John Karlen (1933–2020), starred as Willie Loomis on cult favorite “Dark Shadows”

John Karlen played Willie Loomis on the cult favorite TV daytime gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows.” Loomis was the James Dean type that breaks into the Collins family mausoleum and unknowingly releases the vampire Barnabas Collins. Collins attacks Loomis and turns him into his servant. In the 1980s, Karlen played the husband of Tyne Daly’s character Mary Beth Lacey on the crime series “Cagney & Lacey.” He won an Emmy for the role in 1986. Later he played Helen Hunt’s father on “Mad About You.” Karlen served in the Korean War and made his Broadway debut in 1960.