Don Briscoe

Don Briscoe (March 20, 1940 - October 31, 2004) joined the original series of Dark Shadows in August 1968, playing the role of Tom Jennings, a handyman who eventually became a vampire.
Briscoe was born Cecil Donald Briscoe in Yalobusha County, Mississippi in 1940. He attended prep school in New Hampshire before attending Columbia University in New York, where he obtained a Master's Degree in English literature.
Briscoe also played Tom's twin brother Chris Jennings (a werewolf), Tim Shaw in the 1897 storyline, and family lawyer Chris Collins in the 1970 Parallel Time storyline before abruptly leaving the show in April of 1970 due to personal/medical issues. He appeared in a total of 97 episodes, as well as the film House of Dark Shadows as Carolyn's boyfriend Todd Blake.
Despite his long tenure on the show, his character is given only a passing mention after he leaves, when it was revealed to Barnabas and Julia after they returned from 1995 that Chris, his sister Amy, and girlfriend Sabrina Stuart had all decided to leave Collinsport and start a new life elsewhere (1075).
Due to the fact that Briscoe left the show unexpectedly, the werewolf storyline in the present day was never resolved. It was stated in Sam Hall's TV Guide article discussing planned storylines that never eventuated because of the series' cancellation that, shortly after leaving Collinwood, Chris again turned into the werewolf and killed Sabrina, then committed suicide upon regaining his senses and discovering what he had done. This intended storyline - with no hint of a subsequent ghostly visitation by either Jennings twin - may indicate that the production team had decided that Briscoe's worsening health meant he was highly unlikely to return at a later stage.
After leaving the series Briscoe returned to his family home in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was declared legally disabled because of his illness and remained there, shunning the spotlight, for the rest of his life.
Don Briscoe died from heart disease in 2004 at the age of 64.
==Appearances==
===As Tom Jennings:===
554, 563, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 571, 630, 631, 658
===As Chris Jennings:===
627, 630, 631, 632, 638, 640, 641, 642, 643, 649, 651, 654, 657, 658, 659, 668, 670, 671, 673, 674, 675, 676, 673, 674, 675, 676, 677, 678, 681, 683, 684, 687, 689, 690, 692, 693, 695, 697, 698, 889, 897, 898, 903, 905, 909, 910, 912, 916, 918, 919/920/921, 943, 944, 947, 959, 960, 962, 974, 975, 976, 977, 978
===As Tim Shaw:===
731, 734, 735, 736, 753, 762, 763, 764, 772, 773, 774, 776, 777, 799, 800, 812, 813, 816, 820, 822, 832, 843, 844, 846, 847, 848, 851, 875, 879
===As Chris Collins:===
983, 985, 1001
===As Todd Blake:===
House of Dark Shadows
== External links ==
*
* Tribute to Don Briscoe at Dark Shadows Online
* After Noon TV interview with Don Briscoe
Briscoe, Donald
Category:Television Actors
Category:Original Series Actors