What The Surviving Cast Of '60s Series Dark Shadows Are Up To Today

"Dark Shadows" celebrated its 60^th anniversary on June 27, 2026, marking a major milestone for this gothic daytime soap opera. The show became a cult hit, thanks to its time-hopping supernatural storylines and the performance of its breakout star, the heartsick vampire Barnabas Collins, played by the late Jonathan Frid. The cast also featured stars like Joan Bennett and Louis Edmonds as the Collins siblings, the leaders of the family that would eventually become entangled in the melodramatic interwoven tales that spanned centuries.

The soap lasted five years with 1225 episodes, and remained a fan favorite for a while, spawning feature films and a reboot in 2012 with Johnny Depp, directed by Tim Burton. The original series boasted a sprawling cast, with many actors playing multiple roles in multiple timelines, making for a fun if slightly tricky to follow family tree. Some of the older cast members, including Frid, Bennett, Edmonds, and Lara Parker, have passed on, but others are still with us, some still on screen and some having moved on to other professions or interests.

Nancy Barrett was part of the original lineup of "Dark Shadows," playing Carolyn Stoddard, along with several other roles, as most of the cast did in the show's varying timelines. Barrett was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, but her family later moved to Oklahoma, where she lived the majority of her childhood. She went on to attend Baylor University for two years, followed by a move to Los Angeles, where she graduated from UCLA. "Dark Shadows" was Barrett's third acting gig and her breakout role.

Barrett went on to appear in two spinoff films of the "Dark Shadows" franchise, "House of Dark Shadows" and "Night of Dark Shadows." She also appeared in several other, more traditional soap operas, including "Ryan's Hope," "One Life to Live," and "The Doctors." Her more recent credited appearances include two "Dark Shadows" podcast series, "Dark Shadows: Short Stories" in 2018 and "Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood/Vengeance at Collinwood" in 2026. Barrett was also married several times, first to co-star David Ford, then to Dr. Harold Kaplan, and later to another physician, Dr. Stuart Leichter, per the 2012 book "Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the TV Classic 'Dark Shadows."

Alexandra Moltke played Victoria Winters on the series, a governess who arrives at Collinwood in search of her true identity and who is then wooed by the vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). "Dark Shadows" was Moltke's first acting role, and she basically stopped acting after she left the series, making just one other on-screen appearance in 1968's "Certain Honorable Men." She instead transitioned to life behind the camera in the academic and documentary world, becoming a researcher and eventual assistant curator at what is now the Paley Center for Media. Moltke has also directed and produced several documentaries, with her work airing on PBS, Ovation, and BET.

In 1967, she married Philip Isles and has been professionally known as Alexandra Isles since. The couple share one son but split at some point in the 1970s. Isles was later a key figure in the infamous case of Claus von Bulow, who was convicted and later acquitted of trying to kill his wealthy wife, Sonny von Bulow. She was von Bulow's mistress and delivered damning testimony at the first trial, telling the court that she told von Bulow she would end their affair if he did not leave his wife, which led the jury to believe there was a sufficient motive for him to attempt to kill his wife. She left von Bulow and later married Alfred Jaretzki, with whom she was until he died in 2014.

Kathryn Leigh Scott began her tenure on "Dark Shadows" as waitress Maggie Evans before adding the role of Josette Du Pres to her roster. Scott had fond memories of her time on the show, saying in an interview with The Blueprint in 2022, "I am still getting letters from people saying, 'I'm 62-years-old now, and I have to tell you that you got me through a terrible childhood. My best memories are racing home from school and sitting on the couch with my grandmother and watching 'Dark Shadows.'"

After the show, Scott continued with a steady acting career, with roles on series like "Magnum P.I.," "Matlock," and more recently "The Blacklist" and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Scott became an author, writing four novels and a book about working on "Dark Shadows," titled "Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood." Scott also created her own publishing company, Pomegranate Press, focusing on books about the entertainment industry, including a book about the history of Playboy, "The Bunny Years," which she also authored.

David Selby played the dreamy Quentin Collins, a cousin of Barnabas Collins. The actor started his tenure on the show as a ghost and later was a werewolf and a zombie. "Dark Shadows" was his first on-screen acting credit, but Selby went on to a prolific acting career for years. He has 80 credits to his name so far, including recent appearances in shows like "NCIS: New Orleans," "Chicago Fire," and the 2026 "Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood/Vengeance at Collinwood" podcast.

Selby has been married to Claudeis "Chip" Newman since 1963, and they have three children together. The couple has funded a guest artist series at West Virginia University, Selby's alma mater, as well as a children's musical theater summer program in New York for 10 years. Selby is also active in his church and has volunteered in scout and youth sports programs.

David Henesy played David Collins, the young son of the Collins family who was to be tutored by governess Victoria Winters. Henesy only appeared in a few other on-screen roles, including an episode of "The Waltons" and the 1970 "House of Dark Shadows" film. Before his work on TV, Henesy also appeared in the touring company of "Oliver!" in 1964.

After his short career as a child actor, Henesy, like many other former child stars, left fame behind for a normal job and went on to become successful in the restaurant business. Henesy is based in Panama and New York City, running several hospitality, food, and restaurant companies, including DOP Cacao, which focuses on sustainable processes with its plantations, per his LinkedIn. He's also the founder of Panama Botanicals, a specialty food and beverage importer.

Jerry Lacy played several roles on the series, as so many have, but his primary character was Lamar Trask, the undertaker who ran the Trask Funeral Home in Collinsport. Looking back on "Dark Shadows," Lacy told Trainwreck'd Society in 2019, "It is clear that our audience was very young, and in my own experience I know how I revere to this day the entertainment that made an impression on me in my youth. So it should not be a surprise that those young people would hold dear the memory of the show and enjoy revisiting it even after all these years."

After the show, Lacy continued acting, with notable credits including a stint on "The Young and the Restless," an episode of "Drake & Josh," and several "Dark Shadows" related podcast episodes. He also wrote several episodes of television, including two credits for "Newhart," an episode of "Parenthood," and an episode of the 2016 "Dark Shadows: Short Stories" podcast. Lacy has been married to fellow actor Julia Duffy since 1984. They have two children, son Danny and daughter Kerry Kathleen.

"Charlie's Angels" star Kate Jackson landed one of her first roles on "Dark Shadows," playing the ghostly Daphne. "It was a great training, because I was working four days a week. I learned to scream a lot, and I learned about ghosts and spooks," she told The Indianapolis News in 1972 (per Woman's World). Jackson later appeared in the 1971 "Night of Dark Shadows" film in a different role, as Tracy Collins.

Just a few years later, Jackson landed her breakout role as Sabrina Duncan on "Charlie's Angels." Her career only grew from there, with another leading role on the '80s hit "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," and dozens of other TV appearances. Jackson's last credited appearance is a 2007 episode of "Criminal Minds." Since then, Jackson has left Hollywood for a quiet life.

Roger Davis was an established actor by the time he starred in "Dark Shadows," having appeared in episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and "The Big Valley" among other series. Davis played multiple parts across the "Dark Shadows" timelines, and later appeared in "House of Dark Shadows" as well as the 2026 podcast series. Davis crafted a lengthy acting career after appearing on the soap, with credits on "Wonder Woman," "Matlock," and "Quincy, M.E.," with a final on-screen credit in the 2000 film "Beyond the Pale."

In addition to his acting work, Davis became involved in real estate and some architectural and design work. He remodeled a historic Tennessee home that he purchased in the late 1970s, and was described as an "amateur architect" in The Courier Journal's report of the home's sale. Davis also worked on the historic Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Kentucky.

Terryane Crawford played Beth Chavez on the series, as well as Edith Collins. Crawford originally read for a different small part on "Dark Shadows" in 1968 and landed the role, but at the same time was offered a leading role in a short film starring Robert De Niro. She took the film role but was welcomed back on the series and stuck with it through the end. After her time on "Dark Shadows," Crawford did a handful of additional TV work, but sunsetted her acting career in 2002 with an episode of "General Hospital" (though she also appeared in the 2026 "Dark Shadows" podcast, as so many other stars of the show have).

Crawford moved on from acting and focused on humanitarian work, becoming a counselor and founding the Inner Light Ministry. As she stated in the "Barnabas & Company" book, the ministry's goal "is to help improve people's relationships with themselves and with one another—and their relationship to God, however it is they experience God." Crawford also worked with the United Nations on several trips and later helped form a foundation called Young Media Partners to help disadvantaged young people receive education in media outreach.

Donna McKechnie played Amanda Harris and Olivia Corey on "Dark Shadows," but she is probably better known to most audiences for her extensive stage work before and after her appearance on the show. Before "Dark Shadows," she had roles in "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "On The Town," "Promises, Promises," and "Company," among many others. She was also in the Broadway debut of "A Chorus Line," playing Cassie Ferguson, a performance that earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

McKechnie also appeared on several episodes of series like "Cheers," "Fame," and "Scarecrow and Mrs. King." But it appears the stage and dance have been her primary focus and highlight of her career. Among her many accomplishments, McKechnie had the honor of being asked by the late Bob Fosse to play the lead in the national tour of "Sweet Charity," his final production.