Podcast Flashback: Humbert Allen Astredo

We're preparing to put all 94 episodes of The Collinsport Historical Society podcast into the vaults later this week. It's a bittersweet moment in the website's history, but one that will make more sense once the new series is released into the wild. If you don't already have our previous episodes, you should download them as soon as possible. You can find the entire archive online at iTunes ... and pretty much everywhere else podcasts are available.

Here's one of the highlights from the series: In 2014, Patrick McCray scored an incredibly rare interview with actor Humbert Allen Astredo, who entered the world of Dark Shadows with a bang in 1968 as warlock Nicholas Blair. He'd later go on to play the satanic Evan Hanley and Charles Dawson on the show, and had a lengthy career on the stage after the program's cancellation.

Astredo spoke with McCray about using comedy to survive the Korean War, the different perspectives between east coast and west coast acting schools, and how he landed his first role on Dark Shadows. This is very likely the last interview Astredo ever granted; he passed away in 2016 at the age of 86.

"A white knuckled interview," McCray said. "A really nice guy convinced he had to keep an icy exterior. A very complex man. I really worked for the opportunity. Terrifying, and maybe one of the best experiences of my life. I miss him."

You can listen to the interview below.