Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows will be in theaters next month, and with it comes renewed interest in its source material, the gothic television soap opera that ran from 1966 to 1971, and starred Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, a vampire who returns to his home estate after 200 years locked inside his coffin. (Johnny Depp plays Barnabas in Burton’s film.)

Sadly, Frid passed away last week at age 87. But Frid and several other original Dark Shadows cast members have cameos in the upcoming film, which comes to theaters on May 11, 2012.

Below is a recent photograph taken of some of the original Dark Shadows cast members reunited – David Selby, Lara Parker, Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, and Marie Wallace.

Right on the heels of yesterday’s death of icon Dick Clark, another death in the entertainment world has darkened our door. Jonathan Frid, who staked his claim on the supernatural and gothic ABC television serial Dark Shadows, has passed away from natural causes at Juravinski Hospital in his native hometown of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, according to Digital Spy. He was 87 years old.

Born on December 2, 1924, Frid served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. A few years later, he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing at Yale University. Classically trained, he spent 30 years in theater as well.

The actor found success in his career, however, when he appeared as the vampire Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows between 1966 and 1971, and was a cult hero to thousands of teenage kids, who made the program a hit.

[UPDATE: The limited edition box set sold out right away, so now a Deluxe Edition box set will be release July 2012, with pre-order available now.]

Dark Shadows, the first supernatural soap opera, the massive cult hit that originally aired on the ABC network way before most of the cast of Twilight and True Blood were even born, is being resurrected (pun firmly intended) this year; a Tim Burton vehicle with Johnny Depp makes its way into theaters on May 11th. Now, MPI Entertainment is releasing Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series, which is the ENTIRE series, on DVD on May 8th in one beautifully encased black coffin, WITH archetypical red lining inside! (See box art here at top and below.) This massive DVD box set will also include bonus material, like over 100 interviews, bloopers, a behind-the-scenes documentary, and cast reunion, as well as a 96-page commemorative booklet.

The SRP on this one of a kind item goes for $599.98, which obviously will not be appealing or affordable to everyone, but for those who want to own some of the show without breaking the bank to do so, or for those who have never experienced the show and are curious to dip their toe in the black swamp so to speak, MPI is also releasing more affordable options. There will also be two single-disc DVDs out on April 10th — Dark Shadows: Fan Favorites and Dark Shadows: The Best of Barnabas — at a much more down to earth price of $14.98 each, with each DVD showcasing 9 episodes, ones that are considered the benchmark of the series.