David Selby
Encyclopedia
David Lynn Selby is an American
character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap opera
s and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins
on the ABC-TV
serial, Dark Shadows
(a role he played from 1968 to its ending in 1971 and again in the recent audio revival), and as the evil and compassionate estranged son of Angela Channing (played by Jane Wyman
), Richard Channing, on the primetime CBS
soap opera
Falcon Crest
(a role he played from 1982 to 1990).
, West Virginia
, the son of Sarah E. McIntyre Selby and Clyde Ira Selby, a carpenter. He attended West Virginia University
in his hometown, earning Bachelor of Science
and Master's degree
s in theater, followed by a Ph.D.
from Southern Illinois University
.
He eventually brought his Dark Shadows character to film with the second Dark Shadows movie, Night of Dark Shadows
, released in 1971 after the TV series' cancellation. In 1979, Selby also turned down the role of Gary Ewing on Knots Landing
, hence, the role was ultimately given to Ted Shackelford
, who guest-starred on Dallas, with Joan Van Ark
. A year before joining Falcon Crest
in 1982, he played the villainous Michael Tyronne on the final season of the NBC
primetime serial Flamingo Road.
When Richard Channing was originally written into Falcon Crest, he was considered more of a villain. However, over the years the character became more of a hero (arguably due to David Selby's rather sympathetic portrayal of the character), and was an audience favorite. For his eight seasons on Falcon Crest, he had developed a wonderful on- and off-screen chemistry with Jane Wyman
, mirroring their mother/son relationships. In 1989, Selby was very devastated to hear about his childhood television iconic actor's and series' lead's (Wyman) medical leave from the show, at the beginning of the ninth and final season on Falcon Crest, that he alongside Lorenzo Lamas
(who played Selby's on-screen nephew) and Susan Sullivan
(who played Selby's on-screen wife), visited the ailing star at the hospital. That same year, his screen-time had been expanded for most of the last season. Long after the series was cancelled, and while co-starring opposite his old friend Jane Alexander
in the short-lived series, Tell Me You Love Me
, Selby was grief-stricken when his series' lead and friend, Jane Wyman, had died in 2007.
Selby's movie credits include co-starring roles with Barbra Streisand
in Up the Sandbox
(1972) and with Ron Leibman
in The Super Cops
(1974), White Squall
, D3: The Mighty Ducks
, Raise the Titanic, and Surviving Christmas
(2004). In 2010, he appeared in The Social Network
as the attorney representing the Winklevoss brothers. He has recently reprised the role of Quentin Collins for a new series of Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. On the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Selby appeared on stage with President Barack Obama
and portrayed Lincoln in a scene from the play The Heavens Are Hung in Black at the historic reopening of Ford's Theatre
.
His writing includes the plays Lincoln and James and Final Assault as well as the poetry collections My Mother's Autumn and Happenstance. His novels are Lincoln's Better Angel and The Blue Door. My Better Place combines memoir and social commentary to discuss Selby's West Virginia upbringing. In 2010, Selby published My Shadowed Past, chronicling what it was like to work on Dark Shadows
during the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s.
He played Abraham Lincoln in the Touched by an Angel
episode "Beautiful Dreamer".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins
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:...
on the ABC-TV
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...
serial, 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...
(a role he played from 1968 to its ending in 1971 and again in the recent audio revival), and as the evil and compassionate estranged son of Angela Channing (played by Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
), Richard Channing, on the primetime CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
(a role he played from 1982 to 1990).
Life and career
Selby was born in MorgantownMorgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, the son of Sarah E. McIntyre Selby and Clyde Ira Selby, a carpenter. He attended West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
in his hometown, earning Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s in theater, followed by a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
.
He eventually brought his Dark Shadows character to film with the second Dark Shadows movie, Night of Dark Shadows
Night of Dark Shadows
Night of Dark Shadows is a 1971 horror film by Dan Curtis. It is the sequel to House of Dark Shadows. It centers on the story of Quentin Collins and his bride Tracy at the Collinwood Mansion in Collinsport, Maine....
, released in 1971 after the TV series' cancellation. In 1979, Selby also turned down the role of Gary Ewing on Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
, hence, the role was ultimately given to Ted Shackelford
Ted Shackelford
Ted Shackelford is an American actor best known for his role as Gary Ewing on the CBS television series Knots Landing, in which he starred from 1979–93...
, who guest-starred on Dallas, with Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark is an American actress, most notable for her role as Valene Ewing, which she originated on the CBS series Dallas and continued for thirteen seasons on its spin-off, Knots Landing...
. A year before joining Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
in 1982, he played the villainous Michael Tyronne on the final season of the 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...
primetime serial Flamingo Road.
When Richard Channing was originally written into Falcon Crest, he was considered more of a villain. However, over the years the character became more of a hero (arguably due to David Selby's rather sympathetic portrayal of the character), and was an audience favorite. For his eight seasons on Falcon Crest, he had developed a wonderful on- and off-screen chemistry with Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
, mirroring their mother/son relationships. In 1989, Selby was very devastated to hear about his childhood television iconic actor's and series' lead's (Wyman) medical leave from the show, at the beginning of the ninth and final season on Falcon Crest, that he alongside Lorenzo Lamas
Lorenzo Lamas
Lorenzo Lamas y de Santos is an American actor. Lamas is known for playing Lance Cumson on the popular 1980s soap opera Falcon Crest, Reno Raines on the 1990s crime drama Renegade, and Hector Ramirez on the daytime soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful...
(who played Selby's on-screen nephew) and Susan Sullivan
Susan Sullivan
Susan Michaela Sullivan is an American actress, known for several notable roles on various television programs. Sullivan played the role of Lenore Curtin Delaney on the daytime soap opera, Another World ; waitress Lois Adams during the first season of the comedy It's a Living, Maggie Gioberti...
(who played Selby's on-screen wife), visited the ailing star at the hospital. That same year, his screen-time had been expanded for most of the last season. Long after the series was cancelled, and while co-starring opposite his old friend Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
in the short-lived series, Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me is an American cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network on September 9, 2007.The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema and shot in Winnipeg,...
, Selby was grief-stricken when his series' lead and friend, Jane Wyman, had died in 2007.
Selby's movie credits include co-starring roles with Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
in Up the Sandbox
Up the Sandbox
Up The Sandbox is a 1972 American comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner.Paul Zindel's screenplay, based on the novel by Anne Roiphe, focuses on Margaret Reynolds, a young New York City wife and mother who, neglected by her husband and bored with her daily existence, slips into increasingly bizarre...
(1972) and with Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman
-Career:Leibman was a member of the Compass Players in the late 1950s. He has appeared in many films such as Phar Lap; Where's Poppa?; The Hot Rock; Slaughterhouse-Five; The Super Cops; Up the Academy; Norma Rae; Romantic Comedy; Zorro, The Gay Blade; Garden State; and Rhinestone...
in The Super Cops
The Super Cops
The Super Cops is a 1974 film starring Ron Leibman and David Selby, directed by Gordon Parks. The film is based on the book The Super Cops: The True Story Of The Cops Called Batman and Robin by L.H. Whittemore...
(1974), White Squall
White Squall (film)
White Squall is a 1996 American drama feature film, directed by Ridley Scott.-Plot:The film is based on the fate of the brigantine Albatross, which sank on 2 May 1961, allegedly because of a white squall. The film relates the ill-fated school sailing trip led by Dr. Christopher B. Sheldon , whom...
, D3: The Mighty Ducks
D3: The Mighty Ducks
D3: The Mighty Ducks is the third film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy. It was produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and Walt Disney Pictures, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, and originally released to movie theaters on October 4, 1996.-Plot:The film opens with team captain Charlie Conway and...
, Raise the Titanic, and Surviving Christmas
Surviving Christmas
Surviving Christmas is a 2004 comedy film, directed by Mike Mitchell and starring Ben Affleck. Despite being a Christmas movie, DreamWorks SKG released the movie towards the end of October. This was due to it being advanced from December 2003 to avoid clashing with Affleck's other film, Paycheck....
(2004). In 2010, he appeared in The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
as the attorney representing the Winklevoss brothers. He has recently reprised the role of Quentin Collins for a new series of Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. On the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Selby appeared on stage with President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and portrayed Lincoln in a scene from the play The Heavens Are Hung in Black at the historic reopening of Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a historic theater in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865...
.
His writing includes the plays Lincoln and James and Final Assault as well as the poetry collections My Mother's Autumn and Happenstance. His novels are Lincoln's Better Angel and The Blue Door. My Better Place combines memoir and social commentary to discuss Selby's West Virginia upbringing. In 2010, Selby published My Shadowed Past, chronicling what it was like to work on 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...
during the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s.
He played Abraham Lincoln in the Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...
episode "Beautiful Dreamer".