Daniel Collins (fictional character)
Encyclopedia
Daniel Collins was the name of a fictional character
that appeared on the 1960s ABC
daytime soap opera Dark Shadows
. Initially the character was played by child actor David Henesy
during a storyline that has become informally known as the "1795 Flashback". In 1970, the character returned (now an adult) for the "1840 Flashback" storyline, this time played by stage actor Louis Edmonds
.
and to the estate of Collinwood, to attend the planned wedding of their cousin Barnabas Collins and his then fiancee Josette DuPres. As a child, Daniel developed a close bond with his younger cousin, Sarah Collins (the little sister of Barnabas), but was devastated when the young girl died from Pneumonia (In truth, Sarah's illness was actually the result of a spiteful witch known as Angelique
(Lara Parker
).
Daniel and his sister, Millicent, were heirs in their own right to a large portion of the Collins Family fortune (as the only surviving members of the New York branch of the Collins family). Joshua Collins had hoped to consolidate this fortune by arranging a marriage between Millicent and his younger brother, Jeremiah, but neither Jeremiah nor Millicent had any interest in such an alliance. Millicent secretly married Lt. Nathan Forbes after she had given her share of the fortune to Daniel to prove that Forbes was not after her money. Forbes arranged to become Daniel's guardian and then drove Millicent insane (not a terribly difficult task) and hired an assassin to kill Daniel. However; Daniel was saved by Victoria Winters
who killed the assassin (thereby insuring the survival of the Collins family members whom she knew and loved, who were all descended from Daniel). Forbes was killed by Barnabas Collins
and Joshua took Daniel in as his heir since Millicent never recovered her sanity. Since Joshua's wife, Naomi
, and their children, Barnabas and Sarah were all dead (or undead), Daniel became the sole heir to the Collins Family fortune.
As an adult, Daniel married a woman named Harriet and became the patriarch of Collinwood. He had two sons, Quentin
and Gabriel. In 1830, Harriet died from a mysterious fall from Widow's Hill. It was said that the fact Daniel had murdered her was the "most well known family secret". Daniel, plagued by the guilt of killing Harriet began a long slide into senility and dementia. He often believed Harriet was haunting him and could appear anywhere in Collinwood except for the Tower Room, where Daniel had strangled her before throwing her body off the cliff.
In late 1840, the Collins family was set upon by the spirit of centuries old warlock
named Judah Zachery. Although dead, the head of Judah Zachery contained the warlock's malevolent spirit, and whomever took possession of the head became Judah's unwilling slave. The head passed through several hands but ultimately came into the possession of a seaman named Gerard Stiles (a friend of Quentin Collins). Zachery took complete possession of Stiles and used the younger man’s personality and charm to insinuate his way into the Collins family fortune.
Gerard framed Quentin for two murders and various acts of Satanism
and convinced Daniel to alter his will leaving the Collins estate to Gerard rather than Quentin. Daniel's mental stability was greatly traumatized by the event and his health took a turn for the worse. Compounding the ailing Daniel's stress was the appearance of a woman named Valerie Collins. Valerie was in fact the reincarnated witch Angelique who had terrorized Collinsport nearly fifty years earlier. Daniel recalled Angelique from his childhood memories and the shock of seeing her still alive and youthful drove him over the edge of sanity.
In the end, it was actually Daniel's second son, Gabriel, who ended his life. Upon learning that Daniel had changed his will to disinherit Quentin for practicing witchcraft, he assumed that Daniel left him the entire fortune. Gabriel assaulted his father inducing a seizure which ultimately claimed his life. But Gabriel later discovered that the family fortune was to be left to Gerard Stiles as guardian of Quentin's son Tad Collins, until Tad turned 21; and sole heir should Tad die before then, or be taken from Collinwood by his mother.
discovered that the entrance to a specific room at Collinwood led into a parallel dimension where characters and events played out in similar form to their mainstream counterparts. In this parallel time, David Henesy played another character named Daniel Collins. This character was the counterpart to David Collins, but was the son of Quentin and Angelique Collins.
revived the Dark Shadows series as a one-hour night time soap opera for NBC
. The series re-imagined the "1795 Flashback" storyline and cast child actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt
in the role of Daniel Collins. Levitt also played Daniel's modern day descendant David Collins throughout the series. This version of Daniel Collins also made cameo appearances in Dark Shadows comic book limited series by Innovation Comics.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
that appeared on the 1960s ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
daytime soap opera Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. Initially the character was played by child actor David Henesy
David Henesy
David Henesy Raised in New York City, Henesy was a child actor in film, television, and Broadway. He appeared in "Oliver!", "Jenny" , and daytime television series Dark Shadows in the roles of David Collins, Daniel Collins, Jamison Collins, and Tad Collins...
during a storyline that has become informally known as the "1795 Flashback". In 1970, the character returned (now an adult) for the "1840 Flashback" storyline, this time played by stage actor Louis Edmonds
Louis Edmonds
Louis Edmonds was an American actor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was best known for his roles in Dark Shadows and All My Children....
.
Biography
Daniel Collins was born during the latter half of the 18th century in New York City, and spent the first ten or so years of his life there. In 1795, he and his older sister Millicent Collins were invited to the town of Collinsport, MaineCollinsport, Maine
Collinsport is the fictional setting of the 1960s Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows.In the series, Collinsport is a small, coastal fishing village located in Maine, on the coast about 50 miles - 80 km southeast of Bangor. Characters on the show sometimes visit or refer to Bangor, Maine or...
and to the estate of Collinwood, to attend the planned wedding of their cousin Barnabas Collins and his then fiancee Josette DuPres. As a child, Daniel developed a close bond with his younger cousin, Sarah Collins (the little sister of Barnabas), but was devastated when the young girl died from Pneumonia (In truth, Sarah's illness was actually the result of a spiteful witch known as Angelique
Angelique the Witch
Angélique Bouchard Collins, usually known as simply Angélique, is a fictional character from the TV gothic horror-soap opera Dark Shadows and its various adaptations...
(Lara Parker
Lara Parker
Lara Parker is an American television, stage, and film actress best known for her role as Angelique on the cult ABC-TV serial Dark Shadows which aired from to...
).
Daniel and his sister, Millicent, were heirs in their own right to a large portion of the Collins Family fortune (as the only surviving members of the New York branch of the Collins family). Joshua Collins had hoped to consolidate this fortune by arranging a marriage between Millicent and his younger brother, Jeremiah, but neither Jeremiah nor Millicent had any interest in such an alliance. Millicent secretly married Lt. Nathan Forbes after she had given her share of the fortune to Daniel to prove that Forbes was not after her money. Forbes arranged to become Daniel's guardian and then drove Millicent insane (not a terribly difficult task) and hired an assassin to kill Daniel. However; Daniel was saved by Victoria Winters
Victoria Winters
Victoria Winters is a fictional character from the television Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows and its remakes of the same name. The role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the ABC series from 1966–1968. After Moltke left to raise a family in 1968, actresses Betsy Durkin and Carolyn Groves briefly...
who killed the assassin (thereby insuring the survival of the Collins family members whom she knew and loved, who were all descended from Daniel). Forbes was killed by Barnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
and Joshua took Daniel in as his heir since Millicent never recovered her sanity. Since Joshua's wife, Naomi
Naomi Collins
Naomi Collins was a fictional character on the daytime drama, Dark Shadows. Naomi was an elegant and distinguished member of the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine in the latter half of the 18th century. She was the wife of Joshua Collins and the mother to Barnabas Collins and Sarah Collins...
, and their children, Barnabas and Sarah were all dead (or undead), Daniel became the sole heir to the Collins Family fortune.
As an adult, Daniel married a woman named Harriet and became the patriarch of Collinwood. He had two sons, Quentin
Quentin Collins
Quentin Collins is the name of several characters featured in the 1966-1971 ABC cult TV Gothic horror-soap opera Dark Shadows. All variations of the character have been played by actor David Selby.-Quentin I:...
and Gabriel. In 1830, Harriet died from a mysterious fall from Widow's Hill. It was said that the fact Daniel had murdered her was the "most well known family secret". Daniel, plagued by the guilt of killing Harriet began a long slide into senility and dementia. He often believed Harriet was haunting him and could appear anywhere in Collinwood except for the Tower Room, where Daniel had strangled her before throwing her body off the cliff.
In late 1840, the Collins family was set upon by the spirit of centuries old warlock
Warlock
The term warlock in origin means "traitor, oathbreaker".In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch ....
named Judah Zachery. Although dead, the head of Judah Zachery contained the warlock's malevolent spirit, and whomever took possession of the head became Judah's unwilling slave. The head passed through several hands but ultimately came into the possession of a seaman named Gerard Stiles (a friend of Quentin Collins). Zachery took complete possession of Stiles and used the younger man’s personality and charm to insinuate his way into the Collins family fortune.
Gerard framed Quentin for two murders and various acts of Satanism
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
and convinced Daniel to alter his will leaving the Collins estate to Gerard rather than Quentin. Daniel's mental stability was greatly traumatized by the event and his health took a turn for the worse. Compounding the ailing Daniel's stress was the appearance of a woman named Valerie Collins. Valerie was in fact the reincarnated witch Angelique who had terrorized Collinsport nearly fifty years earlier. Daniel recalled Angelique from his childhood memories and the shock of seeing her still alive and youthful drove him over the edge of sanity.
In the end, it was actually Daniel's second son, Gabriel, who ended his life. Upon learning that Daniel had changed his will to disinherit Quentin for practicing witchcraft, he assumed that Daniel left him the entire fortune. Gabriel assaulted his father inducing a seizure which ultimately claimed his life. But Gabriel later discovered that the family fortune was to be left to Gerard Stiles as guardian of Quentin's son Tad Collins, until Tad turned 21; and sole heir should Tad die before then, or be taken from Collinwood by his mother.
Parallel Time
In 1970, the series writers began a storyline which focused on alternate realities. The character of Barnabas CollinsBarnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
discovered that the entrance to a specific room at Collinwood led into a parallel dimension where characters and events played out in similar form to their mainstream counterparts. In this parallel time, David Henesy played another character named Daniel Collins. This character was the counterpart to David Collins, but was the son of Quentin and Angelique Collins.
Revival Series
In 1991 Dan Curtis ProductionsDan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
revived the Dark Shadows series as a one-hour night time soap opera for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. The series re-imagined the "1795 Flashback" storyline and cast child actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films....
in the role of Daniel Collins. Levitt also played Daniel's modern day descendant David Collins throughout the series. This version of Daniel Collins also made cameo appearances in Dark Shadows comic book limited series by Innovation Comics.