David Selby

This article is about the American actor. For the Australian wheelchair basketballer, see David Selby (basketball).

David Selby
David Selby in 2011
Born	David Lynn Selby (1941-02-05) February 5, 1941 Morgantown, West Virginia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1968–present
Spouse	Claudeis Newman ​ (m. 1963)​
Children	3

David Lynn Selby (born February 5, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for playing Quentin Collins in the daytime soap opera Dark Shadows (1968–71), and Richard Channing in the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest (1982–90). Selby also had prominent roles in the television series Flamingo Road (1981–82), and the feature film Raise the Titanic (1980). Also a published writer, Selby has written several books including novels, memoirs, and collections of poetry.

Early life

Selby was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, the son of Sarah E. (née McIntyre) and Clyde Ira Selby, a carpenter. He attended West Virginia University in his hometown, earning Bachelor of Science and Master's degrees in theater, followed by a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University.

Midway through his career at WVU, Selby joined the cast of Honey in the Rock, a new civil war drama at Grandview State Park near Beckley, West Virginia, where he portrayed the Rev. Gordon Battelle, a Methodist minister who advocated for separation from Virginia.

Career

Early TV and film roles (1960s and 1970s)

In 1968, Selby joined the cast of the TV series Dark Shadows as ghost Quentin Collins. After the series' cancellation in 1971, Selby played "Quentin Collins" in the second feature film based on the show, Night of Dark Shadows, released later the same year. (He would again reprise the role from the series for a new series of Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions, beginning in 2006).

In 1972, Selby co-starred with Barbra Streisand in the movie Up the Sandbox. He continued to appear in a number of films and television guest 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 also part of an all-star cast in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977).

In 1979, Selby declined the role of Gary Ewing in the TV series Knots Landing, which went to Ted Shackelford.

1980s

Selby was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his role in the 1980 film Raise the Titanic, which despite its established cast — including Jason Robards and Alec Guinness — was met with a negative reception from critics and audiences along with poor box-office takings.

In 1981, Selby played the villainous Michael Tyrone in the final season of the NBC prime-time serial Flamingo Road. Immediately after its cancellation in 1982, he joined the cast of Falcon Crest as Richard Channing, the son of matriarch Angela Channing (played by Jane Wyman). Originally considered an antagonist of the series, 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). Selby was nominated for six Soap Opera Digest Awards for his role of Richard (winning one). In all, Selby appeared in 209 episodes of the series, second only to co-star Lorenzo Lamas, who was the only actor to feature in all 227 episodes.

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 historic reopening of Ford's Theatre. (Selby had also played Abraham Lincoln in a 1998 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 FX's Marvel Comics X-Men drama, Legion.

Writing

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

Awards

In 1998, West Virginia University awarded Selby its first "Life Achievement Award" from the College of Creative Arts. He received an honorary doctorate in 2004.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Night of Dark Shadows	Quentin Collins/Charles Collins	Film debut
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
1996	D3: The Mighty Ducks	Dean Buckley
2004	Shadow of Fear	Mr. Steve Palmer
2004	Surviving Christmas	Horace Vangilder
2004	The Affair	Vincent
2006	End Game	Shakey Fuller
2007	Spin	Rob Polan
2010	Inhale	Henry White
2010	The Social Network	Gage
2012	Dark Shadows	Guest
2012	Batman: The Dark Night Returns, Part 1	Commissioner Gordon (voice)	Direct-to-video
2013	Batman: The Dark Night Returns, Part 2
2013	Are You Here	Karl Stevens
2015	Equals	Leonard
2017	Newness	Artie Hallock
2017	Smartass	Herman
2019	Back Fork	Bill
2019	Loon Lake	Emery Janson/Pastor Owen Janson

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968-1971	Dark Shadows	Quentin Collins (also Grant Douglas)	312 episodes
1974	The Waltons	Joshua Williams	Episode: "The Romance"
1975	Police Woman	Nate Fesler	Episode: "No Place to Hide"
1975	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
1977	Telethon	Roy Hansen	TV movie
1978	Family	Michael Kagan	Episode: "More Than Friends"
1979	The Night Rider	Lord Thomas Earl	TV movie
1979	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
1992	Lady Boss	Martin Swanson	Miniseries
1997	Soldier of Fortune	Xavier Trout	TV movie
1997-1999	Soldier of Fortune, Inc.		9 episodes
1997	Alone	Paul	TV movie
1997	Promised Land	Rowdy Sullivan	Episode: "Cowboy Blues"
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
2002	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
2007	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"
2020	NCIS: New Orleans	Red	Episode: "Relentless"

External links

• Official website
• David Selby at IMDb
• David Selby at the Internet Broadway Database
• David Selby at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Official David Selby Twitter Page
• Criseyde's David Selby Site
• Original Dark Shadows Audio Dramas starring David Selby