Jonathan Frid, of Dark Shadows fame, passes away at 87

From MSNBC: Actor Jonathan Frid, who played imposing and elegant vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows," has died at 87. Frid passed away on April 14 from natural causes in his native Ontario.

"Dark Shadows" ran from 1966 to 1971, drawing 20 million viewers at its peak. Frid joined the show in 1967 and his character, an elegant vampire recently freed from his chained coffin and returning to his family's estate, Collinwood, quickly became the unquestioned star.

Frid makes a cameo in the big-screen comedy based loosely on the series. That film, which stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas, will be released May 11.

Other famous alumni of the show include Donna McKechnie, Kate Jackson, Abe Vigoda, David Selby and Conrad Bain.

I watched the show as a child and always thought the opening theme music by Robert Corbert was very cool.