"I set a curse upon you, Barnabas Collins! You wanted your Josette so much, well, you have her but not the way that you would have chosen. You will never rest, Barnabas! And you will never be able to love anyone for whoever loves you will die. That is my curse, and you will live with it through all eternity!"
~Angelique Bouchard
(Lara Parker)
Dark Shadows (TV)
Angelique: Oh Barnabas. if we could simply begin again. Will you never forget?
Barnabas: No, I will not.
Rest in peace, Lara Parker. I first came to know of Angelique Bouchard, Parker's signature role, when I was a child. My mother, sister and I would sit glued to our tv each weekday, to see the spooky goings on in Collinsport, the fictional town featured in the gothic daytime drama, Dark Shadows. The blend of romance, especially the love Angelique had for Barnabas Collins, and the horror, there were vampires, ghosts and werewolves after all, was pretty much equal, however, Lara Parker portrayed a character unequaled as the, over the top witch, Angelique Bouchard Collins. She scared the crap out of me, but I wished I could grow to be as beautiful as Lara Parker was. I loved horror, and the show gave me genuine nightmares, my sister too, and yet by today's standards the show was as low tech as it got. Still, who ever needed special affects to be scared? The scares Dark Shadows provided came from the story and the perfect, if not campy, acting.Who knew campy could give one nightmares?
Dark Shadows debuted on June 27th, 1966, just 2 days before my 4th birthday. My mother and sister probably shouldn't have allowed me to watch it, but in truth, the rascal in me would have found a way. A prime-time version which aired in the 1990's, only made it a few episodes, despite being a decent and much more serious take, but I was there glued to every episode. In 2012 director Time Burton decided to take it to a more comedic slant, and again, I was there. The irony was great. The camp was great. And a few genuine spooky moments all came together to honor the original show, and still keep the history intact. I was getting another chance to see my friends again. Including Lara Parker. She, David Selby, Katherine Leigh Scott and Jonathon Frid all had cameos as party guests at Collinwood. It was fun. I had hoped for a sequel, but alas it was not to be.
David Selby and Lara Parker
( ABC TV movie, Night Of Dark Shadows)
Oh my, I never read the novels Lara Parker wrote after the show went off the air, but I might just indulge a bit and purchase one. I would love to see what happened next in Collinsport. That is the sign of a great movie, show or actress, you always want to see more, and I always watched whatever Lara Parker was in. Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The Rockford Files. Race With The Devil. It was all good.The one that got away from me was, Save The Tiger, with Jack Lemmon. If I can finally find it, that will be next. She won't be playing a witch, but I am sure she will great. She always was. In fact, TCM is playing both te
Rest in gentle peace, Lara... and Angelique.
October 27th 1938 - October 12th 2023
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