Daniel Collins (fictional character)
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| Daniel Collins | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Dark Shadows | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | David Henesy (1796), Louis Edmonds (1840) |
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| First appearance | February 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | January 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cause/reason | Died, but returned as a ghost | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Dan Curtis and Sam Hall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1786 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 1840 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Age | 10(in 1796), 54 (in 1840) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Master of Collinwood (1820's-1840) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Unknown New York residence (1786-1795),), Old House(former Collins Manor) (1795),), Collinwood (1795-1840) |
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Daniel Collins was the name of a fictional character that appeared on the 1960s ABC daytime soap opera Dark Shadows. Initially the character was played by child actor David Henesy during a storyline that has become informally known as the "1795 Flashback". In 1970, the character returned (now an adult) for the "1840 Flashback" storyline, this time played by stage actor Louis Edmonds.
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[edit] Biography
Daniel Collins was born during the latter half of the 18th century in the fictional New England fishing village of Collinsport, Maine. In 1795, his sister Millicent and he arrived at the venerable mansion known as Collinwood where they lived with their extended family. As a child, Daniel developed a close bond with his cousin, Sarah Collins, but was devastated when the young girl died from Pneumonia (In truth, Sarah's illness was actually the result of a spiteful witch known as Angelique (Lara Parker).
As an adult, Daniel married a woman named Harriet and became the patriarch of Collinwood. He had two sons, Quentin and Gabriel. Some time prior to 1840, Harriet died under mysterious circumstances and it was later revealed that Daniel had murdered her.
In late 1840, the Collins family was set upon by the spirit of centuries old warlock named Judah Zachery. Although dead, the head of Judah Zachery contained the warlock's malevolent spirit, and whomever took possession of the head became Judah's unwilling slave. The head passed through several hands but ultimately came into the possession of a seaman named Gerard Stiles (a friend of Quentin Collins). Zachery took complete possession of Stiles and used the younger man’s personality and charm to insinuate his way into the Collins family fortune.
Gerard framed Quentin for two murders and various acts of Satanism and convinced Daniel to alter his will leaving the Collins estate to Gerard rather than Quentin. Daniel's mental stability was greatly traumatized by the event and his health took a turn for the worse. Compounding the ailing Daniel's stress was the appearance of a woman named Valerie Collins. Valerie was in fact the reincarnated witch Angelique who terrorized Collinsport nearly fifty years earlier. Daniel recalled Angelique from his childhood memories and the shock of seeing her still alive and youthful drove him over the edge of sanity.
In the end, it was actually Daniel's second son, Gabriel, who ended his life. Upon learning that the family fortune was to be left to Gerard Stiles, Gabriel assaulted his father inducing a seizure which ultimately claimed his life.
[edit] Parallel Time
In 1970, the series writers began a storyline which focused on alternate realities. The character of Barnabas Collins discovered that the entranceway to a specific room at Collinwood led into a parallel dimension where characters and events played out in similar form to their mainstream counterparts. In this parallel time, David Henesy played another character named Daniel Collins.
[edit] Revival Series
In 1991 Dan Curtis Productions revived the Dark Shadows series as a one-hour night time soap opera for NBC. The series re-imagined the "1795 Flashback" storyline and cast child actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role of Daniel Collins. Levitt also played Daniel's modern day descendant David Collins throughout the series. This version of Daniel Collins also made cameo appearances in Dark Shadows comic book limited series by Innovation Comics.
