Editing Jonathan Frid (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
Jonathan Frid was born of Scottish<ref>{{cite book|last=Hamrick|first=Craig|title=Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the TV Classic Dark Shadows|year=2003|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-29029-1|page=199}}</ref> and English ancestry in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada. His birth name was '''John Herbert Frid'''.<ref name=nytobit/> He was the youngest son of Isabel Flora (née McGregor) and Herbert Percival "H.P." Frid, a construction executive.<ref name=macle1/><ref>[http://www.wefhs.myhamilton.ca/content/flamborough-nursing-sisters The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society & Archives], myhamilton.ca; accessed October 31, 2015. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120426235811/http://www.wefhs.myhamilton.ca/content/flamborough-nursing-sisters Archived] from the original, April 26, 2012.</ref>

As a boy Frid had a natural shyness and struggled academically due to [[dyslexia]], which was not properly understood at that time.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dixon |first1=Jim |title=Dark Shadows Star Kathryn Leigh Scott Dishes on Master of Dark Shadows |url=https://www.filminquiry.com/interview-kathryn-leigh-scott/?expand_article=1 |website=Film Inquiry |date=April 29, 2019 |publisher=April 20, 2019 |access-date=August 8, 2023|quote=The documentary mentions a detail which hadn't been publicly mentioned before, that Frid struggled with dyslexia and found learning lines at the rate necessary stressful.}}</ref> His passion for acting began at the age of 16 when he appeared in a production of [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]]'s ''[[The Rivals]]'' at Hillfield School.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pegg |first1=Robert |title=The career of a villain |agency=''London Free Press'', Ontario, Canada |date=November 4, 1984|quote=But it wasn't until he was 16 and in prep school that Frid made any attempt to take up the stage. He landed the part of Sir Anthony Absolute in his school's production of ''The Rivals''...}}</ref> The following year he joined the local community theatre, The Players' Guild of Hamilton.<ref name="thespec.com">{{cite news |last1=McNeil |first1=Mark |title=New documentary looks at Hamilton actor Jonathan Frid and the vampire he made famous |url=https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/flashbacks-hamilton/new-documentary-looks-at-hamilton-actor-jonathan-frid-and-the-vampire-he-made-famous/article_711d6dc1-d545-5a42-9989-0df879bc4310.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |agency=The Hamilton Spectator |date=March 8, 2022}}</ref> The theatre's leading director, American actress Gladys Gillan recognized and encouraged the young Frid's talent.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pegg |first1=Robert |title=The career of a villain |agency=''London Free Press'', Ontario, Canada |date=November 4, 1984|quote=Gillan was one of Frid's major influences...Gillan also helped him prepare for an audition at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts... }}</ref>

Frid's first years of study at [[McMaster University]] in Hamilton were interrupted when in 1944 he enlisted in the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] during [[World War II]], and served on the destroyer [[HMCS Algonquin (R17)]].<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 8:26-8:40</ref>  When the war ended, he returned to McMaster to complete his bachelor's degree.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni/125/POI_Bios/Frid_Bio.html|title=McMaster University|website=www.mcmaster.ca|language=en-CA|access-date=2018-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Denis |first1=Helen |title=The Unsinkable Jonathan Frid |magazine=TV Picture Life |date=October 1969 |volume=14 |issue=10 |page=80}}</ref> During the second half of his tenure he was President of the Drama Club, received accolades for his performances in ''[[The Royal Family (play)|The Royal Family]]'' and ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'',<ref name="Page 17">{{cite news |last1=Berkvist |first1=Robert |title=Vampires are Voluptuous |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/12/29/issue.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 29, 1968|quote=Frid...was president of the Dramatic Society at Hamilton's McMaster University (among other roles Father Barrett in ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'').}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Diakowski |first1=M. J. |title=Frid, Winstanley Take Acting Honors in Play |work=The Silhouette |issue=18 |publisher=McMaster University |date=December 5, 1947|quote=The most significant event of M.D.S. history took place...with the presentation of...''The Royal Family''...John Frid delighted the audience with his performance..."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=Jim |title=Frid Outstanding in Fine Production |work=The Silhouette |publisher=McMaster University |date=December 1946|quote=Outstanding was the performance of John Frid in the role of Edward-Mouton Barrett.}}</ref> and graduated in 1948 with the university's Honor Society Award for Drama.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 8:15-8:25 and 8:44-8:50</ref>

===Professional training and career===

In 1949 Frid was accepted at the prestigious [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] in [[London]].<ref name="dsonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.darkshadowsonline.com/where-frid.html|title=Barnabas & Company|publisher=Dark Shadows Online (fansite)|access-date=April 26, 2012|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721005807/http://www.darkshadowsonline.com/where-frid.html}}</ref> After two terms, Frid left and became a leading actor in repertory in [[Cornwall]] and [[Kent]] for two seasons and toured the country in the [[West End theatre|West End]] thriller, ''The Third Visitor''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Denis |first1=Helen |title=The Unsinkable Jonathan Frid |magazine=TV Picture Life |date=October 1969 |volume=14 |issue=10 |page=82}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Gross |first1=Ed |title=Jonathan Frid Interview with a Vampire |magazine=TV Gold |date=July 1986 |number=3 |page=52}}</ref> Returning to Canada he ventured to Toronto where he became a featured player for three consecutive seasons in the Toronto Shakespeare Festival, produced and directed by Earle Grey.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pegg |first1=Robert |title=The career of a villain |agency=''London Free Press'', Ontario, Canada |date=November 4, 1984|quote=In the early '50s he was a member of the Earle Grey Players, a Toronto semi-professional theatre company...at Trinity College in the summertime...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Trinity College, University of Toronto |title=Collection F2311 - Earle Grey Players Collection |url=https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ottca-f2311 |publisher=Trinity College Archives}}|1951 ''The Tempest'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', 1952 ''Julius Caesar'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', ''The Winter's Tale'', 1953 ''As You Like It'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''The Winter's Tale''.</ref> He studied voice at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts,<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 8:53-9:12 and 9:42-9:55</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Berkvist |first1=Robert |title=Vampires are Voluptuous |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/12/29/issue.html |work=The New York Times |agency=Section D Page 17 |date=December 29, 1968}}</ref> and in 1952 appeared in ''Crime of Passion'' at the Jupiter Theatre founded by [[Lorne Greene]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Jupiter Theatre Drama Features Hamilton Actor |work=The Hamilton Spectator |date=April 19, 1952|quote=Hamilton's John Frid will be appearing in the Jupiter Theatre production of ''Crime of Passion''...}}</ref> He applied his training to radio spots<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Arkelian |first1=John |title=Our Revels Now Are Ended: In Memory of Jonathan Frid |magazine=Artsforum Magazine (Canada) |date=April 22, 2012 |page=2 |url=https://artsforum.ca/other-media/tv-radio |access-date=August 12, 2023}}</ref> and a few appearances on television for the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]],<ref name="dsonline"/> including an unusual role as a native in ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea''.<ref name="Internet Archive">{{cite web |last1=JonathanFrid.com |title=A Career Biography of Jonathan Frid |url=http://jonathanfrid.com/New%20Site/biography.htm |website=Wayback Machine |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=December 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218030427/http://jonathanfrid.com/New%20Site/biography.htm |url-status=usurped }} Revised October 2002.</ref>

In the Fall of 1954 Frid became a graduate student at the [[David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University|Yale School of Drama]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]. He would earn his [[Master of Fine Arts]] (MFA) in Directing,<ref name="dsonline"/> 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 [[Julius Caesar]] in ''[[Caesar and Cleopatra (play)|Caesar and Cleopatra]]'', and starring in the premiere of [[William Snyder (playwright)|William Snyder]]'s play ''A True and Special Friend''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/belknap/ufplaybills5.htm|title=Belknap Playbill and Program Collection|publisher=[[University of Florida]] George A. Smathers Libraries|access-date=May 3, 2012|archive-date=May 19, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142423/http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/belknap/ufplaybills5.htm}}</ref><ref name="Internet Archive"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Manuscripts and Archives |first1=Yale University Library |title=RU397 Production Scrapbooks; RU68F Yale School of Drama Records |url=https://web.library.yale.edu/mssa}}Collection includes nine plays in which Frid performed.</ref>

In the summer of 1955 fresh from completing the first year of his Master's program, Frid was chosen by Director [[Nikos Psacharopoulos]] to play a pivotal role in the inaugural season of the [[Williamstown Theatre Festival]] in [[Williamstown, Massachusetts]]. Frid performed leading roles in six of the ten productions including ''[[The Crucible]]'', ''Time of the Cuckoo'', ''[[Light Up the Sky (play)|Light up the Sky]]'', and ''[[The Rainmaker (play)|The Rainmaker]]'' opposite leading lady [[Cynthia Harris]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1955 Season |url=https://wtfestival.org/seasons/1955/ |website=Williamstown Theatre Festival}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 13:20-13:41</ref>

After receiving high praise in his second year at Yale for his portrayal of [[Attius Tullius|Tullus Aufidius]] in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Coriolanus]]'', Frid was invited to join the [[American Shakespeare Theatre|American Shakespeare Festival]] in [[Stratford, Connecticut]]. For two consecutive summer seasons, under the direction of [[John Houseman]], Frid performed with such distinguished actors as [[Alfred Drake]], [[Earle Hyman]], [[Fritz Weaver]], [[Sada Thompson]], and [[Katharine Hepburn]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Groves |first1=Sell |title=Jonathan Frid: Out of the Dark |work=The Asbury Park Press-New Jersey |agency=King Features Syndicate |issue=32 Vol 3 |date=August 19, 1989|quote=He also appeared with the American Shakespeare Festival...with the late great John Houseman directing him in a production of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' with Katharine Hepburn.}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 13:58-14:18 and 15:25-15:33.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jonathanfrid.com/misc.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720230439/http://www.jonathanfrid.com/misc.html|archive-date=July 20, 2011|title=A Summing Up: My Career on the Stage|publisher=JonathanFrid.com}}</ref>

[[File:Jonathan Frid 1957 headshot.jpg|thumb|right|Jonathan Frid promotional headshot, 1957]]

After earning his MFA in 1957, Frid joined Hepburn and other members of the American Shakespeare Festival on a national tour of ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tyler |first1=Betty |title=A Shadowy Figure Returns |work=The Sunday Post, Bridgeport, Connecticut |agency=Arts/Travel |date=April 10, 1988|quote=Frid toured with Hepburn in ''Much Ado About Nothing''.}}</ref> When the tour concluded Frid moved to [[New York City]], where he made his [[off-Broadway]] debut in ''The Golem'' directed by [[Robert Kalfin]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gross |first1=Ed |title=Jonathan Frid Interview with a Vampire |magazine=TV Gold |date=July 1986 |volume=3 |page=52|quote=He moved to New York in 1957 and appeared in ''The Golem''}}</ref> In 1961 he began using the stage name Jonathan Frid, first seen in the program for ''The Moon in The Yellow River''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Off-Broadway Reviews: The Moon in the Yellow River |newspaper=Variety |date=February 22, 1961 |page=75|quote=Darrell Blake... Jonathan Frid}}</ref> He continued to appear in many off-Broadway productions and in regional theatres across the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cobb |first1=David |title=The Canadian Vampire |work=Montreal Gazette |date=April 4, 1969|quote=He has done a lot of work Off-Broadway and in U.S. regional theatre; a few seasons ago he was in the Broadway production of ''Roar Like a Dove'' with Charlie Ruggles and Betsy Palmer. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Willis |first1=John |title=Theatre World Volume 43 1986-1987 |date=1988 |publisher=Crown Publishers, Inc. |location=New York, New York |isbn=0-517-56828-4 |page=203}}</ref> Among them were Front Street Theater in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]]; [[Pittsburgh Playhouse]]; and the [[Old Globe Theatre]] in [[San Diego]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Memphis Theater |first1=Front Street Theatre |title=Midsummer Night's Dream |url=https://memphislibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16108coll4/id/523/rec/1 |website=Dig Memphis |publisher=The Digital Collection of the Memphis Public Library |access-date=August 10, 2023 |ref=SB622-original Saul Brown Photograph Collection}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 21:05-21:06 and 21:49-22:11</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Portrait of Jonathan Frid |url=https://digitalcollections.sdsu.edu/do/0af84c95-4735-4635-9346-32e893f626de |website=Old Globe Theatre Photograph Collection |publisher=SDSU University Library Digital Collections |access-date=26 August 2023}}</ref> His most celebrated Shakespearean performance was the [[Richard III of England|title role]] in ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'' at the 1965 Summer Festival of Professional Theatre at [[Pennsylvania State University]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Streightiff |first1=Lynn |title=Richard III Is Masterful Play |url=http://www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com/2012/06/raves-for-jonathan-frid-in-richard-iii.html |website=Collinsport Historical Society |publisher=Reprint of The Daily News, Huntingdon and Mt. Union PA article, July 8, 1965 |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wall |first1=John |title='Vampire' trades in cape for stage readings |work=Altoona Mirror |date=January 25, 1988|quote=...the Canadian-born actor is returning to a scene of personal triumph, as he remembered the glowing notices he received in a production of Shakespeare's ''Richard III'' at University Park in the early 1960's. }}</ref>

Frid made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut as an understudy, and appeared, in the 1964 play ''Roar Like a Dove'', directed by [[Cyril Ritchard]] and starring [[Betsy Palmer]].<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3201 ''Roar Like a Dove''], ibdb.com; accessed October 31, 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=TV Mailbag: What can you tell me about Jonathan Frid of Dark Shadows? |work=Chicago Tribune TV Week |date=February 9, 1968|quote=He played in Roar Like a Dove on Broadway... }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Arsenic and Old Lace: Who's Who in the Cast - Jonathan Frid |magazine=Playbill the National Theatre Magazine - 46th Street Theatre |date=December 1986 |volume=86 |issue=12 |page=46|quote=On Broadway he appeared with Betsy Palmer in Roar Like a Dove.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gilbert |first1=Derek |title=A Shared Interview with Jonathan Frid |url=http://www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com/2019/02/a-shared-interiview-with-jonathan-frid.html |website=Collinsport Historical Society |publisher=Reprint of Afternoon TV article of November 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 18:01-18:19.</ref>

===Television===

Frid's United States television appearances began in 1960 with his role as [[Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester]] in Shakespeare's ''[[Henry IV, Part 1|Henry IV Part I]]'' as part of ''Play of the Week''.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Clips at timestamp 18:52-19:55 and DVD bonus feature.</ref> This was followed by an episode of [[CBS|CBS-TV]]'s ''[[Look Up and Live]]'', ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Television Record |title=The Picture of Dorian Grey |url=https://museumtv.pastperfectonline.com/Archive?search_criteria=The+Picture+of+Dorian+Gray&onlyimages=false |website=Museum of Broadcast Communications |publisher=Breck's Golden Showcase |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> and several episodes as a psychiatrist on the CBS-TV soap opera ''[[As the World Turns|As The World Turns]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Doug |title=Jonathan Frid ready to pass on his vampire fangs, cape |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |agency=Page 4 |date=July 1, 1990|quote=Frid had played a small role as a psychiatrist in the daytime soap opera ''As the World Turns''...}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Higgins |first1=Robert |title=A Vampire for All Seasons |magazine=TV Guide |date=July 13, 1968 |issue=798 |pages=12–14|quote=...split his time between...TV (shows like ''Look Up and Live'' and ''As the World Turns'')...}}</ref> 
[[File:Jonathan Frid Barnabas Collins Dark Shadows 1968.JPG|thumb|left|Frid as Barnabas Collins, 1968]]
Frid is widely known for the role of vampire [[Barnabas Collins]] in the original [[Gothic fiction|gothic serial]] ''[[Dark Shadows]]'', which ran from 1966 to 1971.

In early March 1967 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. Although planning to move to the West Coast to pursue a teaching position at a [[Southern California]] university, Frid appeased his agent by auditioning for the role that, if he got the part, would help finance his move west. He won the role of Barnabas Collins, a vampire released from a chained coffin after 175 years, on the gothic daytime serial ''Dark Shadows''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gross |first1=Ed |title=Jonathan Frid Interview with a Vampire |magazine=TV Gold |date=July 1986 |volume=3 |pages=52, 54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lamparski |first1=Richard |title=Whatever Became Of...? |date=January 30, 1985 |publisher=Crown Publishers, Inc. |location=New York, New York |isbn=0-517-55541-7 |pages=56–57 |edition=Ninth Series}}</ref>  Before taping began the producers asked the actor and the writers, including [[Ron Sproat]], a fellow Yale alumnus, to discuss the character's development. Collaborating with the writers, Frid explained that when he played villains he invested them with an emotional life.<ref>{{cite book |last1=The Museum of Television & Radio |title=Worlds Without End: The Art and History of the Soap Opera |date=January 1, 1997 |publisher=Harry N. Abrams, Inc. |isbn=0-8109-3997-5 |page=144}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gross |first1=Edward |title=Dark Shadows Tribute |date=January 1, 1990 |publisher=Pioneer Books |isbn=1-55698-234-8 |page=63}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Purdy |first1=Pamela |title=Unmasking Jonathan Frid |work=City Paper, Baltimore's Free Weekly |issue=44, Vol. 11 |date=October 30, 1987}}</ref> The result was a new interpretation of a vampire: a monster depending upon blood to survive yet fighting to regain his humanity.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Master of Dark Shadows |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/538805/master-of-dark-shadows |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 30:59-32:08</ref> Frid's compelling portrayal of the sympathetic vampire was so popular with audiences that his short-term contract stretched into four years and Frid scrapped his plans to move to the West Coast.<ref name=officialbio>{{cite web|url=http://jonathanfrid.com/New%20Site/biography.htm |title="Biography" |access-date=2012-05-10 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218030427/http://jonathanfrid.com/New%20Site/biography.htm |archive-date=December 18, 2010 }} (2002). Jonathan Frid (official site). Archived from [http://www.jonathanfrid.com the original] on July 20, 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Winkie |title=Frid enjoying his work in reader's theater |work=Goldsboro News-Argus |date=October 14, 1990|quote=Needless to say, Frid never made it to the teaching job.}}</ref>

Frid appeared on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'',<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Master of Dark Shadows |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/538805/master-of-dark-shadows |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 41:10-41:35.</ref> ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'', ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'', and ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]'', and was even a special mystery guest on ''[[What's My Line?]]''<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 2:55-3:42 and 31:35-32:26.</ref> The iconic image of Frid as Barnabas Collins adorned comic books, paperback gothic novels, bubble gum cards and even a board game, complete with coffin. Screaming teenagers thronged to his personal appearances like he was one of [[the Beatles]].<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 23:43-3:31.</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Ship of Ghouls |magazine=Time Magazine |date=August 30, 1968 |volume=92 |issue=9 |page=46 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,844594,00.html|quote=When Barnabas the Vampire (Actor Jonathan Frid) goes on personal appearance tours, he is apt to pull 25,000 people at a time.}}</ref>
[[File:Jonathan Frid 1968 promotional tour with crowd.jpg|thumb|right|Frid during a 10-city ''Dark Shadows'' promotional tour, Charleston, South Carolina, May 1968]]
The ''Dark Shadows'' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] Studios in [[Manhattan]] became inundated with fan mail for Frid, at its peak reaching upwards of 5,000 letters per week.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Turned-On Vampire |magazine=Newsweek |date=April 20, 1970 |page=107|quote=Frid continues to receive some 5,000 cards and letter a week from his fans.}}</ref>

In 1970, ''Dark Shadows'' became the first soap opera to be converted into a feature-length movie. Frid made his American feature film debut portraying his famous television character in [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]'s ''[[House of Dark Shadows]]''. While the movie script kept the same characters as the TV series, it was a bloodier, more violent story.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Kathryn Leigh |title=The Dark Shadows Movie Book |date=1998 |publisher=Pomegranate Press, Ltd. |location=Los Angeles |isbn=0-938817-48-5 |pages=9, 22}}</ref>

During the run of ''Dark Shadows'', and particularly with the release of ''House of Dark Shadows'', Frid was made aware of speculation he could be typecast.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Master of Dark Shadows |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/538805/master-of-dark-shadows |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 1:02:25-1:02:36.</ref> Both during and immediately after ''Dark Shadows'', he worked to broaden his acting identity with theatre roles very different from television's Barnabas Collins. In 1969 he took a four-week hiatus from the show to star in the [[Frederick Knott]] play ''Dial M for Murder'' at the legendary [[The Little Theatre on the Square]] in [[Sullivan, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Institutional Repository |first1=Eastern Illinois University |title=Dial 'M' For Murder |url=https://thekeep.eiu.edu/little_theatre_1969_programs/2/ |series=1969 Programs |date=September 23, 1969 |publisher=Digital Commons |access-date=August 10, 2023}}</ref>

With the announcement of the cancellation of ''Dark Shadows'' in March 1971, Frid returned to performing on stage with the role of [[Thomas Becket]] in the Off-Broadway play ''[[Murder in the Cathedral]]'', followed by Harry Roat in ''[[Wait Until Dark]]'' at the Windmill Dinner Theaters in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]] and [[Houston]].<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Dark Shadows and Beyond - The Jonathan Frid Story |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/637245/dark-shadows-and-beyond-the-jonathan-frid-story |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 49:32-49:37.</ref> In 1973, Frid performed a supporting role in the TV movie ''[[The Devil's Daughter (1973 film)|The Devil's Daughter]]'' starring [[Shelley Winters]], and in 1974 starred in [[Oliver Stone]]'s directorial debut, ''[[Seizure (film)|Seizure]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Swardon |first1=Carlotta |title=Festival celebrates cult TV show |work=The Daily Journal-Newark |date=September 23, 1983|quote=After the show folded in 1971, Frid played roles in Texas theaters and the part of Beckett in T.S. Elliot's "Murder in the Cathedral," in New York. He also appeared in..."The Devil's Daughter" ...with Shelley Winters, and "Seizure..."}}</ref>

Frid found the role of Barnabas Collins to have many facets with a demanding range of emotions to play. Even so, the heavily promoted image of Barnabas baring his fangs left industry people, who may never have seen the show, with only a caricature of what he actually played.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Kathryn Leigh |title=The Dark Shadows Companion 25th Anniversary Collection |date=December 1990 |publisher=Pomegranate Press, Ltd. |location=Los Angeles |isbn=0-938817-26-4 |page=13}}</ref> Frid became very conflicted about the commercial career his talent agency was offering. He did not want to become the modern-day version of [[Bela Lugosi]], so he stepped away.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cushing |first1=Chris |title=Thank God It's Frid Day: The Lid's Off Barnabas's Coffin, 1971 |url=http://www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com/2014/01/thank-god-its-frid-day-lids-off.html |website=Collinsport Historical Society}} Reprint of May 1971 ''Startime'' article.</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title=Master of Dark Shadows |url=https://tubitv.com/movies/538805/master-of-dark-shadows |publisher=tubi, Inc. |access-date=11 August 2023}} Timestamp 1:05:32-1:06:23.</ref> For a few years he travelled, lived in Mexico for a while, and enjoyed quiet time out of the spotlight of fame.<ref name="Whatever Became Of">{{cite book |last1=Lamparski |first1=Richard |title=Whatever Became Of...? |date=January 30, 1985 |publisher=Crown Publishers, Inc. |location=New York, New York |isbn=0-517-55541-7 |page=57 |edition=Ninth Series}}</ref>