32 Facts About Jonathan Frid

Jonathan Frid was a Canadian actor, best known for his role as vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic television soap opera Dark Shadows.

Jonathan Frid's watershed portrayal has been cited as a key influence on contemporary genre film and television series such as Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries.

Jonathan Frid was born of Scottish and English ancestry in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

In 1949 Jonathan Frid was accepted at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Jonathan Frid studied voice at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, and in 1952 appeared in Crime of Passion at the Jupiter Theatre founded by Greene.

Jonathan Frid applied his training to radio spots and a few appearances on television for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, including an unusual role as a native in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Jonathan Frid would earn his Master of Fine Arts in Directing, however as one of the most experienced actors in the school, Frid was continually in demand for acting roles in mainstage and student productions including Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra, and starring in the premiere of William Snyder's play A True and Special Friend.

Jonathan Frid performed leading roles in six of the ten productions including The Crucible, Time of the Cuckoo, Light up the Sky, and The Rainmaker opposite leading lady Cynthia Harris.

For two consecutive summer seasons, under the direction of John Houseman, Jonathan Frid performed with such distinguished actors as Alfred Drake, Earle Hyman, Fritz Weaver, Sada Thompson, and Katharine Hepburn.

In 1961 he began using the stage name Jonathan Frid, first seen in the program for The Moon in The Yellow River.

Jonathan Frid has appeared in many off-Broadway productions and in regional theatres across the United States.

Jonathan Frid's most celebrated Shakespearean performance was the title role of Richard III at the 1965 Summer Festival of Professional Theatre at Pennsylvania State University.

Jonathan Frid made his Broadway debut as an understudy, and appeared, in the 1964 play Roar Like a Dove, directed by Cyril Ritchard and starring Betsy Palmer.

Jonathan Frid's United States television appearances began in 1960 with his role as the Earl of Worcester in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part I as part of Play of the Week.

Jonathan Frid is widely known for the role of vampire Barnabas Collins in the original gothic serial Dark Shadows, which ran from 1966 to 1971.

In early March 1967 Jonathan Frid was arriving at his Manhattan apartment following the completion of a National Tour of Hostile Witness with Ray Milland when he received the phone call from his agent that would change his life: a request to audition for a 13-week role as a vampire.

Jonathan Frid won the role of Barnabas Collins, a vampire released from a chained coffin after 175 years, on the gothic daytime serial Dark Shadows.

Jonathan Frid made his American feature film debut portraying his famous television character in MGM's House of Dark Shadows.

In 1973, Jonathan Frid performed a supporting role in the TV movie The Devil's Daughter starring Shelley Winters, and in 1974 starred in Oliver Stone's directorial debut, Seizure.

Jonathan Frid found the role of Barnabas Collins to have many facets with a demanding range of emotions to play.

Jonathan Frid became very conflicted about the commercial career his talent agency was offering.

Jonathan Frid did not want to become the modern-day version of Bela Lugosi, so he stepped away.

Jonathan Frid overcame his reluctance and appeared in 1982 at an event called Shadowcon VI in Los Angeles.

In 1985 Jonathan Frid was invited to do a fundraising television special by the New Jersey Network during which he performed Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and a soliloquy from Richard III.

In 1993 Jonathan Frid welcomed an invitation from Georgia College and State University to direct The Lion in Winter.

Jonathan Frid selected his former Dark Shadows colleague Marie Wallace to portray Eleanor of Aquitaine.

At the age of seventy, Jonathan Frid moved back to Canada, where he bought his first house in Ancaster, Ontario.

Jonathan Frid was a regular visitor at the Royal Botanical Gardens, became a member of the Richard III Society of Canada, and in 1997 was the Narrator in a production of Peter and the Wolf at the Central Presbyterian Church of Hamilton.

In 2007 Jonathan Frid returned, after more than a decade, to the Dark Shadows Festivals to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his first appearance as Barnabas Collins.

Jonathan Frid's elegance and grace was an inspiration then and will continue to remain one.

At his 1998 induction as a McMaster University Alumni Honoree, Jonathan Frid said he wanted to be remembered for "creating illusion through body language and the spoken word".

Jonathan Frid died at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, of pneumonia and complications after a fall.