I
fell asleep twice listening to the audio book of Dark Shadows
Memories. I was so wrapped up in the cozy, nostalgic cadences
of Kathryn Leigh Scott's voice that slumber overtook me. When
I could stay awake, Dark Shadows Memories spoke to
me of the pleasures and pains of nostalgia.
The
best bits are about Kathryn Leigh Scott's life. Kathryn speaks
of moving from a small town to a big city, the wacky yet glamorous
jobs she had before Dark Shadows as a model and Playboy
bunny, and her whirlwind romance with globetrotting photographer
Ben Martin. With its sixties setting, it's like Valley
of the Dolls without any sex or bitchery. I found it so
compelling that I was actually disappointed when Kathryn got
the job on Dark Shadows! I especially enjoyed hearing
of her time abroad when she had left the show.
Kathryn
Leigh Scott' reflections on Dark Shadows are mostly
anodyne. One big happy family, can't edit the videotape, "You're
a jerk" blah, blah, blah. We are told some actors really
got into their kissing scenes - who? Henry Kaplan is made
to sound lovably curmudgeonly with his system of grading the
actors, but he sounded like a complete tyrant to me. If you're
looking for dirt on Dark Shadows personnel, search
elsewhere.
Dark
Shadows Memories is therefore problematic. Anyone picking
this up will be familiar with Dark Shadows and Kathryn
Leigh Scott. It is fun to hear from Kathryn Leigh Scott herself,
in her own voice and words, the story of her life. You really
get a feel for the swinging sixties, even if you've never
experienced them directly. However, the nostalgic sheen cast
over everything makes for frustrating listening. The breakup
of Kathryn Leigh Scott and Ben Martin's marriage is quickly
referred to at the end of of the CD and I found it odd that
Kathryn could skim over such a momentous event. Granted, it
might be none of my business, but she talks so much about
Ben Martin earlier on that it seems disappointing to not know
what went wrong when we have spent so much time emotionally
invested in their courtship.
The
bottom line is that Kathryn Leigh Scott' life is actually
more interesting than her memories of Dark Shadows,
and she has ventured into non-Dark Shadows books before,
with the successful The Bunny Years. Come on Ms. Scott,
give us your tell all celebrity memoir! Bring it on! Let "the
Dark Shadows at Collinwood" be "…a memory of
the distant past."
The
Dark Shadows Memories CD is available from Pomegranate
Press
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