'Dark Shadows' Actor Jonathan Frid Has Died

Jonathan Frid, the actor most people know for his role as vampire Barnabas Collins on gothic soap Dark Shadows, has died of natural causes, Digital Spy reports. He was 87-years old.

Frid's death of course comes just ahead of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's big screen adaptation of Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 until 1971, and was a cult favorite. Frid makes a cameo in the flick.

Remarking on Frid's passing, Village Voice journo Michael Musto raises questions about the actor's private life:

And as my friend William Love--a true-blue Dark Shadows aficionado--remembers, Frid withdrew whenever personal questions were asked.

Frid's familiar line about his character was, "I don't play a vampire. I play a man with a secret."

That seemed to apply in real life, too.

Frid always came off like a fey cross between Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allen Poe, but his culty female fans through the years always argued, "He loves women!" or "He's asexual. He doesn't believe in having sex!"

And there was the hot guy William knows who once approached Frid as a fan, only to have the actor coo, "Let's talk about you."

(Another male I know claims Frid once chased him for sex, but the guy tends to have a vivid imagination, so take it with a grain of vampire dust.)

In the end, though, such questions really don't matter. Not at this point, at least.

NEWS: Obama In Colombia, Secret Service In Trouble, Sony In A Hole, Paul McCartney In ASL

Obama resolutely prohibitionist in war on drugs panel at Colombia's Summit of the Americas:

Obama earlier Saturday left the door open for debate, but made it clear that the United States has a firm stance.

"I think it is entirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether the laws in place are doing more harm than good in certain places," Obama said. "I personally, and my administration's position is, that legalization is not the answer."

Meanwhile, his Secret Service agents should have been serviced more secretly:

A group of Secret Service agents and officers sent to Colombia ahead of President Barack Obama were relieved of duty and returned home amid allegations of misconduct that involved prostitution, according to two U.S. government sources familiar the investigation.

The 11 Secret Service members -- both agents and uniformed officers -- were interviewed Saturday at the agency's Washington headquarters, after which they were placed on administrative leave, Assistant Director Paul Morrissey said in a statement.

They are under investigation after preliminary findings revealed that they brought back several prostitutes to the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena,

"Q High School": An educational alternative for Phoenix-area LGBT teens.

Director of Bully was bullied.

Ever wonder what happens at an NRA convention? Pudgy, tomahawk-wielding men do battle. (HT: JoeMyGod)

NASA solicits ideas for less expensive, more conservative approach to Mars:

The race to redraw a new, cheaper road map comes two months after NASA pulled out of a partnership with the European Space Agency on two missions targeted for 2016 and 2018, a move that angered scientists. The 2018 mission represented the first step toward hauling Martian soil and rocks back to Earth for detailed study — something many researchers say is essential in determining whether microbial life once existed there.

Agency officials said returning samples is still a priority, but a reboot was necessary given the financial reality.

Robin Gibb is in a coma.

Ten candidates banned from Egyptian elections:

Egyptian election officials have barred 10 candidates from standing in upcoming polls, including former spy chief Omar Suleiman and the Muslim Brotherhood's Khairat al-Shater.

Ultra-orthodox Salafi Hazem Salah Abu Ismail and long-standing opposition leader Ayman Nour were also banned.

... Mr Suleiman - a former ally of Mr Mubarak whose nomination has sparked protests - was apparently barred because he failed to get enough signatures to endorse his last minute candidacy, our correspondent says.

Meanwhile, the hopeful representing the hardline Islamists, Mr Abu Ismail, was ruled out because his mother has American citizenship ...

... As a result, the Muslim Brotherhood are best covered, while the Salafists backing Mr Abu Ismail look to be the hardest hit ...

Sony loses $6 billion; remains optimistic.

Paul McCartney's new "My Valentine" video: Sedate but lovely, featuring Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp. Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Towleroad Guide To The Tube #1103

"HYPOCRITE:" RNC takes on President Obama.

ODD COUPLE: Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson perform "Sweet Dreams."

PLANKTON: Fish explain what it's all about.

"DON'T STOP..." Classic Journey song as sung via movie clips.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Dark Shadows, the Trailer: VIDEO

Dark Shadows returns, through the eyes of Tim Burton, with Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins in an adaptation of the late 60's, early 70's TV series.

Watch the trailer, AFTER THE JUMP...

NEWS: Bishop Eddie Long's Marital Woes, Ethopia's Inhospitality, Obamacare Is Happening, And A 3D Tour Of An Extraterrestrial Body

The space probe Dawn has now gathered enough data on the asteroid Vesta to allow NASA to create a guided tour in 3D. You'll need red and green 3D glasses to view properly. Watch AFTER THE JUMP! And marvel: once Dawn's done with Vesta, she'll spin out of the asteroid's gravity well using super-futuristic ion propulsion and rendezvous with the dwarf planet Ceres, which is orbiting the sun at 17 kilometers per second. Science is awesome!  [HT: Phil Plait]

Ethiopians are unhappy about hosting International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa.

Alan Sues, Laugh-In star and pioneering/stereotyping TV gay guy, has died. From the Times:

Mr. Sues tended to perform with over-the-top flamboyance on the show, displaying stereotypically gay mannerisms. What he did not disclose was that he was gay, Mr. Michaud said, fearing that to tell the truth about his sexual orientation would have ended his career.

“It wasn’t because he was ashamed of being gay; it was because he was surviving as a performer,” Mr. Michaud said in a telephone interview, adding that Mr. Sues was actually an inspiration to many gay viewers. “Many gay men came up to him and said how important he was when they were young because he was the only gay man they could see on television,” Mr. Michaud said.

Bishop Eddie Long's wife seeks a divorce:

In September of 2010, four young men came forward with lawsuits against Eddie Long—a well-known social conservative and Atlanta megachurch pastor—claiming that the bishop had plied them with vacations, cars and money in exchange for sex, starting when they were 16. (The cases were dismissed this spring after Long reached settlements with each of the men.) Yesterday, Vanessa Long filed for divorce, releasing a statement this morning that read "[a]fter a great deal of deliberation and prayer, I have decided to terminate my marriage to Bishop Eddie L. Long."

Gay couple accused of molesting adopted sons:

The allegations have caused turmoil within the family and has divided them, with family members forced to choose sides. Harasz’s biological daughter, Jackie, 19, told the media that she strongly believes that the couple is innocent. Chris Harasz, one of the adopted boys, says that all of the allegations are true.

Wirth and Harasz adopted nine boys from three different sibling groups over the past ten years.

Sandusky talks. And talks. And talks.

Standing On Ceremony to close.

Christian's don't like Johnny Depp's Christmas song.

Lovely Patty Austin's got a new album out. She talks about it, and AIDS, and all kinds of other things with The Advocate.

Yesterday, according to Forbes, "the bomb buried in Obamacare" exploded.  

The police stole the Occu-pies:

First there was pepper spray. Then came the batons. But on Thursday night, bad relations between the police and protesters entered a new dimension. While arrested demonstrators sat in their cells at a Lower East side station house, the police, protesters say, stole their pizza and drank all their soda pop.

“NYPD Sadistically Eats Pizzas Meant for World AIDS Day Occupy Wall St. Protesters,” read the headline on the protesters’ news release about the episode.

The police concede that they ate the pizza, but said they thought the pies were intended for them.

“Any way you slice it, it was an honest mistake,” said Paul J. Browne, the head police spokesman.

George Packer tells the story of Ray Kachel, and some other folk who found a home at Zucotti. It's a really good read.

Movies: Pirates of the Multiplex, The Curse of Repetition

 Depp to director: 'I can't believe I'm doing this again.'

NATHANIEL ROGERS
...would live in the movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience. Follow him on Twitter @nathanielr.

 
YOUR FEATURE PRESENTATION
Blockbuster franchises are not unlike waves in the ocean. That's true even for the ones that don't take place on the high seas. The marketing rhythmically churns them up and up until they break oh-so-formidably on opening weekend and then they're just foam. Which is to say that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides evaporates instantly after you watch it, leaving you with precious little to remember it by that you didn't already remember from The Curse of the Black Pearl back in 2003.

I saw Pirates 4 only a week ago. The only things I remember:

• Blackbeard (Ian McShane) pointing his sword at the audience. 3D is only fun when its unrepentantly cheesy. Accept your true nature, 3D!
• Penélope Cruz's amusing intro where she and Depp get a bit of physical comedy mixed in with their sword crossings.
• The plot involves The Fountain of Youth.
• The sets are really wonderful until you get to the Fountain of Youth which looks vaguely like a flooded soundstage with a fog machine and styrofoam rocks.
• The movie is stuffed to bursting with action setpieces that are vaguely distinguishable from one another in that they happen at different times during the story. The plot sits off to the side, dutifully resting, while the swashbucklers swashbuckle.
• In the place of Orlando Bloom we get Less Famous Pretty Boy (Sam Claflin) who is even more uptight. This one's a religious man.

In the movies defense, its lengthy centerpiece starring a school of dangerous mermaids, would be a worthy spectacle for any blockbuster. The noisy action grinds to a halt for a haunting flirtation with an Amanda Seyfried lookalike. She sings beautifully while draped, pretty and dripping, across the stern, her fin twitching with menace under the rowboat. The scene's dreamy feel turns nightmarish when her sisters arrive. Let's just say that Daryl Hannah and Ariel would most certainly not approve of their behavior.

CONTINUED (with this week's openings, and classic pirate hunks), AFTER THE JUMP...