Jonathan Frid, Original 'Dark Shadows' Vampire, Dead At 87

Jonathan Frid, 87, the Canadian actor who popularized the character of Barnabas Collins in the original 1960s series Dark Shadows, died last week — on Friday the 13th. Johnny Depp, who plays Collins in the Tim Burton-directed movie remake of Dark Shadows, due out May 11, called Frid a "true original."

“Jonathan Frid was the reason I used to run home from school to watch Dark Shadows,” Depp, who is currently filming Gore Verbinski’s Lone Ranger on set in Arizona, told The Los Angeles Times. ”His elegance and grace was an inspiration then and will continue to remain one forever more. When I had the honor to finally meet him … [he] generously passed the torch of Barnabas.”

Frid died last Friday of natural causes in a hospital in his home town of Hamilton, Ontario. He has a cameo in the Burton film, along with two other original actors from the show.

Watch the trailer for Dark Shadows here: