When Lara Parker met Wink Martindale

Memphis Magazine has an interesting piece about Lara Parker as part of its "Ask Vance" feature. It's a Whatever Happened To? style series which touches on a lot of familiar highlights for DARK SHADOWS fans. Still, there are a few surprises (and some great photos) in the summary, including this little tidbit from the very beginning of Parker's career as an entertainer:

Well, she had begun appearing in several plays (in Memphis), mainly working with the old Front Street Theatre, and then in 1958, at the young age of 19, she was selected to be Wink Martindale’s lovely assistant on his hit TV show, Dance Party. 

Like Parker, Martindale was a native of Tennessee. Dance Party was broadcast out of WHBQ in Memphis, and featured one of Elvis Presley's first television interviews just two years earlier. (It's widely noted for being the first "recorded" interview with Elvis, whatever that means.)

You can read the entire story for yourself at Memphis Magazine.