DS Discussion #8 Jonathan Frid & Johnny together?

In the original show there was a storly line going that had an aged Barnabas ( a made up to appear aged Jonathan Frid).

What would you think of them having Mr. Frid be a part of Johnny's version? Got any ideas how they could use him? Cameo or a real part?

I thought this blend was interesting!



jonathanfrid.com

Geez, the guy kept a full head of hair! I'm impressed.

To answer the question, I'd love to see Frid included. Do you think he'd even want it? How could he refuse if Johnny asked him nicely?

Cameo? Full role? No matter, whatever he did would be wonderful. I have no idea what to have him do, but something along the lines of Bill Nighy's Victor from Underworld springs to mind.......

I hope that he hangs on and is asked and would want to be in it too. lol I think it would be perfect to have him take a role in the movie. I bet he still has IT!

Wouldn't it be great if Frid did have some kind of part? I would imagine Johnny would be thrilled. Maybe he could be Barnabas' father and be used in some kind of flashback?

Wouldn't that be awesome!!

That would be perfect! I'd love to see him there as an homage to his great work.

It really WAS great, wasn't it!

The Ghost of Barnabas could make alot of mischeif for Barnabas somehow.

Hate to be negative, but Jonathan Frid has turned down cameo appearances in both of the DS revivals--1991 and the 2004 revival that never made it. He has made it clear in the past that he just won't do DS again.

The man is 82 years old and I think he's just happy being retired.

I don't believe you're being negative JustBelieve. I understand Frid's viewpoint. I think we're all just speculating here, not that we would think it would actually happen. I think DS is still a long way off before it ever gets to being filmed. As Frid ages, the possibility of him doing any cameo for DS dimishes, too. I can understand him not wanting to reprise the role, but a cameo might be something he could handle. Thanks for your input---it sounds like you've seen all the episodes.

-Donna

As Donna has said, we are just speculating and having a bit of fun and wishful thinking. With all of our discussions we often come up with "dream casts" for Johnny's projects and this is just what we are doing here.

Strangely enough, I think that JF just might change his mind. He said he was done with conventions, yet, he recorded a message to the convention last year, and he actually appeared at the 40th anniversary convention touting Barnabas' arrival at Collinwood. From all that I gather and having seen the You Tube uploads about the convention, it was a very moving and touching experience for him. I think he's amazed that his fans remember and love him so. It may have something to do with whomever is heading up the operation, too. He and Dan Curtis had different views on how the character of Barnabas was to be represented. With a different producer/director at the helm, such as JD and his team, we can only speculate. But, what fun doing so! I'd like to see JF as an ancestor in a dream sequence or in a flashback. The notion of him playing JD's father...or, even...grandfather, depending on how young they want JD to appear...strikes me as an appropriate one.

Oh I do hope that you are correct! I think it would really please those of us who watched it from the very first day!!

I'm all for see Jonathan in some sort of cameo role. That would be neat. I've seen most of the episodes--right now I'm collecting the beginning episodes (Pre-Barnabas) and then am going to collect all the other ones. I've always wanted to watch the show from start to finish. Thank goodness for re-runs. hehe.

I used to attend the festivals in the 1980's so I got to speak with JF and get his viewpoint on some things DS. He said he did not want to do the second movie, NODS, because he thought the first one had "killed any hope" of reviving the goodness of Barnabas. He was also afraid of being typecast as nothing but a horror actor. The bat flying up and away from the staked Barnabas Collins left the door open for a remake. I believe that his dissatisfaction with the HODS movie, and the fact that everyone but him got to play other roles on the TV series, may have caused him some conflict with Dan Curtis. He hinted at it, anyway. Sadly, I'm afraid it worked out that he was somewhat typecast because the three movies he did make were in that genre. He also said that he wasn't too fond of the Hollywood scene and had no desire to make movies for the sake of making movies, and they would have to pay him an awfully lot not to repeat his Barnabas role. Personally, I wish he had been more like Michael Caine, even though not all of his work is great. Caine is very prolific. It would have been nice to see more of JF's talent, however, in something other than horror. I was a big Anthony Hopkins fan, since he played Pierre in "War and Peace" on PBS, but after he did "Silence of the Lambs", I could no longer watch him in anything. He just didn't have the same appeal. For a time, I thought I would feel that way about JF in "Seizure" , and refused to watch it for years. Then, I saw it, and felt he had a strong, even sympathetic, presence in the movie, which was Oliver Stone's first and somewhat flawed cinematic attempt. I do know that JFmade an appearance on Patrick Duffy's "Man From Atlantis" as a scientist--that was back in the late 1970's--my friend had that on videotape. Duffy, as you may well know, became Bobby Ewing on "Dallas".