Joe Caldwell was known for his work on the television series Dark Shadows, a gothic, supernatural soap opera that aired from 1966 until 1971.
The news of Caldwell’s death was confirmed by Bob Issel, who released a Facebook post saying, “I’m sad to report that Dark Shadows writer Joe Caldwell (age 97) passed away yesterday morning (July 13th) after suffering a massive stroke. Joe, who was born on Oct. 2nd, 1928, first joined the Dark Shadows writing staff in May of 1967, and is credited along with good friend and fellow Dark Shadows writer Ron Sproat, as developing the character of Barnabas Collins.”
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Caldwell wrote for the ABC show for 63 episodes. The character that he co-created, Barnabas Collins, was played by Johnny Depp in the film version of Dark Shadows, created by Tim Burton. The character was also recently mentioned in the hit Apple TV show, Widow’s Bay.
During an interview with Reactor Mag in 2013, Caldwell spoke about the creation of the character. He said, “We felt the audience wouldn’t connect with Barnabas if he didn’t seem like a real person, with real problems…we were always trying to figure out a way to make the stories better, more engaging, more ordinary. In a way, we almost wanted to make you forget he was a vampire sometimes…or as we used to say, ‘Stop me before I suck more!'”
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As reported by Variety, “In addition to Burton’s adaptation, Warner Bros. Animation recently announced that it is reanimating the ’60s cult show as an adult animated series. It is currently in development and will blend gothic, horror and supernatural genres.”
Caldwell published a 2025 memoir called In The Shadow of the Bridge, which details the “important chronicle of the changing tide of artistic and gay life in New York City in the shadow of the plague years.”
As Caldwell said, “Writing is a process of revelation, but also restraint. I like to present things to my imagination and see if there’s something exciting there. If there’s not, and it’s all intellect, then it’s not worth it.”
This story was originally published by Parade on Jul 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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