Other
Characters:
Matthew
Morgan
1966, Ben
Stokes
1795, 1840, Sandor
Rakosi,
Count
Petofi
1897 (pictured), Timothy
Stokes
1970 Parallel Time, Mordecai
Grimes
1840, Ben
Stokes
1841 Parallel Time (pictured), Professor
T Elliot Stokes
House of Dark Shadows, Reverend
Strack
Night of Dark Shadows
The direct descendant of the 18th Century Collins servant
Ben Stokes, Professor Timothy Elliot Stokes is drawn almost
by destiny to the supernatural intrigue surrounding Collinwood.
A lecturer at the local university, and a devoted and learned
spiritualist, Stokes possesses knowledge of the arcane with
a naturally inquisitive nature, and keen senses of deduction.
A valued member of the Collins family social circle, he forms
close ties with Barnabas and Julia, though remains ignorant
of the dark secrets the pair harbour between them.
Thayer
David was born David
Thayer Hersey on 4 March 1927, in Medford, Massachusetts,
and studied at Harvard University, though decided to concentrate
on acting before completing his degree. His family disapproved
of his choice of acting as a profession and asked that he
change his name to spare their name. He duly obliged, adopting
Thayer David for his entire professional career.
In addition to an extensive theatre resume, Thayer David earned
a reputation as a dependable character actor for the theatre,
film and television, and also loaned his rich, distinctive
voice to numerous commercial voice-overs. On Dark Shadows,
his skills at developing new characters were called upon extensively,
with him tackling more individual characters on the show than
any other performer. With each, he took a special interest
in costume and make-up, making detailed suggestions throughout.
David's many film credits included roles in Baby
Face Nelson (1957),
Journey to the
Center of the Earth
(1959), Little Big Man
(1970), Save
the Tiger (1973), Rocky
(1976), Fun
With Dick and Jane
(1977) and House Calls
(1978).
His roles on the small screen included parts in The
Wild, Wild West, Kojak, The Rockford Files, Ellery Queen,
The Invisible Man, Starsky and Hutch, The Amazing Spiderman,
Washington: Behind Closed Doors, Roots, Columbo, The Amazing
Howard Hughes, Charlie's Angels and
The Hardy Boys and Nancy
Drew Mysteries.
Thayer David was married to actress Valerie French on October
31 1969, though the couple later divorced. Thayer David
died of a heart attack on 17 July 1978 in New York City, aged
just 51. According to French, they had been planning
to remarry at the time of his untimely death.
Photographs
· Click on the thumbnails
to view the full-size image
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Thayer
David guest stars in a 1976 episode of Petrocelli.
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With
thanks to Craig Hamrick
Visit the Articles
and Features section to read a rare interview with Thayer
David
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