Rare Behind-the-Scenes Dark Shadows Production Photos & Mystery DS Cameraman Interview

Rare Behind-the-Scenes Dark Shadows Production Photos and Interview with Mystery DS Cameraman & his nephew

On July 30, 2021, I was contacted by Robert Saccone. He discovered the Terror at Collinwood podcast and said he enjoyed listening to the first episode, so he decided to reach out. Much to my delight and surprise, he also let me know that his uncle had been a cameraman on Dark Shadows in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In going through some items in his basement, Rob came across a set of behind-the-scenes DS set photos that his uncle had given him. Rob said the photos featured sets, crew, and some of the actors performing and rehearsing. He kindly asked if I’d have any interest in sharing them with fans.

Never one to curb my enthusiasm, I replied: “WOW! Absolutely, I would be honored!”

Rob then sent some photos of a bottle of “Dark Shadows whisky” that associate producer George DiCenzo had given out to the crew as a Christmas gift – a tantalizing glimpse of the behind-the-scenes goodies to come.

Soon thereafter, Robert sent me scans of the set photos along with some captions. Needless to say, I was blown away and absolutely thrilled to see them. These rare photos were taken by Rob’s uncle during the “Summer of 1970” and “1840” storylines on the show, with some pictures snapped during production of episode 1184, I believe.

You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned Rob’s uncle by name. He asked to remain anonymous and did not wish to have his identity revealed. Thus, I will respect his wishes. However, he was kind enough to answer several questions by way of his nephew, who very thoughtfully relayed the questions to his uncle, and relayed the answers back to me. He also added several additional bits and memories of his own to the mix.

Below, you can see the photos as well as the interview with both Rob and his uncle, the mystery DS cameraman!

All images courtesy of Robert Saccone and used by permission

TaC: Would you provide a little information about your uncle and his background as a cameraman? How long did he work on Dark Shadows and/or ABC?

Rob: He went to work at ABC after the army. Bob Stagg, a camera man, passed away and they needed a replacement so they assigned my uncle. He worked on DS from 1968 through the end of the show in 1971.

After DS he had a variety of assignments including being dispatched again as a camera man covering the return of NASA astronauts from an Apollo mission. He spent a number of years working on the Regis and Kathie Lee show as well as other technical assignments around video tape editing for the network. My uncle continued to work at ABC until he retired in the 1990's.

TaC: What was it like working on Dark Shadows, day-to-day?

Rob: A typical day on the show was 9am - 5pm for the technical crew. There were rotating work assignments such as operating the camera or doing boom work (sound recording). Audio was typically picked up right at the time of recording the scenes.

*Lighting Director Mel Handelsman having a bite*

*Camera Operator Lenny Gerardo* *and Tom Happer in the background*

TaC: Can your uncle share any memories of Dan Curtis?

Rob: (There was) no real direct interaction between Dan Curtis and the techs like my uncle. He in fact said they would try to make themselves scarce when he was around.

He did say that Dan Curtis treated DS more like a movie production than a daily television drama. At the time of the series a 30 minute show had 24 minutes of running time without commercials. Many times episodes were planned with 150 different camera shots which, as my uncle put it, was very aggressive.

TaC: Thoughts about Lela Swift?

Rob: My uncle's commented that he thought she was a very good director. She was meticulous in her planning about what she wanted. She would take the time to listen to the tech crew and adjust based on their advice.

TaC: Thoughts about Henry Kaplan?

Rob: He was a nice guy and easy to work with.

*Thayer David and the crew with scripts in hand. Donna Wandrey appears in the background.*

TaC: Does your uncle remember when he found out the show was going to be canceled, and what were the feelings about that?

Rob: My uncle told me they found out about four or five months in advance that it was ending. To quote my uncle "They had gone backwards and forwards in time so many times they didn't know what to do next anymore. There wasn't much of a feeling of sadness but more a sense the production crew had run out of steam."

*ABC DS tech on the Collinwood staircase*

TaC: Does he have fun or fond memories of any of the actors?

Rob: The actors kept to themselves and so my uncle really didn't have any memories of any particular interactions with them. They typically came on set when they were ready to rehearse or shoot the scene.

TaC: What prompted him to take these photos on the set?

Rob: At the time my uncle had bought himself a nice camera. He brought it in just to try it out. He took many of the pictures and then he passed it around to some of his coworkers to get some of the shots he was in.

TaC: Additional comments regarding fireplaces on the set:

Rob: My uncle mentioned that many of the episodes often had a lit fireplace. The fire was a gas fire. After a while one of the crew members, Mike Alteri, started to complain about soot in his nose and that they were all breathing bad air due to that and the fumes coming off the fires. The production team took about 3 months to study the problem and finally they had a very expensive filtration system installed to mitigate the problem. Any scene that involved some sort of planned fire (not including the lighting of the fireplaces) required that someone from the NYC fire department be on set to make sure everything was safe.

TaC: Additional information (culled from one of our email exchanges) regarding the challenges of videotape editing on the show:

Rob: I had heard on one of your podcast episodes the discussion around how they left mistakes in due to costs and when they did make edits how jarring they were. I was speaking with my uncle today and he told me that back when Dark Shadows started they didn’t have electronic editing capability for video tape. This is why edits were easy to spot. He also told me that, at the time, the standard video tape reel that they usually used was 1 hour long and it cost $300. I believe he said ABC would supply them. However, if they made a cut to the tape reel (e.g for an edit) the show had to pay up the $300 for it. This likely explains the hesitancy to make those early edits. By the late sixties / early seventies he said they had electronic editing capability from Ampex so smoother editing was possible. Once they had electronic editing the show having to pay up went away as it no longer required cutting the physical tape to make edits. They also used to get 90 minute reels as well. I asked him, “since the show was only 30 minutes what did you do with the extra time?” He said sometimes they would put two episodes on a reel but usually they would use the extra footage to record what a set would look like, especially when it was about to be disassembled so they could reconstruct it again if need be. Other times they might use the extra footage to shoot a rehearsal. My uncle told me that DS was shot mostly in sequence but on some rare occasions they had to shoot out of sequence and before electronic editing this was when they were forced to physically cut video tape and pay up.

*Rudy Piccirillo - Senior Video Engineer (left) Lenny Gelardi - Camera Man (right)*

TaC: Background on Associate Producer George DiCenzo’s Christmas gift of Old Dark Shadows Bourbon:

Rob: That bottle was given out to the technical crew as a Christmas gift. DiCenzo personally and humorously told my uncle that he went out and bought a case of the cheapest $hit hooch he could find, had the labels made up and slapped them on to cover the name. Merry Christmas!

My uncle told me that at the time DS was made, it wasn't like it is today with respect to alcohol and the work place. Attitudes were more liberal in that respect and folks would have their pick-me-ups and 3 martini lunches. At this same time my parents had a bar and restaurant on 53rd between 5th and 6th which is right down the block from where ABC and CBS were located. My mother told me how in the mornings during the work week folks who worked at both ABC and CBS would drop by with their thermoses of juice in order to get a vodka added to them on their way up to work to help make it through the day. I can't tell you if any of these folks worked on DS specifically but I wouldn't be surprised.

“Old Dark Shadows Bourbon - Aged in Collinwood - 100 Proof - Season’s Greetings from Peter & George” George refers to Associate Producer George DiCenzo. Presumably, Peter refers to Producer Peter Miner — “Old Dark Shadows Bourbon - Aged in Collinwood - 100 Proof - Season’s Greetings from Peter & George”
George refers to Associate Producer George DiCenzo. Presumably, Peter refers to Producer Peter Miner

TaC: It's great that your family had a restaurant on 53rd St. That must have been amazing! Were you one of the kids who used to hang around outside the studio?

Rob: I used to pass the studio but I didn’t hang around it because at the time I was 5 or 6. Typically I was going to or from our restaurant when I would pass by. The memory I have about DS from that time was when it was going to be canceled there were lots of fans who would gather up outside the studio with signs proclaiming that the show should be saved. I remember when the door to the restaurant would open because a customer was coming or going and the bar area would fill with the “Save Dark Shadows!” chants.

Many thanks to Rob Saccone and his uncle for their generosity in sharing these photos, and for answering my questions. I hope you enjoyed this rare behind-the-curtain peek at the production of Dark Shadows.

All images courtesy of Robert Saccone and used by permission. This article is for informational and historical purposes only and not meant to infringe on any copyrights held by Dan Curtis Holdings/Dan Curtis Productions or ABC.

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