Anyone Remember Dark Shadows' Willie Loomis?

[Yellow Oval]

Actor John Karlen died on January 22 in Burbank, CA. from congestive heart failure. I wish him well in his journey. It seems every day more of the old childhood memories are being chipped away.

[SprangFan]

Poor old, long-suffering Willie, the "Renfield" to Barnabas' "Dracula." Next to Chekov on "Star Trek," probably the most constantly terrified character on 60s TV.

I'm always amazed at what the talented cast and crew of "Dark Shadows" accomplished with roughly the budget of one of Spanky and Alfalfa's back yard theatrical productions. Sorry to see them all leaving us.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Karlen was a strong character actor, who never quite lost his New York edge, even as he portrayed characters having nothing to do with that part of the country. I remember him as a TV reporter on the original N.Y.P.D. series from the late 60s, The Sixth Sense, The Picture of Dorian Gray (from Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis), Shazam! and a host of other roles (including Cagney and Lacey, of course).

His turn as Willie Loomis was far more than a Renfield type; in fact, he was not really like Renfield (Stoker's or Universal's) at all. Loomis was introduced as a violent criminal, and although he was fearful of Barnabas initially, he often had compelling arguments with the vampire, and stood up to him when Barnabas was determined to kill anyone he considered a threat. Eventually, Loomis and Barnabas became allies/friends, which was a nice, evolution to their original relationship. Through it all, John Karlen's skills to sell a character more rooted in reality made it work.

He will be missed.

[Lou Szabo]

He played a totally different character in the Night of Dark Shadows movie, a psychological thriller. I enjoyed it much more as a 50+ adult than a 13 year old during its original release.