Jonathan Frid

Jonathan Frid was a Canadian television and stage actor born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on December 2nd, 1924. He was best known for his portrayal of the sympathetic vampire Barnabas Collins in the original Dark Shadows television series. In the final story-arc of the series, Frid played Bramwell Collins, the son of Barnabas Collins in an alternate past timeline. Originally intended as a villain, Frid's Barnabas Collins was introduced in episode #211 on April 18th, 1967 (the character actually made a cameo appearance in episode #210, but this was a hand shot only and was not performed by Frid). Frid's character proved to be extremely popular, and the series creators slowly shifted the focus from him being a villain into that of a protagonist. Jonathan Frid continued to play the role throughout the duration of the program and is seen in the majority of episodes.

Jonathan Frid signed autograph black and white still photos of Barnabas Collins, which were included in the initial limited edition run of the Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series DVD collection. The autograph prints were limited to 2,500.

Jonathan Frid passed away in his home town of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on April 14th, 2012 at the age of 87.

Notes & Trivia

 * Jonathan Frid appeared in a total of 594 episodes of Dark Shadows.