| Joshua Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Joshua Collins | |
| Series: | Dark Shadows |
| Gender: | Male |
| Notability: | Supporting character |
| Location: | Collinsport, Maine |
| Relatives: | Naomi Collins (wife); Barnabas Collins (son); Jeremiah Collins (son); Sarah Collins (daughter); Abigail Collins (sister) See Collins family for extended family line. |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Born: | 1750 |
| Died: | 1830 |
| First: | Episode 367 |
| Actor: | Louis Edmonds |
Joshua Collins was a supporting character featured in the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Played by actor Louis Edmonds, he first appeared in episode 367, the beginning of what is colloquially referred to as the "1795 Flashback" storyline.
Biography
Joshua Collins was the patriarch of the Collins family in the late 18th century and lived in the fishing town of Collinsport, Maine. He was the head of the family business and the husband of Naomi Collins. Joshua had a sister named Abigail and three children, Jeremiah, Barnabas and Sarah.
Joshua was a stern and strict man, and was not given to acts of whimsy or aloof behavior. Although he held immense love for his family, he often came across as cold and dispassionate. He had little patience for tomfoolery and even less patience when it came ot his wife's excessive drinking.
Joshua suffered great tragedy and sorrow in his later years as he was forced to watch as his family members died off one by one. His daughter Sarah died of pneumonia at a very young age; the victim of a curse wrought by the mad witch Angelique. His elder son Jeremiah was killed in a duel, which also was the result of Angelique's machinations. Angelique later turned his second son Barnabas into a vampire. Joshua learned of Barnabas' condition, but could not bring himself to end his life. Instead, he kept his coffin secreted away in the tower room at Collinwood. When his wife Naomi learned the truth about Barnabas, she could no longer live with herself. Consumed by grief, she took her own life by poisoning herself.
Joshua labored to find a way to cure Barnabas' condition, but to no avail. Barnabas pleaded with his father to end his undead existence and Joshua promised to drive a stake through his heart come the next dawn. Again though, Joshua could not bring himself to destroy his own son despite what he had become. Instead, he chained Barnabas up inside his coffin in a secret room in the Collins' family mausoleum. [1]
Immediately afterward, Joshua set the family's servant, Ben Stokes, free and provided him with the means to seek out his own fortune. Stokes, a trusted and loyal employee, was the only other man who knew the truth about Barnabas.
Joshua remained at Collinwood alone and forlorn. Little is known about his actions following the harrowing incidents of 1795 and 1796, but he remained in the great old house until his passing in the year 1830.
Notes & Trivia
Check out which episodes Joshua Collins has appeared in!"
- The character of Joshua Collins was created by director Lela Swift and writer Ron Sproat based upon concepts originally developed by Art Wallace and Dan Curtis.
- Many of the actors from Dark Shadows played multiple characters throughout the series run. Louis Edmonds primarily played stoic characters and was usually cast in the role of the Collins family patriarch of any given era. His central role was that of Roger Collins in the 1960s-70s present-day timeline, but he also played Daniel Collins, Edward Collins, Brutus Collins and Amadeus Collins.
- Joshua Collins appeared in 37 episodes of the series in total.
- A reference was made to Joshua Collins in the 1970 film House of Dark Shadows. Little information was provided about this iteration of the character, but presumably he shared the same history as his canonical namesake.