Other
Characters: Tom Jennings 1968, Timothy Shaw 1897
(pictured), Chris Collins 1970 Parallel Time, Todd
Blake (Credited as Todd Jennings) House of Dark Shadows
The pensive Chris
Jennings returns to Collinsport after hearing of his twin
brother's death and aims to restore family ties with kid sister
Amy. Living on the grounds at Collinwood in the caretaker's
cottage, Chris discovers the secret to his heritage, which
uncovers those morbid mysteries of the past. However, the
present brings an even more difficult challenge for Chris,
with a new love interest and his
future happiness threatened by a transformation
of a full moon...
Don
Briscoe was born in Yalobusha County, Mississippi on March
20th 1940. Don was born in a log cabin on his grandfather's
cotton farm. Christened Cecil Donald Briscoe, he was sometimes
credited as Donald Briscoe, though generally used the more
informal Don on and off screen.
The
Briscoe family soon relocated to Grenada, where Don spent
much of his childhood. Don's interest in acting first came
to the fore while studying at Treadwell High School. Winning
a scholarship from the Memphis Press-Scimitar newspaper,
Don moved on to New Hampshire's Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating
in 1958. From there he moved to New York's Columbia University,
where he joined the Columbia Players, alongside Dark Shadows
actor Roger Davis. Gaining a master's
degree in English, he set his sights on a career as an actor.
His
acting career began on stage in New York with roles in Friends
and Romans, Come Back Little Sheba and The Tavern.
In 1969, Don appeared in the groundbreaking Off-Broadway play
Boys in the Band, which also starred Dark Shadows actors
Keith Prentice and Chris Bernau.
The project proved to be one of his favourite roles.
Don's
daytime drama roles included a stint as the second Tony Merritt
Days of Our Lives, and Dark Shadows, which made
him one of the first actors ever to play a dual role on a
soap opera.
During
the 1960s, Don appeared as a guest on primetime television
in Iron Horse, Jericho and I Dream of Jeannie.
His episode, A Secretary is Not a Toy, aired on
his birthday March 20th 1967.
At
the same time, Don also appeared in commercials for Folgers
Coffee, Palmolive Gold Bar Soap and Camel Cigarettes. The
latter apparently aired during the 1969 Superbowl telecasts.
His sole big screen credit came in 1970 with the role of Todd
in House of Dark Shadows.
Don
Briscoe left Dark Shadows abruptly in 1970. His then
current role of Chris Collins was temporarily substituted
with a new character, Larry Chase. Don eventually withdrew
from the acting profession and relocated to live with family
in Memphis, Tennessee.
The
circumstances of surrounding Don's enforced retirement remained
a mystery to the public until his death. With the blessing
of the Briscoe family, journalist John Beifuss penned an extensive
obituary for Memphis' Commercial Appeal newspaper,
which addressed many of those unanswered questions.
Described
as suffering a "mental breakdown" by his sister
Bonny Jenkins, Don left Dark Shadows. From there he
worked erratically on both coasts, but fell "into the
drug culture very heavily in California. I think he was searching
for something spiritual, but he was looking in the wrong places,"
she suggested. Eventually Don returned to his native Memphis,
severely exhausted, to recuperate with his parents. That process
was ventured but not gained.
Diagnosed
with bipolar disorder, and suffering from nervous disorders,
manic-depression and drugs problems, Don settled into a reclusive
lifestyle. Declared unable to work for a living by a psychiatrist,
he managed to act occasionally in local theatre until the
1980s and worked for a time as a gas station attendant. Occasionally
he would recite Shakespeare and other pieces privately for
friends, but otherwise remained out of the public eye.
The
death of his parents in the last five years of his life affected
Don's health drastically, with his weight reaching 300 pounds
and lung problems leaving him hospitalised in 2003.
Don
Briscoe died peacefully at his home on October 31 2004, caused
by heart disease. He was 64 years old. At a modest funeral
held three days later, family members remembered him with
fondness, praising his strength of character in the face of
the problems that had clouded so much of the latter half of
his life.
Reflecting
on Don's passing, Roger Davis ventured: "He was a guy
who was probably in some senses a little bit too bright and
sensitive for his own good. Life can turn on the tiniest of
things... Don got derailed for a moment and never got back
on track."
To
read this site's coverage of Don's death, click
here.
Biography
written by Stuart Manning and Vera Marano
With
thanks to the Memphis Commercial Appeal
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