Pennock by any chance, or was this one of the writers from the show? I was curious so thought I would ask. Also, was this a dream sequence Barnabas had, or were these Leviathans? It's been several years since I last watched DS (and I'd really love to get this series on DVD, but can't afford it at the moment). I used to have half of the series on MPI home video VHS tapes, but no longer have the tapes. Any information from fellow DS fans is appreciated. Thanks 😊🥰

[@marilynwillett804]

I think it was Oberon played by Peter Lombard, but it wasn't a dream.

[@EB1878]

@@marilynwillett804 awesome, thank you Marilyn. 😊 much appreciated.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

I'd always thought that the late Christopher Pennock and Roger Daltrey of The Who could be brothers! If David Selby dyed his hair blonde back then, and grew it at least 8" longer, why he and Da Zepps' Robert Plant could have been brothers!

[@swithinbarclay4797]

What's more, Barnabas was the first superhero vampire, using his powers to go where others feared to tread, somehow making the best out of his oft-disagreeable condition.

[@stephaniehand503]

thank you so much

[@EricHendrickson-rm3xm]

Barnabas Has Risen and Confronted Angelique Yes Tell em what's Happened to Him this was a Great Classic Episode of Dark Shadows !

[@eleni1968]

6:01-6:28 Barnabas is like an alcoholic; He tries to clean up but he's hopeless;

[@davidstover5651]

Jonathan Fricd was in WE2 for Canadian forces, I think he wad an engineer.

[@covesage9366]

The only Soap Opera I am willing to watch, and I'm 29 yrs old.

[@shannonstevens1002]

Cove Sage, I am 68, and I never watched any soap operas but this.

[@165Dash]

He was Boris Karloff crossed with Ronald Coleman...LOL.

[@gabim.3569]

QUE GRAN SERIE DE LA EPOCA UNA JOYITA JAMAS EH VISTO ALGO QUE LA SUPERE NI EL MONTON DE DRACULAS IGUALARON ESTA GRAN SERIE ES DE LUJO VERLA EN ESTA EPOCA MUCHAS GRACIAS PUES ERA MUY NIÑA ENTONCES Y PALABRA QUE ERA BIEN DIFICIL QUE SIENDO NIÑA ME PERMITIERAN VER SERIES O PELIS NOCTURNAS NOS ACOSTABA MI MADRE A ESO DE LAS 6 DE LA TARDE POR LO QUE LOGRAN NOS FIERAN CHANCE DE VER ESTA POR LAS NOCHES FUE UN MILAGRO MAMI IMPLACABLE Y SEVERA PERO LOGRAMOS ESTAR DESPIERTA PARA VERLA NOS FASVINABA ERA DE LUJO LA GRAN SERIE DEL MOMENTO Y ESA MELODIA INIGUALABLE LAS CHICAS DE ENTONCES MORIAN DE MIEDO Y NOSOTRAS COMO NIÑAS NOS REIAMOS DE TANTA COBARDIA BUENO ENTENDIENFO ERAMOS CHICAS TODO SE VE DE UN PUNTO DE VISTA DISTINTO PUES NO ALCANZABAMOS EL RAZONAMIENTO AUN TODO ERA DIVERSION PARA NOSOTRAS PERO LA VEO AHORA Y NOTE ALGO CAMBIO EN MIS REACCIONES PUES HAY MOMENTOS EN QUE ASUSTA PERO ES MI FAVORITA ASI QUE NO ARRUGO QUE PELIS MAS INSUPERABLES SON ESTAS Y LO MEJOR EN CAPITULOS ES FANTASTICA ETERNAMENTE AGRADEZCI YO FELIZ DE VOLVER A MIS RECUERDOS DE INFANCIA SON LO TOPISIMO DE ENTONCES Y REMONTA ME QUITA AÑOS ESTE BARNY ES GENIAL TODO EN ABSOLUTA OSCURIDAD SE VEIA DE IMPACTO MI HERMANO NO HAYABA COMO LLEVAR A SU CHICA DE REGRESO DONDE SU ABUELITA LLORABA DESESPERADA LA CONDENADA Y MAS ENSIMA MI HNO ERA LA VERSION JUVENIL DE BARNABAS COLINS SE PARECIA MUCHO Y LE DECIAN AH APARECIO BARNABAS Y YO JA JA JA MORIA DE RISA RECUERDO ANTES DE COMENZAR UN NUEVO CAPITULO ME PREPARABA TRALLENDO DURAZNOS NO SE NI COMO LOS VEIA EN EL ARBOL POR LAS NOCHES PERO ERAN DELICIOSOS ASI QUW ME LLEVABA UNOS 4 O 6 PARA VER LA SERIE IMPACTO DEL MOMENTO TOP YOP TOP Y HOY QUW SOY MAYOR YA NO TENGO LA MAGIA DE ENTONCES ASI QUE AHORA SUELE 😮 😮 😮 😮 ASUSTARME UN POCO ESE DUSPENSO DE NO SABER QUE OCURRIRA EN LA OSCURIDAD Y LA MUSICA PARA LOS PELOS Y UNO SE PARALIZA 😅😅😅😅 QUE CHORY

[@VankeithB.-lx1dy]

That was the first time Barnabas realized what he has become, thanks to a curse laid on him.

[@Rose-xy5pe]

This is why I always sympathized with Barnabas and not Coppla’s Dracula because unlike Dracula, Barnabas didn’t choose to become a vampire and it was obvious that he was tortured by what he had become and hated killing people. Whereas Dracula chose to become a vampire and clearly enjoyed shedding blood and killing innocents.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

I don't know where to Post this, but David Selby and Nancy Barret performed music vids, a good 10 or more years before MTV. Two fantasy sequences: "I Wanna Dance Fer You", and "Shadows in the Night--Quentin's Theme". The latter actually had David SINGING, not the customary voiceover. David and Nancy had marvelous singing voices, a high baritone against a dulcet alto.

[@debrapower8673]

Well, this explains a lot about my attitudes and actions as a teenager and young. adult. Enuf said !!

[@eleni1968]

Watching this compilation of Barnabas short-term moment of hemo-sobriety-withdrawal Now I understand why JF described his character is really an alcoholic. He behaves exactly like one

[@Slinkygal]

But, he had to have blood to sustain himself--alcoholics don't. Don't kick poor Barnabas. He couldn't help it.

[@swithinbarclay4797]

Back in the '60's, Leonard Nimoy had the ears, Jonathan Frid had the teeth, Jimmy Page used a viola bow on his electric guitar, Jimi Hendrix burned up his, and Vic Morrow had the endless supply of magazines stuffed in his jacket, to feed his ever-hungry Thompson submachine gun!!

[@rafaelperez-ep7wi]

They all where a such good actors, just put attention to their voices and inflections.

[@4string59]

As evil as Angelique was, she loved Barnabas so much, that she was willing to kill him, and save him from the curse. She then became the first victim of her own curse. "Anyone who loves you will die"

[@fun012345]

dark shadows 1966- 71 it never had 27 seasons it had 27 plus shows yes

[@PatriciaArcana1]

Carl, you're correct that there weren't 27 seasons; there were 6. Were you responding to someone who stated there were 27? Shows or episodes number 1,225 (ABC skipped and double-numbered some episodes so that the final episode is #1245). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dark_Shadows_episodes

[@SuperPussyFinger]

Amazon Prime breaks it down into 27 post-post-Barnabas seasons, and 6 pre-Barnabas seasons.

[@maheshpoojari2815]

Do Vampires speak this much as Barnabas Collins speak in this showand don't attack by his Fangs? All vampires attack by their fangs only in every movies.❤️👍🇮🇳

[@poetryjones7946]

Ben stokes❣️Loyal to “Mr. Barnabas” until the end. ❤️🦇❤️

[@pattiharvey1787]

My mother and I use to hold each other's arms for Barnabas. I'd come home from school and grab her and she'd say he's ok, Barnabas is going to be ok. And then we'd scramble in front of the TV set to watch.

[@jacquetrosper6763]

I don't believe I ever saw Jonathan in another show

[@kevinpyne5808]

I heard he was in another soap opera before Dark Shadows.

[@lindalcoomes]

@@kevinpyne5808 I think he said As The World Turns

[@jacquetrosper6763]

@@lindalcoomes interesting. They really made a smart choice with him as Barnabus..

[@adolphlopez1915]

I've do like to see Barnabas Collins on the theatrical stage on all the Shakespeares' dramatic plays, as well as all the other Dark Shadows' actors from this classical gothic soap opera scenes of all the series whom ever appears.

[@PatriciaArcana1]

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, Adolph! You and other Jonathan Frid and Barnabas Collins fans are always welcome to express your admiration and affection for either or both as you wish on my channel. No one is harmed by feelings or fantasy coming from a place of love. ❤️ For anyone else: persistent insults or attacks on other people's sentiments and emotions will not be tolerated.

[@jennyclark6183]

@@PatriciaArcana1 Great video, Patricia! Who was that he bit at 18:00?

[@PatriciaArcana1]

@@jennyclark6183 That was Audrey, a woman hanging around the local docks, played by Marsha Mason. She turned into a vampire but was only in the one episode, 915.