Goodbye, Barnabas

Odd that just before we get to see Johnny Depp's version of Barnabas Collins that we lose the original, Jonathan Frid, (and on Friday the 13th, no less) who gave us one of the first broody romantic vampires in the weird late-60s daytime drama Dark Shadows. Not long ago a good friend pointed me toward the series (What? A soap opera with a vampire in it? From the sixties? What?) and though its glacial pace couldn't sustain me I recognize its offbeat appeal, its notable footprint in the ever-twisting pathway of pop culture.