This one hurts. Jonathan Frid was the vampire most folks my age grew up with because we watched Dark Shadows religiously. This was the most bizarre show on television - a daytime soap opera that revolved around a 200-year old vampire and his "modern day" family. The show ran from 1966 - 1971 and the character of Barnabas Collins was actually introduced in 1967, to help with flagging ratings. The show was, up to that point, a gothic mystery sort of thing and Barnabas was only supposed to be in the show a short while. The character wound up being the star and... it was just great. I had the board game and it was my absolute favorite:
There was a revival of this show in the 90's starring Ben Cross that wasn't bad, but it only lasted one season. The original also spawned a couple of tie-in movies that are more campy fun. Netflix has the original series for streaming, so you can check out what the fuss is about. Barnabas Collins is officially introduced in episode 210, but really makes his entrance in episode 211. You can watch that episode by following this link:
Dark Shadows Episode 211
The previews for the new Dark Shadows movie are strange, to say the least. I hope Jonathan would be proud (has a cameo in that film - last appearance before his death).
