David Lynn Selby is an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for playing Quentin Collins in the daytime soap operaDark Shadows, and Richard Channing in the prime-time soap operaFalcon Crest. Selby also had prominent roles in the television series Flamingo Road, and the feature film Raise the Titanic. Also a published writer, Selby has written several books including novels, memoirs, and collections of poetry.
In 1968, Selby joined the cast of the TV series Dark Shadows as werewolf Quentin Collins. After the series' cancellation in 1971, Selby played a different, non-werewolf, version of "Quentin Collins" in the second feature film based on the show, Night of Dark Shadows, released later the same year.. 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, The Super Cops and Rich Kids, and episodes of The Waltons, Police Woman and Kojak. He was also part of an all-star cast in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries . 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 filmRaise 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. 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. Selby was nominated for six Soap Opera Digest Awards for his role of Richard. 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, White Squall and Surviving Christmas, and episodes of series such as Cold Case and Mad Men. 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 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 , 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'sMarvel ComicsX-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.
