David Selby

• Name — David Selby • Birth Name — David Lynn Selby • Born — 5 February 1941 • Birthplace — Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S. • Occupation — Actor, writer • Years Active — 1968–present • Children — 3

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

• 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 episodes Soap 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"