Lara Parker, R.I.P.

Above, Lara Parker at a Dark Shadows Festival. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This one hits hard.

The gorgeous Lara Parker, who played the witch Angelique on the ABC spook-opera Dark Shadows, has passed away at age 84.

A post from the House of Dark Shadows Facebook page:

It is with a heavy heart to announce that our beloved, Angelique (Lara Parker) has passed away. Please keep her family in your prayers.

And, from her co-star and friend Kathryn Leigh Scott:

We met as "Josette" and "Angelique" on Dark Shadows. . . that's how many knew us, but we knew each other as friends and confidantes. For more than 50 years, our lives were intertwined through our mutual love of literature, writing and acting. While getting on with the ordinary stuff of life, we sought each other out for encouragement, support and a trusted sounding board. We could not have been more unalike, and therein lay the magic of our enduring friendship. My thoughts are with her family in this sad time of grief and remembrance.

 At Soap Hub, Scott is quoted:

The news of Parker’s passing was reported by her dear friend and Dark Shadows co-star Kathryn Leigh Scott (ex-Maggie/ex-Josette). “I have sad news . . . my beautiful, beloved friend Lara Parker passed away Thursday, October 12,” Scott shared on Facebook. “I’m heartbroken, as all of us are who knew and loved her. She graced our lives with her beauty and talent, and we are all richer for having had her in our lives. Family meant more than anything to Lara, and they have wanted these few days since her passing to themselves. Rest in peace, my cherished friend.”

Details on her passing have not as yet been provided.

John Karlen Dies At 86

Above, John Karlen (far left) at a 1989 Dark Shadows convention in Los Angeles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Sad news.

Actor John Karlen, best known as Willie Loomis on Dark Shadows and as Harvey on Cagney and Lacey (for which he won an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor), passed away yesterday from congestive heart failure at a Burbank hospice. He was 86.

Karlen was a fan favorite with a great sense of humor when he appeared at Dark Shadows conventions.

Karlen's Willie Loomis freed vampire Barnabas Collins from his chained coffin. A clip from that scene is below.



He had suffered a stroke some months ago, it was reported.

Happy Birthday, Lara Parker!

Above, Lara Parker at a Dark Shadows Festival
 in the late-1990s. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yikes!

I just read a Facebook post by the Dark Shadows News Page. It said that actress Lara Parker is celebrating her 80th birthday today. Yes, our Angelique is 80 today.

Then I stopped to think, "Well Dark Shadows originally aired 50 years ago."

Well, I guess growing old(er) is better than the alternative!

Happy Birthday, Lara Parker!

Dark Shadows Movie Night In Hollywood April 30

Above, Kathryn Leigh Scott. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The folks who put on the annual Dark Shadows Festivals have a special event coming up on April 30 in Hollywood.

They will be holding a "Dark Shadows Movie" night at the Vista Theatre. The event includes a premiere party and screening of Doctor Mabuse II: Etiopomar, starring Jerry Lacy (Rev. Trask on Dark Shadows), Lara Parker (Angelique on Dark Shadows), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans on Dark Shadows) and Christopher Pennock (Jeb Hawkes on Dark Shadows).

The even will also have a 40th anniversary screening of the Dan Curtis-produced (and newly restored) Dracula, starring Jack Palance, with music by Dark Shadows composer Bob Cobert.

Above, Lara Parker. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Actors Lacy, Parker and Pennock will be in attendance as will composer Cobert. Each will sign free autographs. New Dark Shadows merchandise will be on sale, plus a surprise Dark Shadows screening.

And, a Dark Shadows memorabilia auction will be held.

Ticket are $15 per person and will be available at the door or in advance (advance ticket buyers will receive a free Dark Shadows gift).

For advance tickets, send Paypal to Shadowgram@aol.com or mail to Dark Shadows, P.O. Box 1766, Temple City, CA 91780.

The address for the Vista Theatre is 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027. The doors open at 6:15.

Dark Shadows Festival Events For 2013

Above, Lara Parker.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The latest mailer from the Dark Shadows Festival arrived and they have some good things in store.

First, their 2013 Dark Shadows Island Weekend takes place April 27-28 at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort (2000 Second Street, Coronado).  Special guests include David Selby, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lara Parker, Jerry Lacy and Christopher Pennock.

One of the activities that weekend is the screening of Doctor Mabuse staring Lacy, Parker and Scott at the Coronado Village Theater.

For details go to www.darkshadowsfestival.com.

Above, Kathryn Leigh Scott.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Next, is the Dark Shadows Halloween Cruise 2013 aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.  Fans can take a 7-day cruise to Bermuda from New Jersey with Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lara Parker and Marie Wallace.  The cruise is from October 27 to November 3.

There will be a "Tribute to Jonathan Frid" during the cruise.

The price (based on double occupancy) ranges from suites at $1,399 per person to inside staterooms at $749 per person.  This is pretty reasonable as far as cruises prices go.

For details, go to www.hartfordholidays.com/DarkShadowsHalloweenCruise.

Lara Parker: Dark Shadows Movies "Will Be Reissued"

Above, Lara Parker at a Dark Shadows Festival in Burbank.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At about the time the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp Dark Shadows movie was announced, it was stated that the two Dark Shadows movies would be released on DVD.   Those movies are House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971).

Rumors have swirled about regarding restorations of missing scenes, dialogue and other facets of the two movies.  But I haven't seen anything definitive.

Today, I was reading Lara Parker's latest blog post and this paragraph caught my attention, particularly the highlighted part (by me):

Those fans who are disappointed should remember that the show they loved inspired a major motion picture with first class talents. Because of the movie, Dark Shadows will live another day, another year, another decade. Because of all the renewed interest, the DVDs have been reissued, the two films will be reissued, my books were reissued, Kathryn has written another book that is selling extremely well along with all her others, and Dark Shadows will not fade away. The legacy has been resurrected one more time.

My feeling is, "if anyone should know what's going on, she's the one" (along with Kathryn Leigh Scott).

I have a copy of House of Dark Shadows on VHS that I recorded back in the 1980s from television.  It is heavily-edited.  I am looking forward to having a pristine, complete and clean copy on DVD (or, better yet) or on Blu-ray.

Let's hope an announcement of a release date is made soon!

To read Lara Parker's blog post, go here.

(By the way, no matter how one feels about the new movie, it benefits the Dark Shadows fandom as Lara Parker stated.  She's right!  I still have to go out to see it.)

Jonathan Frid Autographed Photo

Back around 1984, I attended one of the first Dark Shadows Festivals (which would place it a little over 13 years after Dark Shadows ended its run on ABC-TV).  It was at a small hotel (I believe it was a Holiday Inn) on Century Blvd. near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  This was before the DS Festival grew  in size to need a larger hotel (it was held in the late-1980s at the Marriott Hotel just down the street in the LAX area).

As I recall, Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins), David Selby (Quentin Collins) and John Karlen (Willie Loomis) were the guests.

I obtained this autographed photo of Jonathan Frid at this convention:

An Appearance Not To Be

As mentioned previously, I received a mailer from the Dark Shadows Festival with a notice on the upcoming DS Festival set for this coming summer.  The mailer arrived Wednesday, which was before the death of Jonathan Frid was announced (he passed away one week ago today on Friday, April 13) that night.

In the mailer was this flier announcing a luncheon set for Sunday, July 29 (click on image to view larger):

Jonathan Frid was to be one of the stars to appear at the "Luncheon With Dark Shadows Stars."

Alas, it is not to ever be.

My reaction was kind of like a purchaser of a ticket to a concert where the performer passed away before he/she could perform (purchasers of tickets to an Elvis Presley concert just before he died immediately comes to mind).

For an interesting article on Jonathan Frid go here to read "The Greatest Vampire Of Them All: Jonathan Frid (1924-2012)."

Lara Parker Website Started

Above, Lara Parker at a Dark Shadows Festival in Burbank, California.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Lara Parker, most famously known as the evil-but-sympathetic witch Angelique on Dark Shadows, has started her own blog where she'll be posting articles on her career and to field questions from fans.

She has a beautiful tribute article on Jonathan Frid that you'll want to read and a separate blog post of photographs of her with Jonathan.

To visit her blog, go here.

Jonathan Frid Dies At 87

Sad news has been reported over at Dark Shadows News:

It is with tremendous sadness that we report that Dark Shadows legend Jonathan Frid has died. Jonathan passed away peacefully on April 13 at the age of 87. 

Frid was the original Barnabas Collins on the ABC-TV soap Dark Shadows.  He has a cameo appearance in the upcoming Johnny Depp/Tim Burton feature film Dark Shadows.  He posted at his website that he was hoping to attend the movie's premiere.  It would have been interesting to read of his reaction to the film.

I had the pleasure of meeting Frid at a convention in Los Angeles in 1984.  This news is almost like a punch to the gut.  Frid was as much a favorite to me as George Reeves.  Fortunately, Frid was blessed with a long and active life.  I have an autographed photo of Frid as Barnabas displayed on my bedroom wall.

Strangely, I received a mailer yesterday from the Dark Shadows Festival organizers.  Inside, it advertised that Frid was to be part of a luncheon with Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott on July 29 at the Doubletree Tarrytown Hotel.

Above, Jonathan Frid at a Dark Shadows Festival, circa 1984.   Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Read Kathryn Leigh Scott's Tribute to Jonathan Frid.

"...and our little life is rounded with a sleep." - Jonathan Frid quoting William Shakespeare.

UPDATE:  More details on the passing of Jonathan Frid.  Go here.

2 Years...

Left, a glamour portrait of my mom from the early 1950s.

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of my mom's passing.

Since she was the one who got me interested in horror and science-fiction movies as well as comic books (she would read all the ones I brought home), it was only fitting that I spent yesterday at the L.A. Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention. She would have approved (and probably would've liked to have attended).

The last convention I took her to was a Dark Shadows Festival in Burbank a few years ago. She also attended the awards banquet at G-FEST 2000 in Hollywood.

Monsterpalooza: Ready To Go!

Above, King Kong atop the Empire State Building at the 2009 Monsterpalooza. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Monsterpalooza's four days away. I'm ready!

The slideshow has been completed with over 70 photos of monster locations throughout Japan along with my narrative notes.



There will be plenty of copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan available at a 20% Monsterpalooza discount before and after my "Scene To Seen" presentation. Anyone who wants theirs signed will be able to have it signed, at no extra charge!

Above, model Miki with "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan." She will be joining me at Monsterpalooza Friday night. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center is a great facility for conventions such as Monsterpalooza. I first went there in 1999 for G-Fest when the hotel was the Burbank Hilton. I've since attended other shows there such as the Hollywood Collectors Show, the TV Land Convention, Dark Shadows Festival and the first two Monsterpaloozas.



It is located across the street from Bob Hope Airport at 2500 Hollywood Way. There are plenty of eateries across the street from the hotel, so convention attendees won't be just at the mercy of the hotel's restaurant.

For information on Monsterpalooza, go here.

End of "Dark Shadows": 40 years Ago

Above, Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins.

Tomorrow will mark 40 years since the daytime ABC-TV spook-opera, Dark Shadows aired its last first-run episode.

It was on April 2, 1971 that the Dan Curtis production ended its run. It has since been revived in re-runs, VHS and DVD sets, a 1991 revival with Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins (the Gulf War killed the show's chance for success) and currently, a theatrical motion picture starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas is in production.

The show also lives on in annual fan conventions.



Left, Jonathan Frid at the 1984 Dark Shadows Festival. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Canadian Jonathan Frid originated the Barnabas role. Barnabas, a guilt-ridden vampire, was originally supposed to hover around a few weeks. But he became so popular that he became the star of the show. Frid eventually shared star billing with Joan Bennett, who played matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.

I remember it was a week or so before that ABC-TV aired ads announcing that the game show, Password with Alan Ludden was returning, but in Dark Shadows' time slot.

Thousands of fans bombarded ABC with protest letters (including mine). But it was to no avail. The show simply ran out of gas and the actors were, by then, ready to move on.

Dark Shadows Festival In Burbank

Just got home a while ago and found in the mailbox the mailer from The Dark Shadows Festival about this year's convention in Burbank.

This year's convention, "Dark Shadows In The Sun" will be held July 16, 17 & 18 at the Burbank Airport Marriott (the site for Monsterpalooza). Weekend admission is $30.00 (available until July 10, thereafter at the door only) and they will have a special banquet Sunday, July 18 with Barnabas Collins himself, Jonathan Frid. The cost is $50 and reservations and payment must be received by July 10. Frid's autographed photograph (from the original negative) will be available only to those attending the banquet. The autograph will be personalized.

Also attending this year's show are David Selby, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, Marie Wallace, Jerry Lacy, Roger Davis, Kathleen Cody, Robert Rodan, Chris Pennock, Lisa Richards, Jim Storm, Bob Cobert, Sy Tomashoff and Michael Brockman.

For additional information, go to www.darkshadowsfestival.com

Additionally, on Friday, July 16, at 12:30 p.m., Jonathan Frid will be honored with a handprint in cement ceremony at the historic Vista Theater in Hollywood. Following this, House of Dark Shadows (1970) will be screened. Admission to this event is $10.00.

Jonathan Frid's Website

Above, actor Jonathan Frid at a Dark Shadows convention in 1984. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There's an interesting website for those of you who may be fans of the old ABC-TV afternoon spook-opera, Dark Shadows.

Actor Jonathan Frid, who portrayed the guilt-ridden vampire Barnabas Collins on the show, has his own website in which he ruminates about his career, takes questions from fans and hawks merchandise items.

At times, Frid seems to try to avoid the Barnabas Collins period of his career, and at other times he embraces it. To him, being Barnabas was just a job at the time and had no inkling of the impact his portayal had on his loyal fans. That is, until he started getting around 5,000 fan letters a day.

Frid prefers to discuss his career before Barnabas and his career post-Dark Shadows. Still, he has a dry sense of humor about it all, and he describes his notorious flubbed lines or nervousness. Occasionally, he finds that certain episodes of Dark Shadows contain great scenes that he is proud of.

Now in his 80s, Frid is still sharp as a tack and is planning to appear at the Dark Shadows Festival in Burbank this summer.

To visit Jonathan Frid's website, go here.

Additionally, Frid is to reprise his role as Barnabas Collins in a new audio drama.

From the press release from Big Finish Productions:

Big Finish Productions is proud to announce that Jonathan Frid will be returning to the role of vampire Barnabas Collins for the very first time in The Night Whispers, an all-new Dark Shadows audio drama. As reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins, Jonathan Frid helped establish Dark Shadows as a pop culture phenomenon.

The Dark Shadows Festival

Above, Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins.

This year, The Dark Shadows Festival is presenting "Dark Shadows In The Sun" cast reunion and fan convention July 16-18 at the Burbank Airport Marriott.

The convention will feature Jonathan Frid, David Selby, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, Marie Wallace, Jerry Lacy, Roger Davis, Kathleen Cody, Robert Rodan, Chris Pennock, Lisa Richards, Jim Storm, Robert Cobert, Sy Tomashoff and Michael Brockman as guests.

For details, go to www.darkshadowsfestival.com.

As many Rancho readers know, I was critical of the last Dark Shadows Festival that was held at the Burbank Marriott. Hopefully, the organizers took my criticisms constructively and will put on a good show this year.

Original Music From Dark Shadows Volume 2

Above, Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins.

One of the great things about the old spook opera Dark Shadows was its music. Composer Robert (Bob) Cobert put together some great tracks for the show during its run on ABC-TV. I've spent some of this evening listening to this album (the first time in years) and it is enjoyable.

The music was also used in the two feature films, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971).

The show starred veteran actress Joan Bennett as family matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Jonathan Frid as vampire Barnabas Collins, Lara Parker as witch Angelique and David Selby, as Quentin Collins.



Three volumes of music has been released, but I am concentrating on Original Music From Dark Shadows Volume 2. Like Volume 1, Volume 2 starts with the opening theme of the show and then it takes the listener through the music from the early years (1966-1967) to the later years (1970-71) with some favorites during its peak years. The album can be found at Amazon.com.

The tracks include:

Dark Shadows (main theme)
Victoria Winters
Laura: The Phoenix
Quentin's Theme
Curse of the Full Moon
Josette's Room
Dr. Julia Hoffman
Roxanne Drew
The Dream Curse
Ode To Angelique
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
Willie Loomis
Gerard's Carousel
Head of Judah Zachery
Barnabas & Angelique
I Wanna Dance With You (Pansy's Theme)
Hand of Count Petofi
Joanna
I Ching Trance
Goodbye, Collinwood

The show lives on today in DVD sets and occasional syndication as well as the annual Dark Shadows Festival. In fact, I picked up my copy at the Dark Shadows Festival in 1989.

Jonathan Frid Turns 85

Above, Jonathan Frid in 1984. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A pop-culture icon will be celebrating his birthday this coming week.

Next Wednesday, December 2, actor Jonathan Frid will become 85-years-young. Frid is best remembered as the 175-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins in the 1966 - 1971 gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.

Baby-boomers around at that time would race home from school in the afternoon to catch the latest installment of the show. Dark Shadows originally was conceived to be a gothic soap opera embodied by paperback book illustrations of a damsel looking fearful with a looming spooky mansion in the background.

At first, the show garnered enemic ratings. So producer Dan Curtis added some supernatural elements (ghosts, a woman phoenix, etc.). It helped the ratings a little but the show was still in danger of being cancelled.

Figuring that he had nothing to lose, Curtis decided to introduce the Barnabas Collins character. Canadian-born Jonathan Frid was chosen to play the vampire for about thirteen weeks. But he became so popular with viewers that it was decided to keep him on. In a way, the vampire became a national hero. A flashback story was presented when governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) was taken back into time via a seance. This story showed how Barnabas became a vampire.

Above, Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins.

As the show progressed, Barnabas became the star of the show and Frid attained star billing along with veteran actress Joan Bennett (who played matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard). Other supernatural characters such as witches, warlocks, werewolves were introduced during the show's run.

IMDB decribes Jonathan Frid's career (I cannot vouch for the accuracy) as follows:

Jonathan Frid's career in drama began when he first "offered his soul" to the theater as a young boy at a preparatory school in Ontario, Canada. Following his graduation from McMaster University, he attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and later earned a Master's Degree in Directing from the Yale School of Drama. Mr. Frid was a leading actor in English and Canadian repertory and went on to work in many of the most celebrated regional theaters in the United States, including the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, and the American Shakespeare Festival under the direction of John Houseman, performing with Katharine Hepburn in "Much Ado About Nothing". He has appeared in major roles on-and-off Broadway, in such productions as "Roar Like A Dove", "Murder in the Cathedral" and "Wait Until Dark". But, it was Mr. Frid's portrayal of a complex, conflicted vampire on ABC-TV's daytime drama series "Dark Shadows" (1966) (co-starring with Joan Bennett) and in the subsequent motion picture "House of Dark Shadows" (1970) that earned him a place as an icon of American popular culture. His other film credits include co-starring roles in "The Devil's Daughter" (1973) (TV) (with Shelley Winters) and "Seizure" (1974) (Oliver Stone's directorial debut). In 1986, Mr. Frid joined the Broadway production of "Arsenic and Old Lace" (co-starring with Jean Stapleton). He won critical acclaim for his villainous turn as the homicidal nephew and spent ten months with the play's national tour. That same year, Mr. Frid founded his own production company, "Clunes Associates", to create and tour a series of one-man readers' theater shows across North America. Mr. Frid continues to perform his one-man shows, now under the banner of "Charity Associates", to raise money for a variety of charities. Combining the arts of his voice and his zest for entertaining", as one critic put it. In June of 2000, Mr. Frid returned to the traditional professional stage in the play "Mass Appeal" at the Stirling Festival Theatre in Stirling, Ontario.

Now retired from acting, Frid spends much of his time working on his website in which he posts his musings on his career, current events and personalities and answers queries from fans. He has also returned to making appearances at annual Dark Shadows Festivals after a hiatus of several years.

Above, Dark Shadows cast members have a reunion at the 1989 Dark Shadows Festival. Photo by Armand Vaquer

He is still sharp as a tack, but grouses over the inconveniences of aging. I had the pleasure of meeting Frid at one of the earliest Dark Shadows Festivals in 1984. The photo of Frid at top of this article was one I took at that festival.

Frid is tentatively planning on attending the 2010 Dark Shadows Festival in California next summer. He has started an online store at his website and plans to have items available for sale at the festival.

A big "Happy Birthday" to Jonathan Frid!

Burbank Marriott Hotel & Convention Center

Above, Frankenstein's Monster and Count Dracula seemed to like the Marriott. I heard no complaints from them.

One more comment on Monsterpalooza, and it really isn't about Monsterpalooza.

The subject here is the venue, the Burbank Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. My first visit to this facility was back in 1999 for G-FEST '99. At that time, the hotel was part of the Hilton Hotels chain and it was the Burbank Hilton. The facility was (and is) a great one for conventions of this type. The hotel is nice and the convention center facility is top-notch.

At the time of G-FEST '99, the hotel seemed to be "in the middle of nowhere" although it is situated next to the Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport. There were no handy fast-food outlets nearby and we were at the mercy of the hotel's restaurant prices. One night at G-FEST, a bunch of us pooled our money together and sent someone out to a Kentucky Fried Chicken to get dinner. That was inconvenient.

Since then, a new shopping center with many fast-food outlets sprung up across the street. This makes the hotel more of an ideal place to hold a convention or show.

Since G-FEST '99, I've been to a few other conventions and shows there. TV Land Convention, Hollywood Collectors Show and the 2008 Dark Shadows Festival immediately come to mind.

If I have to give one critique on the venue, I'd say the Convention Center could be a bit larger. It seemed that Monsterpalooza was a little bit cramped in there.

Dark Shadows Festival In Burbank - A Review

Above, Lara "Angelique" Parker.

This year's Dark Shadows Festival was held this weekend at the Burbank Marriott Hotel Convention Center. The theme was Dark Shadows Resurrected. The convention was not exactly a "resurrection."

The last Dark Shadows Festival I attended was back around 1992 at the LAX Marriott Hotel. That convention was well-attended and the convention had a main session hall, banquets, a big dealers room, video room, art room and other things for attendees to occupy their time with. Plus, the attendees had easy access to the guests. It was an impressive convention with a lot of enthusiasm.



Above, Kathryn Leigh "Maggie Evans/Josette" Scott.

Unfortunately, the Dark Shadows Festival at the Burbank Marriott (next to the Bob Hope Airport) was sparsely-attended (maybe 400 tops), had a tiny dealers room (with not all tables occupied), a main hall and not much else. In the lobby area, there were some displays of photos, memorabilia and fan art. It also contained the tables for the celebrities to autograph programs and memorabilia for the fans. The Dark Shadows celebrities present were Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lara Parker and Marie Wallace.

David Selby was scheduled to have a session at 3:00 and Jonathan Frid was scheduled for a 4:30 session.

Sorry folks, there was just not enough there to keep my interest up to hang around for the aforementioned sessions.

Recently, I was part of a committee that put on the annual G-FEST convention for Godzilla enthusiasts in Chicago. G-FEST has far more things for attendees to do, including a huge dealers room, more than one session room for panels, video gaming, G-Pardy games, video room, a special room for small-fry activities, etc. In other words, G-FEST had more "bang for the buck" than did the Dark Shadows Festival.

My question is: What happened to the great Dark Shadows Festivals of yore? Frankly, I was greatly disappointed. With a $15/day admission price and a $12/day parking charge, one would expect that the promotors would have put on a better show. They must have lost some key organizers over the years. The little contact with the convention's staff I had gave me the impression that they lacked enthusiasm. One guy, who led a session on the new Johnny Depp Dark Shadows movie, was snarky to some convention attendees who were having a quiet conversation in back of the main hall before he took the stage. Nothing like making your customers feel welcome!

At least Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott and Marie Wallace were gracious to the conventioneers. As one who has been a part of convention organizing and planning, I felt embarrassed for them.