Count Petofi
Encyclopedia
Andreas Petofi is the name of a fictional character
featured in the 1966–1971 ABC
cult TV Gothic horror soap opera
Dark Shadows
. Count Petofi was an extremely powerful warlock
who appeared in the 1897 storyline. He was primarily portrayed by Thayer David
. However, due to Petofi's body swapping and possession abilities, he was portrayed by others.
, in 1897, he was 150 years old. According to Petofi, he had once owned a pet unicorn but he had tragically killed it on the night of a full moon, before curing himself of the werewolf curse.
Petofi was a very classy and sophisticated gentleman who loved the arts, classical music, and owning beautiful things. He hated the sight of violence. However, he was also selfish, and obsessed with never dying; and so he was cruel to anyone who interfered with his goals or whom he viewed as an enemy. To handle any needed violence, Petofi employed a young escaped prisoner named Aristede (Michael Stroka
). Aristede served as bodyguard and hitman, doing anything Petofi asked, which included killing to protect his master. Petofi's relationship with Aristede would eventually lead to his own demise.
, using the alias Victor Fenn-Gibbon. His true identity as Count Andreas Petofi was eventually revealed. Petofi began his scheme to get back his hand by possessing young Jamison Collins (David Henesy
). After he caused much trouble for the inhabitants of Collinwood, Barnabas Collins
(Jonathan Frid
) and Quentin Collins
(David Selby
) were forced to give Petofi back his hand, in order to save Jamison's life.
Petofi gave magical painting powers to Charles Delaware Tate (Roger Davis
). While still possessing Jamison, he commissioned Tate to paint a portrait of Quentin. Once finished, the portrait magically changed into the werewolf on the nights of a full moon, instead of Quentin himself, and had the unexpected side effect of virtual immortality.
Among Petofi's greatest enemies were the gypsies, who claimed his all-powerful hand as a Gypsy artifact. After retrieving the hand, Petofi nearly met his end at the hands of Johnny Romano (Paul Michael), leader of the gypsy clan that had previously taken Petofi's hand. Romano captured Petofi and nearly slew him until Aristede saved Petofi's life, killing Romano in the process.
Petofi's fear of gypsies led to him concocting an elaborate scheme to escape their vengeance by time traveling to the year 1969. Petofi discovered time travel was possible after encountering Barnabas (who had traveled back from 1969 in an attempt to save the life of David Collins
(David Henesy
)). Petofi devised a scheme where he would travel to the future by switching bodies with Quentin (who was rendered immortal by the magical painting Petofi had Tate paint).
) hostage in Tate's studio. Just when Petofi's plan to travel to the future seemed unstoppable, a phantom jailer (who was hunting Aristede) arrived and took Petofi captive. The jailer passed sentence on Petofi and torched Tate's home. Barnabas and Charity fled the home as Petofi was sentenced and returned to find the studio burnt to the ground and no evidence of Petofi left except his spectacles. With Petofi apparently destroyed, Barnabas turned his attention elsewhere.
in which he has possessed the body of a young woman played by Nicola Bryant
.
In addition, Big Finish has strongly hinted at the return of Count Petofi at the end of the second season of the full-cast drama, Kingdom of the Dead. The third season will supposedly be a two disc drama called The Time of Petofi.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
featured in the 1966–1971 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
cult TV Gothic horror soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. Count Petofi was an extremely powerful warlock
Warlock
The term warlock in origin means "traitor, oathbreaker".In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch ....
who appeared in the 1897 storyline. He was primarily portrayed by Thayer David
Thayer David
Thayer David was a film, stage and television actor. He was best known for his work on the cult ABC serial Dark Shadows and as the fight promoter George Jergens in the Oscar-winning movie Rocky . He also appeared as Count Arne Saknussemm in the film Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1959...
. However, due to Petofi's body swapping and possession abilities, he was portrayed by others.
Early years
Andreas Petofi claimed to be a wealthy Hungarian Aristocrat. He was an over-weight, grey curly-haired elderly man, with very poor eyesight. Most of his magical powers were centered in his right hand, which was called the Hand of Count Petofi by the gypsies. The hand, which could not be destroyed, had been taken from him in 1797 by gypsies, as payment for lifting a werewolf curse. At the time of his first appearance in Collinsport, MaineCollinsport, Maine
Collinsport is the fictional setting of the 1960s Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows.In the series, Collinsport is a small, coastal fishing village located in Maine, on the coast about 50 miles - 80 km southeast of Bangor. Characters on the show sometimes visit or refer to Bangor, Maine or...
, in 1897, he was 150 years old. According to Petofi, he had once owned a pet unicorn but he had tragically killed it on the night of a full moon, before curing himself of the werewolf curse.
Petofi was a very classy and sophisticated gentleman who loved the arts, classical music, and owning beautiful things. He hated the sight of violence. However, he was also selfish, and obsessed with never dying; and so he was cruel to anyone who interfered with his goals or whom he viewed as an enemy. To handle any needed violence, Petofi employed a young escaped prisoner named Aristede (Michael Stroka
Michael Stroka
Michael George Stroka was an American actor on soap operas like ABC-TV's Dark Shadows, in which he played Aristede, Bruno, Bruno Hess, and Laszlo Ferrari from 1969 to 1970...
). Aristede served as bodyguard and hitman, doing anything Petofi asked, which included killing to protect his master. Petofi's relationship with Aristede would eventually lead to his own demise.
1897
Petofi arrived at CollinwoodCollinwood Mansion
Collinwood Mansion is a fictional house featured in the Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows . Built in 1795 by Joshua Collins, Collinwood has been home to the Collins family and other sometimes un-welcome supernatural visitors since its inception. The house is located near the town of...
, using the alias Victor Fenn-Gibbon. His true identity as Count Andreas Petofi was eventually revealed. Petofi began his scheme to get back his hand by possessing young Jamison Collins (David Henesy
David Henesy
David Henesy Raised in New York City, Henesy was a child actor in film, television, and Broadway. He appeared in "Oliver!", "Jenny" , and daytime television series Dark Shadows in the roles of David Collins, Daniel Collins, Jamison Collins, and Tad Collins...
). After he caused much trouble for the inhabitants of Collinwood, Barnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
(Jonathan Frid
Jonathan Frid
John Herbert Frid is a theater, television, and film actor, best known for playing the role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic television soap opera Dark Shadows.-Early Life:...
) and Quentin Collins
Quentin Collins
Quentin Collins is the name of several characters featured in the 1966-1971 ABC cult TV Gothic horror-soap opera Dark Shadows. All variations of the character have been played by actor David Selby.-Quentin I:...
(David Selby
David Selby
David Lynn Selby is an American character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap operas and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins on the ABC-TV serial, Dark Shadows , and as the evil and compassionate...
) were forced to give Petofi back his hand, in order to save Jamison's life.
Petofi gave magical painting powers to Charles Delaware Tate (Roger Davis
Roger Davis (television actor)
Jon Roger Davis is an American actor and entrepreneur. The sandy-haired Davis is best known for his boyish good looks, and lilting, Henry Fonda-like voice. He came to fame in such television series as Dark Shadows and Alias Smith and Jones...
). While still possessing Jamison, he commissioned Tate to paint a portrait of Quentin. Once finished, the portrait magically changed into the werewolf on the nights of a full moon, instead of Quentin himself, and had the unexpected side effect of virtual immortality.
Among Petofi's greatest enemies were the gypsies, who claimed his all-powerful hand as a Gypsy artifact. After retrieving the hand, Petofi nearly met his end at the hands of Johnny Romano (Paul Michael), leader of the gypsy clan that had previously taken Petofi's hand. Romano captured Petofi and nearly slew him until Aristede saved Petofi's life, killing Romano in the process.
Petofi's fear of gypsies led to him concocting an elaborate scheme to escape their vengeance by time traveling to the year 1969. Petofi discovered time travel was possible after encountering Barnabas (who had traveled back from 1969 in an attempt to save the life of David Collins
David Collins (Dark Shadows)
David Collins was a fictional character, the son of Roger Collins, on the television serial Dark Shadows, played by David Henesy. In the 1990 made-for-television movie and 1991 revival series, David Collins was played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In the 2004 WB Pilot for Dark Shadows, he was played by...
(David Henesy
David Henesy
David Henesy Raised in New York City, Henesy was a child actor in film, television, and Broadway. He appeared in "Oliver!", "Jenny" , and daytime television series Dark Shadows in the roles of David Collins, Daniel Collins, Jamison Collins, and Tad Collins...
)). Petofi devised a scheme where he would travel to the future by switching bodies with Quentin (who was rendered immortal by the magical painting Petofi had Tate paint).
1969
Using the vast powers at his disposal, Petofi was able to switch bodies with Quentin. Petofi maintained his power despite being in another body and he attempted to reach 1969 in Quentin's body. When Petofi's assistant aborted the mission, Petofi discovered that his magical energy had somehow transferred back to his old body. At that point, Quentin (still in Petofi's body) was able to switch places with Petofi. Petofi tried again to switch bodies but this time, Quentin was able to flee Collinsport, thwarting Petofi's scheme.Back to 1897
When his first scheme failed, he tried and failed yet again to body swap with Barnabas, whom he realized also existed in the future. Petofi captured Barnabas after taking Charity Trask (Nancy BarrettNancy Barrett
Nancy Barrett, born , is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of "Carolyn Stoddard" in the popular 1960s Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows....
) hostage in Tate's studio. Just when Petofi's plan to travel to the future seemed unstoppable, a phantom jailer (who was hunting Aristede) arrived and took Petofi captive. The jailer passed sentence on Petofi and torched Tate's home. Barnabas and Charity fled the home as Petofi was sentenced and returned to find the studio burnt to the ground and no evidence of Petofi left except his spectacles. With Petofi apparently destroyed, Barnabas turned his attention elsewhere.
Powers & abilities
- Before being cured by gypsies in 1797, he was a cursed werewolf, causing him to transform during the night before, night of, and night after a full moon. In werewolf form he had no memory of his actions, only acting on primal animal instincts; and possessed accelerated healing from any injury or wound, except for wounds caused by silver weapons or bullets.
- Powerful warlock, with knowledge of witchcraft and sorcery, adept at body swaps and cursing.
- Most of magical powers were centered in right hand, which was called the Hand of Count Petofi. With the hand, he possessed vast paranormal powers, the limits of which are unknown, but included astral projection, body swapping, clairvoyance, healing fatal wounds, hypnosis, mind control, possession, telepathy and teleportation.
Other appearances
The character of Andreas Petofi has since reappeared in the audio drama The Blind PainterThe Blind Painter
Dark Shadows: The Blind Painter is a 2011 Big Finish Productions original dramatic reading based on the long-running American horror soap opera series Dark Shadows.-Cast:*Charles Delaware Tate - Roger Davis*Eloise - Nicola Bryant-External links:...
in which he has possessed the body of a young woman played by Nicola Bryant
Nicola Bryant
-External links:** at shillpages.com/dw *...
.
In addition, Big Finish has strongly hinted at the return of Count Petofi at the end of the second season of the full-cast drama, Kingdom of the Dead. The third season will supposedly be a two disc drama called The Time of Petofi.