Sad news: Jonathan Frid, the original Barnabas Collins, dies

Rest in peace to Jonathan Frid, who created the role of vampire Barnabas Collins in the original Dark Shadows TV series. Mr. Frid, who was 87, died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes in a hospital in Hamilton, Ontario after a life devoted to the theater. His performance as Barnabas was a television landmark, a character without precedent in the rather vanilla world of 1960s daytime fare. “Jonathan Frid was the reason I used to run home from school to watch Dark Shadows,” Johnny Depp wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times after news broke of Mr. Frid’s death. “His elegance and grace was an inspiration then and will continue to remain one forever more.”

Mr. Frid made a cameo appearance in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, which filmed at Pinewood Studios last summer and opens next month. The photo above shows Mr. Frid standing next to Johnny Depp in his costume and makeup as Barnabas Collins; to see a larger version, including other original Dark Shadows cast members and Tim Burton, CLICK HERE. “When I had the honor to finally meet him,” Johnny told the LA Times, “[he] generously passed the torch of Barnabas.”

Geoff Boucher of the Times’ HeroComplex blog, who spent time on the set of Dark Shadows, has reflected that Jonathan Frid’s beloved Barnabas “may have been the bright north star that led Depp into a career of spooky mansions and gothic superstardom, which would explain why Depp was giddy when he met Frid for the first time.” Recalling that meeting, Boucher writes that Johnny described Mr. Frid in these words: “‘As elegant and magical,’ Depp remembered, ‘as I had always imagined.'”

And so he shall always be in the memories of the millions who saw and appreciated his work. Zoners everywhere send our condolences to Mr. Frid’s family and his Dark Shadows family. We thank Emma, LouLou and Theresa for sharing information; thanks also, and our deepest sympathies, to Kathryn Leigh Scott, who published a beautiful eulogy for her castmate on her blog HERE. Geoff Boucher’s LA Times article is available HERE.