Jonathan Frid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jonathan Frid | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Herbert Frid December 2, 1924 Hamilton, Ontario Canada |
| Occupation | Actor, Director |
| Official website | |
John Herbert Frid (born December 2, 1924, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) is a theater, television and movie actor. He was educated at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is most famously known for the role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the first incarnation of the gothic U.S. cult television serial Dark Shadows. Prior to appearing on "Dark Shadows," Jonathan played a psychiatrist on the CBS soap, "As the World Turns."
Frid was initially brought on Dark Shadows to help rescue flagging ratings. The role of Barnabas Collins was originally intended to be a brief one, but the popularity of Frid's vampire character and the improvement to the ratings resulted in the character continuing on and becoming one of the "core" characters of the cult show. He also played Bramwell Collins toward the end of the show's run, when he said that he would only continue on the show if he were neither Barnabas Collins nor a vampire.
He later reprised his role as Barnabas Collins in the 1970 big-screen adaptation, House of Dark Shadows. This time, Barnabas surprised audiences expecting their vampire with a soul by being a blood thirsty monster, killing off all the Collins family except David Collins and Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. When asked to film another Dark Shadows movie he said no. The movie Night of Dark Shadows ended up starring David Selby .
In 1973 Frid appeared in the TV movie The Devil's Daughter starring Shelley Winters, and the following year starred in Oliver Stone's directorial debut, Seizure (aka Queen of Evil). He also continued to work in theater.
He began performing readings at Dark Shadows fan conventions in the 1980s, which led to the development of his one-man reader's theater shows that were performed throughout the 1990's. In 1986, he appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace, which also starred '70s television actresses Marion Ross and Jean Stapleton.
Mr. Frid is currently enjoying retirement in Ancaster, Ontario, just outside of his birthplace of Hamilton.
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Frid, Jonathan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Frid, John Herbert |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor, Director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1924-12-2 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamilton, Ontario Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
