The Collins family faced a variety of monsters and traditional horror creatures of the night. The series jumped back and forth in time, dealing with a curse from late 1700's and the present day 1960's.

But From evil Ghost to flesh and blood Werewolf, Quentin Collins became a very popular character. His good looks and brooding sensuality made him a hit with the fans, and his popularity soon began to rival that of Barnabas.

Quentin Collins was actually several characters featured in Dark Shadows. All variations of the character were played by actor David Selby.

David Selby (born February 5, 1941) was born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, and attended West Virginia University, where he fell in love with acting. He also fell in love with a fellow student, while doing a summer stock production of Honey in the Rock in Beckley, West Virginia, in 1961. He and Claudeis (Chip) Newman married in 1963.

   

The Selbys moved to New York after David landed a role in a national tour, followed by off-off-Broadway productions.

Then David joined the cast of Dark Shadows, in an unusual role: For his first several weeks on the show he didn't speak; he played Quentin Collins, a silent, extremely menacing ghost who traumatized children Amy and David, and drove everyone out of Collinwood.

Eventually, though, the actor got a chance to talk when the storyline was shifted to the past again, to 1897, to explore Quentin's history.

During the 1897 flashback, Dark Shadows shot to its highest ratings. A merchandising blitz was launched, and David was among the cast members at its center. His image was featured on bubble gum cards, posters, and the covers of paperback books. He even recorded a duet with Nancy Barrett ("I Wanna Dance With You"), which was released as a single in 1969.

When Jonathan Frid decided not to play Barnabas in the sequel to House of Dark Shadows, the story was written to center instead on Quentin Collins, and David made his movie debut in 1971 taking the lead role in Night of Dark Shadows.

More films and stage appearances followed, and DaVid made his first West Coast TV appearance in 1974, as a charming art teacher who tempted Olivia, the devoutly married matriarch of The Waltons. Other guest-starring roles include parts on Police Woman, Kojak and Family.

In the 1977 mini-series Washington: Behind Closed Doors, David played an member of the U.S. President's staff -- "someone you could actively dislike," he said. He enjoyed the chance to stretch his "bad guy" acting muscles. Also in the cast were Lara Parker and Thayer David.

For one season, in 1981, David again got to play an evil character, as the vengeful Michael Tyrone on the nighttime soap Flamingo Road, costarring Morgan Fairchild and Mark Harmon.

Waltons creator Earl Hamner remembered the positive experience of working with David on that show, so after Flamingo Road was canceled, Hamner sought him out for a leading role in his already-established nighttime soap, Falcon Crest. From 1982 to 1990, David played power-hungry Richard Channing, a scheming newspaper publisher constantly clashing with his mother, Angela, played by movie veteran Jane Wyman. His wife, Maggie, was played by DS alum Susan Sullivan.

The Selby family was still based in New York, but David was often in California working in television and film. "They have a saying in West Virginia, 'You have to go where the coal is'," he said. Splitting his time between the coasts meant long separations from his family, so in 1982, David, Chip and their three children son Jamison and daughters Brooke and Amanda) moved to California.

After Falcon Crest was canceled, David appeared in several movies, including Dying Young (1991, with Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott), White Squall (1996) and the Disney film D3: The Mighty Ducks (1997). He had a memorable cameo in 2004's Surviving Christmas, starring Ben Affleck.

In 1997 he starred in another TV series, Soldier of Fortune. Other recent guest appearances have included roles on Touched By An Angel (1998) and Ally McBeal (2000).

David is also a playwright. He has appeared in his self-penned Lincoln and James at the Dark Shadows Festival and at several other venues including West Virginia University. He also adapted it into a screenplay. Lincoln and James is about the caretaker of Abraham Lincoln's Washington, D.C., statue, who encounters the spirit of the dead president. David also wrote Final Assault, a play about the conflict between a coal mining company and environmentalists.

Writing talent runs in the Selby family. Son Jamison wrote Return to Collinwood, a radio drama presented at the 2003. DS Festival (starring his dad and other original cast members). A recording of the drama was released on CD the following year.

The Audio Cast: John Karlen, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leight Scott and David Selby

David at a Dark Shadows Festival with the ever-beautiful Marie Wallace

David and Chip formed Locust Grove Press to publish David's first book, In and Out of the Shadows, featuring poetry he wrote and photos from throughout his career. Next they released My Mother's Autumn, David's poetry about his mother's death. It was also released as an audio book on CD. His most recent book is another poetry collection, Happenstance.

David lives in Los Angeles with his wife Chip.

Shadows of the night
Falling silently.
Echo of the past,
Calling you to me.

Haunting memory
Veiled in misty glow,
Phantom melody,
Playing soft and low.

In this world that we know now
Life is here, then gone.
But somewhere in the afterglow,
Love lives on and on.

Dreams of long ago
Meet in rendezvous.
Shadows of the night
Calling me to you.