Louis Stirling Edmonds (September 24, 1923 – March 3, 2001) was an American actor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was best known for his roles in Dark Shadows and All My Children.Edmonds appeared in the musical Ernest in Love in 1960. He acted on the supernatural soap Dark Shadows as Roger Collins from 1966 to 1971. His other roles on Dark Shadows were Joshua Collins (the father of Barnabas Collins), Edward Collins (the older brother of Quentin Collins), Roger Collins PT (Roger Collins' opposite self in 1970 Parallel Time), the adult Daniel Collins (a cousin of Barnabas Collins and Millicent Collins' younger brother), Amadeus Collins (a lawyer who was the main prosecutor in the trial of Judah Zachary in 1692, whose spirit later possesses Gerard Stiles in 1840), and Brutus Collins (a ghost who haunted the secret locked room in 1841 Parallel Time). On All My Children, he played Langley Wallingford/Lenny Wlasuk from 1979 to 1995, who was married to Phoebe Tyler, portrayed by Ruth Warrick. He received Daytime Emmy nominations in 1984, 1985 and 1986. He also received Soap Opera Digest Award nominations in 1989 and 1990. Edmonds left the show due to ill health. He died of respiratory failure on March 3, 2001, in Port Jefferson, New York at the age of 77.
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Movies
Next Year in Jerusalem, Come Spy with Me
TV Shows
All My Children, Dark Shadows, Young Doctor Malone
Star Sign
Libra
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Fact
1
Remembered for his tireless efforts to the AIDS cause. It became a cause close to his heart with the related death of his sister's son Michael. Alma and Louis worked for years to reduce the stigma of and bring attention to this tragic disease.
2
Worked on stage, TV, and screen with an amazing range of pop culture icons, including: Citizen Kane (1941)'s Ruth Warrick (she played his wife on All My Children (1970)); Jan Miner (best remembered by many as "Madge", the wisecracking manicurist in a series of TV commercials; he worked with her off-Broadway in the 1960s); game show icon Brett Somers (the star of Match Game 73 (1973) was on Broadway with him in a short-lived romp that also featured Alice Ghostley); TV superstar Carol Burnett played his frumpy daughter, "Verla", on All My Children (1970) and Lucky Vanous (a muscled hunk best known for a classic shirtless Diet Coke commercial) played her fiancé; in the 1966 movie Come Spy with Me (1967), former teen heart-throb Troy Donahue drowned Louis' evil assassin character. Other popculturey costars included Charlton Heston, Susan Lucci, Zasu Pitts, Denise Nickerson and Dick Cavett.
3
His life story was told in a touching biography, "Big Lou", by Craig Hamrick, created with extensive input from the actor. Though he had never hidden his sexuality, it was in this book, in his 70s, that Edmonds officially came out and candidly discussed details of his life as a gay man.
4
Named his Long Island home The Rookery, which means a place where birds roost, because many wild birds made their homes in the trees there.
5
One of his most treasured possessions was a scratchy LP featuring several performances by legendary stage actress and writer Ruth Draper. He often quoted from her hilarious "The Italian Lesson" and dubbed his closest friends with names of characters from that one-act play.
6
His family home, a sprawling southern plantation called "Longwood", near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is located near an estate called "Oak Alley", which was featured in the Tom Cruise film Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994). Coincidentally, Cruise was one of his favorite actors. Longwood was also the guest home of Clark Gable and Yvonne DeCarlo for their stay in Louisiana while filming Band of Angels.
Outstanding Comic Performance by an Actor: Daytime
All My Children (1970)
1986
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
All My Children (1970)
1985
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series
All My Children (1970)
1984
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series
All My Children (1970)
Known for movies
Dark Shadows (1966-1971) as Roger Collins / Edward Collins / Joshua Collins / Opening Voiceover / Daniel Collins / Brutus Collins / Ghost of Daniel Collins / Ghost of Joshua Collins / Amadeus Collins / Edward / Ghost of Amadeus
$250,000
