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Back when daytime soaps were still a profitable low-budget genre, producer Dan Curtis hit on the idea of making one inspired by the “gothic romance” paperbacks of the day. (You know, the ones with covers showing young women in flowing dresses running from houses.)

Dark Shadows was initially a ratings failure.

As a last-ditch effort, Curtis wrote in a vampire character and cast a journeyman Canadian actor to play him.

Frid was a hit. The revamped show was also a hit. Despite being made on the same low budget and impossible schedule as the more domestically-oriented soaps, it evoked realms of supernatural fantasy and even multiple time streams.

It inspired two feature films, a slew of merch, a brief revival series in 1991, and a forthcoming spoof film.

Frid became a classic typecasting victim. He went on to a smattering of other movies, one Broadway play, and many years eking out a living touring colleges in one-man shows.

Whatever it took to stay alive undead.