DS stars appeared at the Big Apple Con

By special arrangement with Dark Shadows Online, the April 2005 Big Apple Con comic book and toy show featured five stars of DS. Nancy Barrett, Diana Millay, Denise Nickerson, Kathryn Leigh Scott, and Marie Wallace each had a table in the celebrity section and they participated in two panel discussions about their stage and TV work.

DSO webmaster and author Craig Hamrick was a guest at the show as well -- with copies of his Barnabas & Company, Big Lou, and The Dark Shadows Collectibles Book. (Click here for more info about Craig's books.) Michael Karol, one of the editors of Soap Opera Weekly was there too -- with copies of his Lucille Ball-related books. (Michael has edited all of Craig's DS books, and he is currently working with Marie Wallace to help her prepare her memoir, On Stage and in Shadows. (Visit Marie Wallace Online for more info about that book.)

The panel discussions were moderated by TV Guide General Editor Greg Evans and New York stage director Joe Salvatore. Comments from the panels will be printed here on DSO in the near future, and video highlights will be released on DVD later this year.

Denise Nickerson endured a lengthy travel ordeal; when her Delta flight was diverted she ended up spending several hours in Salt Lake City, Utah -- more than slightly out of her way from Denver to New York. She was scheduled to appear at the show on April 1, but she didn't arrive in NYC until 2 a.m. the following morning.

Saturday's panel discussion, moderated by Joe Salvatoe, focused on the actresses' stage work. (Salvatore is a drama professor at NYU.) They discussed the ways that working on DS, "live on tape," was much like working on stage and talked about their appearances in such plays as Pickwick; Gypsy; and Lolita, My Love.

The next day's panel was about the ladies' TV work and was moderated by TV Guide editor Greg Evans. (Evans was one of those kids who "ran home from school every day" to watch DS back in the 60s.) A good-natured dispute broke out at one point when Diana Millay and Kathryn Leigh Scott disagreed about the circumstances surrounding Diana's first DS episode. (As noted above, comments from the panels will be printed here soon.)

Above: Greg Evans, General Editor of TV Guide magazine moderated a panel discussion about the actresses' television careers. Some things said during the panel led to some friendly disagreements between the panelists, but everything was resolved by the end of the day. Below: NYU professor Joe Salvatore moderated another panel discussion, about the actresses' stage careers. Also pictured: Denise Nickerson and Kathryn Leigh Scott.
Denise Nickerson and son Josh shopped for NYC souvenirs after Denise's birthday dinner. (On the actual day, April 1, Denise and Josh were stranded at an airport in Utah.)
Diana Millay offered signed copies of her books, I'd Rather Eat Than Act and The Power of Halloween at her table.
This colorful promotional poster was produced by Dark Shadows Online, and its prominent placement throughout the Penn Plaza Pavilion helped raise awareness that the lovely Ladies of the Shadows were in town.
Please visit the rest of Dark Shadows Online to see rare photos and read more about the TV classic. Click here to reach the main page.