Jonathan Frid and the crown of King Richard

A few weeks back, DARK SHADOWS guru Jim Pierson sent me a batch of recently unearthed photos of the late Jonathan Frid. Some of these photos (which will make an appearance here sooner or later) date back to his days before DARK SHADOWS, while others were taken during his later years as a public speaker. Among these images was this proof, above, probably taken at his home in New York City.

The thumbnail images on the left show Frid holding his crown from a production of "Richard III," which was among his favorite roles. Frid played the monstrous king in 1965 to rave reviews. "Frid's performance captures a Richard who is human because he is greedy, ambitious and evil," wrote one critic. "A Richard who is admirable because he is loathsome; a facile cripple, most cruel in power, winning of speech and unhesitating of the most foul murders in his climb to the English throne."

Frid held onto the crown for the remainder of his life. His family inherited it after his 2012 passing, and allowed it to be auctioned off for charity during last year's Dark Shadows Festival in Tarrytown, N.Y. Julie Gates, of Missouri, won the crown in the auction. You can see her wearing it in the image at the right.