Category: Remembrance

As many of you may know, Johnny Karlen left this world yesterday. Johnny was a force of nature, full of joy and love of life. His smile lit up the hearts of all his fellow actors on Dark Shadows.

We have all held onto to our love and friendship with each other through the years, and we will continue to hold onto each other as we will always be embraced with Johnny’s smile, his sense of fun, his hugs, and his love.

David

I loved Denise…. soooo sweet and kind. She most always had a smile. At the studio, she would greet me with a hug. She was my first “daughter.”

After not seeing each other for several years….. a young woman came up to me in front of Universal in L.A.

“David!”

I turned to look at this young woman standing before me.

“It’s Denise,” she said to me.

“Oh…… Denise?”

I was rather surprised, to say the least, by the young woman standing before me.

“Denise!”

We hugged. It was as if there had been no time since we had last seen each other on the Dark Shadows set on W. 53rd street in NYC. Again we hugged and then talked for a bit. It was impossible to catch up with all the time since we had last seen each other, but what was not impossible was to recapture the feeling we had for each other…. like a father and daughter who made each other smile and laugh.

I love you, Denise. I always have.

David

Everyone knew her professionally as Patty Duke…. but a book on her life was titled Call Me Anna. So on the film set where we were working together, it was Anna. I love the name Anna, and it was a fitting name for this wonderful actress who passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly, a couple of days ago. Work on a film set is concentrated and intense at times. You finish the day’s work and go home. When the filming is completed, you learn to realize you may never see your co-worker again. This was true with Anna. But I do have my memories of a dear and caring, beautiful and forthright woman who loved her life with her husband in Idaho. Anna traveled a long, and at times difficult, painful journey, but her determination and her sense of fun carried her, and her telling me to take the best from the worst was good advice.

Webmaster’s Note: Patty Duke passed away on March 29, 2016. In 1992, David Selby co-starred with her in the television movie Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive. They played husband and wife Shag and Jean Williams.