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2021-03-29 18:43:52 UTC
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PermalinkRobert Rodan Dies: Actor Who Played Dark Shadows Frankenstein
Monster Was 83
By Greg Evans
Robert Rodan, an actor whose brief career made a lasting impact on
young Dark Shadows fans enthralled by his performance as the
supernatural soaps Frankenstein-like character Adam, died March 25 of
heart failure in Oregon. He was 83.
His death was announced on the Dark Shadows newsletter Shadowgram.
The imposing Rodan, born Robert Trimas in Newark, New Jersey, was cast
in 1968 to play the ABC daytime dramas latest addition to its stable
of monsters. Following the introduction of a vampire, a witch and
various ghosts, the Dan Curtis production decided to add a storyline
based on Mary Shelleys Frankenstein.
With stitches scarring his face and manacles often on his feet,
Rodans Adam began as a silent, childlike innocent who turned violent
and monstrous after various mistreatments (the creature had been sewn
together from corpses by a mad scientist for the purpose of, somehow,
curing the vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid).
Unlike other performers on the series, Rodan did not portray a
multitude of characters; when the Adam (and, inevitably, Eve)
storyline came to a close within the year, Rodan left the series. He
starred in the 1969 grindhouse drama The Minx before pursuing a real
estate career in Southern California.
Rodan returned to the Dark Shadows universe in the early 2000s with
occasional appearances on a series of audio dramas.
Rodan is survived by daughters Mandi and Laura, son Jordan and
granddaughter Brianna.
The actors death marks the third Dark Shadows cast member to pass
away in recent weeks. Geoffrey Scott, who played the soaps Sky
Rumson, died Feb. 23 from Parkinsons disease, and Christopher
Pennock, who played a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character on the show,
died Feb. 12 following a battle with cancer.