With flowing blonde hair, razor-sharp fangs, and a slinky negligee, Nancy Barrett's portrayal of a sexy '70s vampire lit up the screen in the horror film House of Dark Shadows. For a while, the actress shunned the spotlight, much like her vampire character retreated from the sun. But in recent years, to the delight of her fans, Nancy has returned to the stage, appearing at Dark Shadows conventions and in cabaret clubs throughout the United States.

Fans of Nancy's TV work (including stints on the soap operas One Life to Live and Ryan's Hope) might be surprised to learn that she is an accomplished singer, but long before she became a soap star, she was featured in several stage musicals, including the Broadway hit Pickwick (starring The Monkees' Davy Jones). And while she was on Dark Shadows, she and co-star David Selby released a popular single, titled "I Wanna Dance With You," and performed as their DS characters, Quentin and Carolyn.

While still in college, Nancy starred in Los Angeles productions of Little Mary Sunshine and The Fantasticks. But, in fact, her love of performing goes back even further than that: Like many youngsters who would go on to find acting success, as a child Nancy mounted plays in her yard. With her little sister, Martha, as co-star, Nancy was actress, producer, and ticket-taker.

The Barrett family moved from Nancy's Louisiana birthplace when she was very young, and settled in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where her father was an oil executive. There she thrived in school and gravitated toward drama, appearing in school plays and beginning to hone her acting and singing crafts.

Nancy attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, for two years, then spent a summer in Los Angeles. She landed a featured role in a production of Little Mary Sunshine (starring pal Shirley Knight) and fell in love with Los Angles. She transferred to UCLA, where she graduated a year later.

She then moved to New York, where she pursued stage work. In 1965, she made her Broadway debut in Pickwick. Also in the cast was Charlotte Rae (later star of the TV series The Facts of Life).

The following year, Nancy became part of the original core cast of an unusual soap opera called Dark Shadows in the role of rebellious heiress Carolyn Stoddard, who lived in a spooky haunted mansion called Collinwood. As Carolyn once said, "There's a skeleton in every closet, and Collinwood has a lot of closets, baby!" The beautiful blonde's friends and relatives included vampires, werewolves, witches, and even a Frankenstein-like creature who wanted to be her boyfriend. (Though he didn't win Carolyn's heart, another monster eventually did.)

While on Shadows, Nancy played seven characters in 405 episodes, and she was one of the few actors to appear in both films based on the show: House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). In HODS she played Carolyn, a predatory vampire; and in NODS she and good friend John Karlen portrayed husband and wife mystery writers Clair and Alex Jenkins.

After Dark Shadow left the air, Nancy played a mentally unbalanced nurse on The Doctors, then had prominent roles in two other soaps: Ryan's Hope and One Life to Live.

While on Dark Shadows, Nancy was briefly married to David Ford, one of her co-stars. In the early 1970s, she married Dr. Harold Kaplan, a prominent New York psychiatrist who died in late 1997. While married to Dr. Kaplan, Nancy slowed down her work schedule, preferring to spend time with her husband, including many international trips. She did appear on stage infrequently during this period -- including one of her favorite roles: Mrs. Van Daan in a regional production of The Diary of Anne Frank.

During this time, she also tentatively began pursuing a long-held dream: to perform a one-woman musical show. First, to gain experience and build up her courage, she sang to small groups of hospital and nursing home patients, taking part in a program called Hearts and Voices.

Nancy was aware that in the years since Dark Shadows had gone of the air it had gained more popularity, growing into a cult classic with devoted fans who met at Dark Shadows Festivals every year. Many of her costars attended the conventions, and devoted fans clamored for her to return to their stage. However, she declined, feeling she had few memories of her time on the show and thus would have little to contribute.

She then met writer Craig Hamrick, who had attended several DS fan conventions to promote his Dark Shadows-related books. He urged her to expand her hospital show and perform it at a Festival. She agreed -- if Hamrick would produce the show.

Together they crafted a collection of songs and dialogue, starting with a reworked version of the main ballad from the Broadway musical Sunset Boulevard, "As If We Never Said Good-bye." The existing lyrics were fitting -- about an actress returning to a stage after years of being away. With a few tweaks, the words were even more appropriate, referencing the "afternoon adventures" she and the fans of Dark Shadows had shared three decades earlier. Working with Nancy and Craig was music director Steven Silverstein, who played piano for her Hearts and Voices performances.

In August 1997, Nancy walked onto the stage of the Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. Before she sang a note, the enthusiastic DS fans gave her an encouraging standing ovation. Visibly moved, she began to sing: "I don't know why I'm frightened... I know my way around you....I see through tears, the love and cheers of fans who...are a world to rediscover...but I'm not in any hurry...and I need a moment...."

The performer got that "moment" and the show was a big success. After 45 minutes, audience members were on their feet again, and a new phase of Nancy's career began.

Since then, Nancy has continued to work with Hamrick and Silverstein, releasing two more singles ("Not the Type" and "Once Again") and performing musical shows in a variety of venues, at Dark Shadows Festivals and in cabaret clubs including Don't Tell Mama, Brandy's and Le Bar Bat in Manhattan, and at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

Nancy is currently guest-starring in "Judy and Bea," a cabaret show at at Helen's Hideaway Room in New York City. Click here for more information.

Internet Movie Database credits page: Click Here
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Career Highlights

Daytime TV:

• One Life to Live (Deborah Van Druten, 1979-82)

• Ryan's Hope (Faith Coleridge, 1976)

• One Life to Live (Rachel Wilson, 1974)

• The Doctors (Cathy Ryker, 1971-72)

• Dark Shadows (1966-71)

Primetime TV:

• The Adams Chronicles (1976 PBS miniseries)

• Mr. Broadway (1964)

• Ed Sullivan Show

•  Dupont Show of the Week

• Les Crane Show

TV Commercials:

Many, including Gilette Spoiler razor.

Screen:

• Belizaire the Cajun (Rebecca, 1986)

• Night of Dark Shadows (Claire Jenkins, 1971)

• House of Dark Shadows (Carolyn Stoddard, 1970)

Stage:

• Three In Time (Carla Clayton, 1988, NYC)

•Quadrille (1978-79)

• The Physicists (1969)

• Telemachus Clay (NYC)

• Take Her She's Mine (1964)

• The Fantasticks (Luisa, 1963, Los Angeles)

• Little Mary Sunshine (1963, L.A.)

Broadway:

• Pickwick (Mary, 1965)

• Dr. Faustus (Good, 1964)

Cabaret:

• As If We Never Said Goodbye (Broadway Ballroom, NYC, 1997)

• Once Again (MGM Grand, Las Vegas, 1998)

• I'm Tired (Los Angeles Dark Shadows Festival)

• Nancy Barrett at Don't Tell Mama (NYC)

• Close to Home (Coffeyville, Kansas, 1998)

• So Beyond (Tarrytown, NY, 2004)

Singles:

• I Wanna Dance With You (Duet wIth David Selby)

• Not The Type

• Once Again

Ballet:

• The Nutcracker (Grandmother, debut: 1999, NYC)