'Dark Shadows' star Lara Parker bites the dust at 84

Lara Parker, the beloved star of the iconic soap opera drama Dark Shadows, has taken her final bow at the age of 84.

Parker peacefully passed away in her sleep at her Los Angeles residence last Thursday morning, as confirmed by her Dark Shadows co-star Kathryn L. Scott in a Facebook post this Monday. 

She was just days away from celebrating her 85th birthday next week.

Scott wrote, “For more than 50 years, our lives were intertwined through our mutual love of literature, writing, and acting.”

A Wedding To Die For star stated further, “We could not have been more unalike, and therein lay the magic of our enduring friendship. My thoughts are with her family in this sad time of grief and remembrance.”

Born as Mary Lamar Rickey on October 27, 1938, in Knoxville, Tennessee, the actress embarked on her career journey in New York. 

Remarkably, her second-ever professional audition led to her landing the role of Angelique in the ABC soap series.

Between 1967 and 1971, this native of Memphis took on the central antagonist role of Angelique Bouchard in Dark Shadows.

Following her time on the daytime soap opera, Parker ventured into a variety of film and television projects. 

She appeared in the 1973 film Save the Tiger, took on a role in the drama TV series Jessica Novak in 1981, and later participated in two Doctor Mabuse movies in both 2013 and 2014.

Beyond her acting career, Lara Parker also left her mark in the literary world, authoring four books: Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent (1998), Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch (2006), Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising (2013), and Dark Shadows: Heiress of Collinwood (2016). 

Additionally, she graced the big screen in the film Night of Dark Shadows (1971), which was based on the series.

In 2012, she made a cameo appearance in the remake of the original TV series titled Dark Shadows, featuring Johnny Depp as Barnabas and Eva Green as Angelique.