Dark Shadows

Robbinsdale High School, in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis, was at one time the largest high school in Minnesota. I was a graduate of RHS in the class of 1962.

In the RHS class of 1961, there was a girl, Marlene Kringstad, who was named best actress of her graduating class. After high school, she moved to New York City, changed her name to Kathryn Leigh Scott, and became a Playboy Bunny (to survive financially) while she was attempting to break into a career as an actress.

In 1966, DARK SHADOWS debuted as an ABC-TV afternoon gothic-horror soap opera series set in the late 1700s and including storylines which involved a vampire theme. Kathryn Leigh Scott was one of the feature players where she portrayed Maggie and Josette DuPres, the doomed fiancée of vampire Barnabas Collins. Kathryn also starred in the 1970 MGM film HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS and had a leading role in THE GREAT GATSBY movie in 1974, starring Robert Redford.

DARK SHADOWS went on to become a cult classic TV series into the mid 1970s. In 2006, Warner Brothers made a DARK SHADOWS movie, starring Johnny Depp.

Kathryn Leigh Scott has a very extensive movie & TV resume which can be seen on her website kathrynleighscott.com.

I have seen her on many TV shows. It's always a surprise and pleasure to watch a person from your high school on a TV episode. Some of her TV appearances include Hawaii Five-O, Baretta, Return of the Saint, Little House on the Prairie, Quincy M.E., The Incredible Hulk, Magnum P.I., Police Squad, Rockford Files, Phillip Marlowe Private Eye (multiple episodes), Cagney & Lacey, Shadow Chasers, The A-Team, Hotel, Knots Landing, Mr. Belvedere, Dallas (multiple episodes), Dynasty (multiple episodes), Star Trek: The Next Generation, 21 Jump Street, Matlock, Jake and the Fat Man, CIS, The Goldbergs (multiple episodes), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (in opening episode in 2015), etc., etc . -- 71 actress credits in all.

Kathryn Leigh Scott is also a writer and owns a publishing company called Pomegranate Press, Ltd. (New York and Los Angeles). She and her husband live in Beverly Hills and London.

Recently, I sent a few of my books to Kathryn and she sent three of her books to me (listed below)

• Dark Shadows, Return to Collingwood (by Kathryn Leigh Scott and Jim Pierson) -- a large coffee table book (photos & stories) about the original TV series and subsequent highlights of the Dark Shadows continual productions through 2012.

• The Bunny Years (by Kathryn Leigh Scott, with a Forward by Hugh Hefner) -- "The Surprising Inside Story of the Playboy Clubs: The Women Who Worked as Bunnies and Where They Are Now" -- numerous stories of the Bunny personal experience by original Bunnies, including Susan Sullivan (actress), Lauren Hutton (supermodel & actress), Gloria Steinem (writer), Deborah Harry (musician) and many, many more -- it has sold over 165.000 copies..

• Dark Passages (novel by Kathryn Leigh Scott) -- a terrific piece of fiction about an actress from small midwestern town caught up in the Playboy Bunny and acting scene in NYC while dealing with an intriguing supernatural subplot -- it had my attention throughout -- Kathryn is a superb writer.

Kathryn's recent novel is titled Down and Out in Beverly Heels. She is currently working on another novel titled Jinxed and her memoir titled Last Dance at the Savoy.

           

Other works by Kathryn Leigh Scott from Pomegranate Press:

• Dark Shadows Memories
• Dark Shadows Companion
• Dark Shadows Almanac
• Lobby Cards: The Classic Films
• Lobby Cards: The Classic comedies

Kathryn Leigh Scott is one of my heroes -- she had a purpose in life and made it work

Break a leg, KLS

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Quote for the Day -- "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." Bill Shakespeare

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Bret Burquest is the author of 11 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where the purpose in life is food, clothing, shelter, and becoming one with the Universe and beyond.

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