David Selby

David Lynn Selby (born February 5, 1941) is an American film, television, and stage actor and writer. He played Quentin Collins on the daytime soap Dark Shadows (1968–1971) and Richard Channing on the prime-time soap Falcon Crest (1982–1990). Selby also had prominent roles in the television series Flamingo Road (1981–1982) and the feature film Raise the Titanic.

Early life David Selby was born February 5, 1941, in Morgantown, West Virginia, the son of Clyde Ira Selby, a carpenter, and his wife Sarah E. (née McIntyre). He recalled in 2020 interview, "I enjoyed a safe, happy life; I grew up in Morgantown and still have good friends back there, people I've known since grade school. West Virginia's a fantastic place to raise kids. The environment's nurturing and positive."

Midway through his time at WVU, Selby joined the cast of Honey in the Rock, a civil war drama at Grandview State Park.

Career Early TV and film roles (1960s and 1970s) Selby became active in theatre, which he has always described as his favorite medium, and was among the cast for a national tour of The Impossible Years. In 1968, Selby joined the cast of the TV series Dark Shadows first as the ghost of Quentin Collins, and later as Quentin Collins, the werewolf. He had not heard of Dark Shadows at the time, and was invited to audition after a talent agent saw him perform in a production of Summer and Smoke. Selby was taken off-guard when the role turned him into a teenybopper icon, with fans following him when he left the studio at night and his face emblazoned on the covers of magazines such as 16, but has said that he appreciated the fans' devotion and support, and that they were never unpleasant or intrusive. After the series' cancellation in 1971, Selby played Quentin Collins in Night of Dark Shadows, the second feature film based on the show, released later the same year. He reprised the role from the series for a series of Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions, beginning in 2004.

In 1972, Selby co-starred with Barbra Streisand in the movie Up the Sandbox. He continued to appear in a number of film and television roles during the 1970s, including U-Turn (1973), The Super Cops (1974) and Rich Kids (1979), and episodes of The Waltons (1974), Police Woman (1975), and Kojak (1976). He was part of the cast in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977).

1980s Selby was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards for his role in the 1980 film Raise the Titanic, which was met with a negative reception from critics, along with poor box-office takings.

In 1981, Selby played the villainous Michael Tyrone in the final season of the prime-time serial Flamingo Road. After its cancellation in 1982, he joined the cast of Falcon Crest as Richard Channing, the illegitimate son of Jacqueline Perrault (Lana Turner) with Angela Channing (Jane Wyman)'s husband Douglas Channing (Stephen Elliott). Originally considered an antagonist, Richard gradually became more of a protagonist, and by the final season, he was the central character of the show (in part due to the health-related absence of Wyman). In all, Selby appeared in 209 episodes of the series.

Later career Selby continued in numerous film and TV roles during the 1990s and 2000s, including Dying Young (1991), White Squall (1996) and Surviving Christmas (2004), and episodes of series such as Cold Case (2007) and Mad Men (2009).

To mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday in 2009, Selby appeared onstage with Barack Obama and portrayed Lincoln in a scene from the play The Heavens Are Hung in Black at the reopening of Ford's Theatre. Selby had also played Abraham Lincoln in a 1998 fifth season episode of the series Touched by an Angel, titled "Beautiful Dreamer".

Selby made an appearance in the 2012 film adaptation of Dark Shadows, one of four cast members from the original series to feature in the movie. The same year, he co-starred in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a two-part direct-to-video animated film adaptation of the 1986 graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, portraying Commissioner James Gordon. In 2017, Selby had a recurring role in the drama Legion.

Writing Selby is also a writer. His work includes the plays Lincoln and James and Final Assault as well as the poetry collections My Mother's Autumn and Happenstance. He has written two novels, Lincoln's Better Angel and The Blue Door. A Better Place combines memoir and social commentary to discuss Selby's upbringing. In 2010, he published My Shadowed Past, chronicling what it was like to work on Dark Shadows.

Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 1971 Night of Dark Shadows Quentin Collins/Charles Collins 1972 Up the Sandbox Paul Reynolds 1973 U-Turn Scott Laithem 1974 The Super Cops Robert Hantz 1979 Rich Kids Steve Sloan 1980 Raise the Titanic Dr. Gene Seagram Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor 1981 Rich and Famous Doug Blake 1991 Dying Young Richard Geddes 1993 The Shot Gordon Sunshine 1994 Intersection Richard Quarry 1995 Headless Body in Topless Bar Bradford Lumpkin 1996 White Squall Francis Beaumont D3: The Mighty Ducks Dean Buckley 2004 Shadow of Fear Mr. Steve Palmer Surviving Christmas Horace Vangilder The Affair Vincent 2006 End Game Shakey Fuller Unknown Police Captain Parker 2007 Spin Rob Polan 2010 Inhale Henry White The Social Network Gage 2012 Dark Shadows Party Guest Batman: The Dark Night Returns, Part 1 Commissioner James Gordon (voice) 2013 Batman: The Dark Night Returns, Part 2 Are You Here Karl Stevens 2015 Equals Leonard 2017 Newness Artie Hallock Smartass Herman 2019 Back Fork Bill Loon Lake Emery Janson/Pastor Owen Janson

Television Year Title Role Notes 1968-1971 Dark Shadows Quentin Collins 312 episodes 1974 The Waltons Joshua Williams episode: "The Romance" 1975 Police Woman Nate Fesler episode: "No Place to Hide" ABC's Wide World of Entertainment Jack 243 episode: "The Norming of Jack 243" 1976 Kojak Sgt. Jimmy O'Connor episode: "An Unfair Trade" 1977 Washington: Behind Closed Doors Roger Castle miniseries Telethon Roy Hansen TV movie 1978 Family Michael Kagan episode: "More Than Friends" 1979 The Night Rider Lord Thomas Earl TV movie Love for Rent Phil TV movie 1980 Doctor Franken Dr. Mike Foster TV movie 1981-1982 Flamingo Road Michael Tyrone 18 episodes 1982-1990 Falcon Crest Richard Channing 209 episodesSoap Opera Digest Award: Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role: Prime Time (1989)Nominated — Soap Opera Digest Award: Outstanding Actress/Actor in a Comic Relief Role on a Prime Time Serial; Outstanding Villain on a Prime Time Serial; Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial (1986) nominated — Soap Opera Digest Award: Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role: Prime Time (1988) nominated — Soap Opera Digest Award: Outstanding Villain: Prime Time (1990) 1988 King of the Olympics: The Lives and Loves of Avery Brundage Avery Brundage TV movie 1992 Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive Shag Williams TV movie Lady Boss Martin Swanson miniseries 1997 Soldier of Fortune Xavier Trout TV movie Alone Paul TV movie Promised Land Rowdy Sullivan episode: "Cowboy Blues" 1997-1999 Soldier of Fortune, Inc.Xavier Trout 9 episodes 1998 Touched by an Angel Abraham Lincoln episode: "Beautiful Dreamer" 2001 Ally McBeal Mr. Rohr episode: "I Want Love" 2002 The Griffin and the Minor Canon The Griffin (voice) TV movie Thieves Donovan episode: "The Green and the Black" 2005 Larva Fletcher Odermatt TV movie 2006 The Black Hole Ryker TV movie 2007 Tell Me You Love Me Arthur Foster 9 episodes Cold Case Dom Barron '07 episode: "Boy Crazy" 2008 Raising the Bar Richard Patrick Woolsey III episode: "Richie Richer" 2009 Mad Men Horace Cook, Sr. episode: "The Arrangements" 2011 Deck the Halls Luke Reilly TV movie 2013 Rizzoli & Isles Senator Malcolm Humphrey episode: "We Are Family" 2016 Dr. Del Grover TV movie 2017-2018 Legion Brubaker 4 episodes 2018 Castle Rock Josef Desjardins episode: "The Box" 2020 Chicago Fire Tim Larson episode: "A Chicago Welcome" NCIS: New Orleans Red episode: "Relentless"