Building a better Barnabas

Last June, artist Dwayne Whitehead went in search of a lifecast of actor Jonathan Frid. By the following November, he'd acquired one and began to create a life-sized statue of Barnabas Collins. I like to think he uses it to freak people out by propping it up in wacky places around his home.

It took 100 hours to create the figure, which stands almost six feet tall, is dressed in a double-breasted suit, and features the character's signature ring and wolf's head cane. The head was sculpted from clay, molded and then cast in latex. It's eyes are made of glass, and the hair was made the old fashioned way: grown on a human head. Probably not Frid's, but that doesn't make it any less ooky.

Whitehead's next step is create scenery for the figure, a backdrop that will include the famous portrait hanging in the foyer of Collinwood and a copy of Josette's music box. It will feel right at home with Whitehead's other statues, which include many of the classic Universal Monsters.

The artist has a limited supply of hands and heads (nine, to be precise) made from his Barnabas Collins molds. If you're interested in adding these to your collection, drop him a line at propmasters1 (at) yahoo.com.

You can see a slideshow of photos from Whitehead's project below.