Remembering John Karlen – and TV Moments That Changed Everything

The passing of John Karlen was felt in particular by two TV fanbases: those who remember him from his Emmy-winning performance as Harvey Lacey on Cagney and Lacey, and those who first met him 15 years earlier, as Willie Loomis on Dark Shadows. 

Dark Shadows was unique in many ways, one being it was a rare example of a show that changed completely and irrevocably in a single pivotal moment. And John Karlen was the only actor on the screen when it happened.

That moment aired on April 18, 1967. Con man Jason McGuire and Willie, his sleazy sidekick, had blackmailed their way into the home of the wealthy Collins family. Willie learns of a secret room in the Collins mausoleum where the family’s ancestors have been buried in their expensive jewelry. He breaks in, cuts through the heavy chains wrapped around a coffin, and lifts the lid. From inside, a hand slowly emerges, and tightens around Willie’s throat.

It’s still a powerful scene, played unforgettably by Karlen. We never see what Willie sees when he opens the coffin, but his terrified expression is enough to sell the moment.

The rest is history. The character of vampire Barnabas Collins is introduced, wonderfully played by Jonathan Frid, and Dark Shadows went from a daytime drama on the brink of cancellation to a national phenomenon. It was as instant a reversal of fortune as was possible in the pre-internet age, when feedback on a series was gauged by ratings and fan mail.

How often did something like that happen in the Comfort TV era?

Sure, many shows evolve over their runs, often in dramatic and unexpected ways. We’ve seen supporting characters embraced by the public that became focal points for the majority of episodes – Fonzie on Happy Days, Alex Keaton on Family Ties – but those changes were gradual. 

Likewise, the death or departure of a major character (Henry Blake on MASH, Chrissy on Three’s Company, Tasha on Star Trek: The Next Generation) did not reset those shows in a fundamental way. 

I’m looking here for single, premeditated moments when a series was one thing before they happened, and something else afterward.

Any suggestions?

Eight is Enough might qualify, but the change did not originate with a writer or producer. The passing of costar Diana Hyland resulted in a show about a family with eight kids becoming a series about a single father struggling to raise eight kids, and how the Bradfords coped with a sudden, tragic loss. 

You could try to make a case for “Ricky the Drummer,” a 1957 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet in which Ricky Nelson sang for the first time. Such performances became a featured moment in many subsequent episodes – however, everything that happened around those scenes was the typical delightful business as usual. 

The final scenes of the final episodes of Newhart and St. Elsewhere were indisputable game-changers. Here we have shows that fit the criteria of being one thing before those scenes, and something different after. But since both ended on those moments we only experienced the revelations, and not their ramifications. 

So perhaps that Dark Shadows scene featuring John Karlen is even more unique than I first believed. With an Emmy Award and that contribution to TV history, that’s a pretty impressive legacy.