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Set in the small Maine fishing village of Collinsport, Dark Shadows revolved
around the affairs of the Collins’ family estate, Collinwood.
The central character is Barnabas Collins, a 175 year-old vampire thirsty
for blood, and also for love; he quickly became a pop culture icon.
Dark Shadows was the most popular daytime drama during its 1966-71 run
on ABC-TV and has commanded a devoted audience with reruns on the Sci-Fi
Channel, which completed a successful ten-year run in December, 2003.
Dan Curtis was the show's executive producer, episode producers included
Robert Costello, George DiCenzo, Peter Miner, Lela Swift and Sy Tomashoff.
Episodes were directed by Dan Curtis, Pennberry Jones, Dennis Kane, Henry
Kaplan, John Sedwick, Jack Sullivan, Sean Dhu Sullivan, Lela Swift, John
Weaver.
Dan Curtis created the series, and added writing to his other responsibilities;
assisted by Joe Caldwell, Ralph Ellis, Sam Hall, Malcolm Marmorstein,
Gordon Russell, Ron Sproat, Francis Swann, Art Wallace, Violet Welles.
Directors included Dan Curtis, Pennberry Jones, Dennis Kane, Henry Kaplan,
John Sedwick, Jack Sullivan, Sean Dhu Sullivan, Lela Swift and John Weaver.
Over the years hundreds of actors appeared, many regularly, some playing
several characters. The cast
list includes most of them.
A revival series was shortlived in 1991, and two spin-off movies
were made, House of Dark
Shadows (1970), and Night
of Dark Shadows (1971). these were made while the series was
running.
The original series, some 1225 episodes (numbers ran from 1-1245, with
some breaks), is currently being released on DVD.
After 35 years, interest in the show continues unabated, with a multitde
of web sites, meetings, books - and rumors of a new revival! A special
issue DVD celebrated the 35th anniversary.
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