Jonathan Frid, actor in original "Dark Shadows,"dies at 87

(CBS/AP) Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, best known for playing Barnabas Collins in the 1960s original vampire soap opera "Dark Shadows," has died. He was 87.

Frid died last Friday of natural causes in a hospital in his home town of Hamilton, Ontario, said Jim Pierson, a friend and spokesman for Dan Curtis Productions, the creator of "Dark Shadows."

His death comes just weeks before a Tim Burton-directed version of "Dark Shadows," starring Johnny Depp as Barabas Collins, is due out. Frid has a cameo role in the new movie in which he meets Depp's character in a party scene with two other original actors from the show.

Pierson said Burton and Depp were fans of Frid, who played a vulnerable vampire in one of the first sympathetic portrayals of the immortal creatures.

"Jonathan Frid was the reason I used to run home from school to watch 'Dark Shadows,'" Depp said in a statement, reports the Los Angeles Times. "When I had the honor to finally meet him, as he so generously passed the torch of Barnabas to me, he was as elegant and magical as I had always imagined. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. The world has lost a true original."

"Twenty million people saw the show at its peak in 1969. Kids ran home from school and housewives watched it. It had a huge pop culture impact," Pierson said.

Frid had been an accomplished stage actor before "Dark Shadows" made him famous. The show has lived on in reruns.

Pierson said Frid been in declining health in recent months. At Frid's request, there was no funeral and there will be no memorial.

"He really was kind of a no-fuss guy," Pierson said. Frid never married. He is survived by a nephew, Donald Frid.