Jonathan Frid who originated the role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the cult daytime soap opera "Dark Shadows" has died. He was 87.
The 87-year-old actor reportedly died of natural causes at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday, April 13, according to Digital Spy.
Former "Dark Shadows" co-star Kathryn Leigh Scott (who played Maggie Evans and Josette duPres) paid tribute to the late actor on her official website. "I am so grateful to have worked with Jonathan and to have known him as the charismatic, entertaining, complex and plain spoken man that he was. What fun we had working together! He was irascible, irreverent, funny, caring, lovable and thoroughly professional, and in the end became the whole reason why kids ran home from school to watch 'Dark Shadows'."
Frid, Scott, and fellow "Dark Shadows" co-stars Lara Parker and David Selby have cameos in Johnny Depp's upcoming comical remake, which arrives in theaters on May 4.
Created by Dan Curtis, the gothic soap opera with Frid originally aired on ABC between June 1966 and April 2, 1971. Frid also played the role of Barnabas in the "House of Dark Shadows" movie.
Classically trained, Frid spent 30 years in live theater, starring in the first productions at the Williamstown Theater Festival and stage productions in Canada, England and the United States, though occasionally working in television.
Following "Dark Shadows," Frid appeared in the TV movie "The Devil's Daughter" with Shelley Winters, and in Oliver Stone's 1974 directorial debut, "Seizure." In the years that followed, he concentrated on stage work, including the Broadway revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace."
In 1994, Frid retired and returned to his native Canada. He continued to do one-man shows for charities in both Canada and the United States. In 2000, he co-starred in "Mass Appeal," which enjoyed a successful, limited run in Hamilton and at the Stirling Theater Festival in Canada.