Canadian actor Jonathan Frid died 13 April 2012 of natural causes. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, on 2 December 1924, he will be remembered for playing vampire Barnabas Collins (as well as Bramwell Collins) in the original tv series Dark Shadows (1967-71).
After serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, Frid attended McMaster University and London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and earned a Master’s Degree in Directing from the Yale School of Drama. He was a stage actor before being cast in the vampire drama that started the revamp (so to speak) of vampires from Bram Stoker’s original dark creatures to the more sparkly dark heroes of today.
According to an AP report in The Washington Post, “his death comes just weeks before a Tim Burton-directed version of Dark Shadows is due out next month starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. Frid has a cameo role in the new movie in which he meets Depp’s character in a party scene with two other original actors from the show.”
Frid’s other appearances include The Devil’s Daughter (1973) and Seizure (1974).
Never married, he is survived by his nephew, Donald Frid.