Other
Characters: Carl Collins 1897, William H Loomis
1970 Parallel Time, Desmond Collins 1840, Kendrick
Young 1841 Parallel Time, Willie Loomis House
of Dark Shadows, Alex Jenkins Night of Dark Shadows
A hopeless drifter on the wrong side of the law, Willie
Loomis first comes to Collinsport as a friend of blackmailer
Jason McGuire, the pair of them having travelled and extorted
together. With his salacious ways and callous disregard
for those around him, he wastes no time in making himself
an enemy of the local population, including Burke Devlin.
Ironically, it is his most abhorrent act that triggers his
partial reform, when he embarks on a grave-robbing spree
at the Collins family mausoleum. Unwittingly releasing vampire
Barnabas Collins back into the world. Newly enlisted as
the vampire's slave, Willie gradually learns the value of
compassion and respect.
John
Karlen was born John
Adam Francis Karlewicz on 28 May 1933, in Brooklyn, New
York. Growing up in a Sicilian Red Hook district, his childhood
was rough, coloured by the local area. His father was a
Polish immigrant to the United States, who toiled to provide
for his family. It was the fortuitous invitation to the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts that gave him direction
and steered him away from petty theft and crime.
Prior to Dark
Shadows, John Karlen's television credits included Naked
City, Stoney Burke, From These Roots and Love
is a Many Splendoured Thing. During the show's run,
he appeared in the television series Hidden Faces
and Another World.
Following Dark Shadows, John guest-starred extensively
on episodic television, with appearances in Medical Center,
Kojak, Shazam!, Mannix, Doc Elliot, All in the Family, The
Waltons, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, The Harvey
Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Starsky and Hutch, Quincy, Kaz,
Perry Mason, Lou Grant and Fame. He also had
recurring roles on Hill Street Blues and Murder
She Wrote.
Karlen's film credits include Daughters of Darkness,
Miller's Delight, Racing With the Moon and Surf Ninjas.
He has also appeared in numerous TV movies, including Night
of Terror, Delancey Street: The Crisis Within, The Return
of the Mod Squad, The Dark Rider and Pennies from
Heaven.
In addition, he has also worked with Dark Shadows
creator Dan Curtis on a number
of projects since the show, appearing in such Dan Curtis
productions as Frankenstein, Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest,
Trilogy of Terror, The Invasion of Carol Enders, The
Picture of Dorian Gray, The Winds of War and The
Long Days of Summer.
During the 1980s, John Karlen was a familiar face on US
television from his role as Harvey Lacey on Cagney and
Lacey, which won him an Emmy award for best supporting
actor. He has since reprised the role for several reunion
movies. More recently, he played the recurring role of Gus
Semple on Mad About You.
In
2003, John reprised Willie Loomis in the Return to Collinwood
reunion audio play.
In 2006, he again reprised
the role for Big Finish's series of Dark Shadows
CD audio dramas.
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