David Selby

Tall (6'3"), darkly handsome, seriously-looking 'David Selby' (qv), highly regarded for his villainous work on both daytime and nighttime soap classics, was born on February 5, 1941, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He attended West Virginia University and graduated with both B.S. and M.A. degrees from West Virginia University, then earned a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.In his hometown, he made his stage debut in 1961 and appeared in such productions as "Brigadoon," "Oklahoma!, "Tiger at the Gates" and "Romeo and Juliet (as Mercutio). He went on appear in repertory and stock productions throughout the decade in such productions as "The Last Days of Lincoln" (as Abraham Lincoln), the title role in "Oedipus Rex," "Inherit the Wind," the title role in "Krapp's Last Case," "You Can't Take It With You," "Brecht on Brecht" and "The Tempest." In New York from 1967, he appeared in "The Impossible Years" and "Sticks and Bones."He achieved instant attention on TV when he was signed on as Quentin Collins, a werewolf, on the gothic daytime drama _Dark Shadows (1966)_ (qv), inheriting heartthrob status and even recorded two songs during the show's run, "Quentin's Theme" and "I Wanna Dance With You." After the series' demise, he made his movie debut with _Night of Dark Shadows (1971)_ (qv), the second film based on the cult series.Selby toyed with film stardom in the early 1970s after co-starring as 'Barbra Streisand' (qv)'s beleaguered husband in the riotous comedy _Up the Sandbox (1972)_ (qv), playing the lead opposite 'Maud Adams' (qv) in the minor Canadian drama _The Girl in Blue (1973)_ (qv), and sharing the title role with 'Ron Leibman' (qv) in the crime comedy _The Super Cops (1974)_ (qv)). When it didn't pan out, he aggressively turned back to TV with guest parts on "The Waltons," "Police Woman," "Kojak" and "Family," and a role in the acclaimed mini-series _Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)_ (qv), plus several TV movies. He also continued his high-profiled pace on the New York theatre stage with productions of "The Playboy of the Western World," "The Heiress," with 'Jane Alexander' (qv) and 'Richard Kiley' (qv), and "Eccentricities of a Nightingale" opposite 'Betsy Palmer' (qv). He also played Brick in the 1975 national tour of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."Returning to either co-star or support roles in films, David's credits would include _Rich Kids (1979)_ (qv), _Raise the Titanic (1980)_ (qv) and _Rich and Famous (1981)_ (qv). He was given an extra shot of adrenalin when, in 1981, he joined the night-time soap opera scene with the second season of _Flamingo Road (1980)_ (qv). He didn't hit real pay dirt, however, until he squared off with tough-as-nails 'Jane Wyman' (qv) as her scheming son in the long-running series _Falcon Crest (1981)_ (qv) in which he won a Soap Opera Digest award.Following the end of his hit series in 1990, David returned to the big screen offering white-collar support to 'Julia Roberts' (qv) in _Dying Young (1991)_ (qv); 'Richard Gere' (qv) in _Intersection (1994)_ (qv); 'Jeff Bridges' (qv) in _White Squall (1996)_ (qv); 'James Spader' (qv) in _Shadow of Fear (2004)_ (qv); 'Ben Affleck' (qv) in _Surviving Christmas (2004)_ (qv); 'Cuba Gooding Jr.' (qv) in _End Game (2006)_ (qv); 'Jesse Eisenberg' (qv) in _The Social Network (2010)_ (qv); a guest cameo in the 'Johnny Depp' (qv) remake of _Dark Shadows (2012)_ (qv); 'Owen Wilson' (qv) in _Are You Here (2013)_ (qv); and 'Kristen Stewart' (qv) in _Equals (2015)_ (qv). He also kept busy on TV with guest appearances on "Touched by an Angel," "Ally McBeal," "Cold Case," "Castle Rock," "Chicago Fire" and "NCIS: New Orleans."Always returning to his love for the live stage, later theatrical credits include "The Crucible" (as John Proctor), "The Night of the Iguana" (as Shannon), "Much Ado About Nothing" (as Benedick), several productions of "Love Letters," "A Long Day's Journey Into Night" (as James Tyrone), "Lincoln and James" (as Lincoln, which he wrote), and "A Delicate Balance" (as Tobias). David also penned the play "Final Assault" which premiered in 2003. A long-time staple player in radio drama with the L.A. Theatre Works, he has written books of poetry, plays and several novels including Promises of Love and A Casualty of Indifference.David and his wife Chip ran a summer children's musical theatre in New York for ten years before moving to Los Angeles. They have three children.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]