Biography

Tall (6'3"), darkly handsome, serious-looking David Selby, highly regarded for his villainous work on both daytime and nighttime soap classics, was born on February 5, 1941, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He attended West Virginia University and graduated with both B.S. and M.A. degrees from West Virginia University, then earned a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

In his hometown, he made his stage debut in 1961 and appeared in such productions as "Brigadoon," "Oklahoma!, "Tiger at the Gates" and "Romeo and Juliet (as Mercutio). He went on appear in repertory and stock productions throughout the decade in such productions as "The Last Days of Lincoln" (as Abraham Lincoln), the title role in "Oedipus Rex," "Inherit the Wind," the title role in "Krapp's Last Case," "You Can't Take It With You," "Brecht on Brecht" and "The Tempest." In New York from 1967, he appeared in "The Impossible Years" and "Sticks and Bones."

He achieved instant attention on TV when he was signed on as Quentin Collins, a werewolf, on the gothic daytime drama Dark Shadows (1966), inheriting heartthrob status and even recorded two songs during the show's run, "Quentin's Theme" and "I Wanna Dance With You." After the series' demise, he made his movie debut with Night of Dark Shadows (1971), the second film based on the cult series.

Selby toyed with film stardom in the early 1970s after co-starring as Barbra Streisand's beleaguered husband in the riotous comedy Up the Sandbox (1972), playing the lead opposite Maud Adams in the minor Canadian drama The Girl in Blue (1973), and sharing the title role with Ron Leibman in the crime comedy The Super Cops (1974)). When it didn't pan out, he aggressively turned back to TV with guest parts on "The Waltons," "Police Woman," "Kojak" and "Family," and a role in the acclaimed mini-series Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), plus several TV movies. He also continued his high-profiled pace on the New York theatre stage with productions of "The Playboy of the Western World," "The Heiress," with Jane Alexander and Richard Kiley, and "Eccentricities of a Nightingale" opposite Betsy Palmer. He also played Brick in the 1975 national tour of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

Returning to either co-star or support roles in films, David's credits would include Rich Kids (1979), Raise the Titanic (1980) and Rich and Famous (1981). He was given an extra shot of adrenaline when, in 1981, he joined the night-time soap opera scene with the second season of Flamingo Road (1980). He didn't hit real pay dirt, however, until he squared off with tough-as-nails Jane Wyman as her scheming son in the long-running series Falcon Crest (1981) in which he won a Soap Opera Digest award.

Following the end of his hit series in 1990, David returned to the big screen offering white-collar support to Julia Roberts in Dying Young (1991); Richard Gere in Intersection (1994); Jeff Bridges in White Squall (1996); James Spader in Shadow of Fear (2004); Ben Affleck in Surviving Christmas (2004); Cuba Gooding Jr. in End Game (2006); Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network (2010); a guest cameo in the Johnny Depp remake of Dark Shadows (2012); Owen Wilson in Are You Here (2013); and Kristen Stewart in Equals (2015). He also kept busy on TV with guest appearances on "Touched by an Angel," "Ally McBeal," "Cold Case," "Castle Rock," "Chicago Fire" and "NCIS: New Orleans."

Always returning to his love for the live stage, later theatrical credits include "The Crucible" (as John Proctor), "The Night of the Iguana" (as Shannon), "Much Ado About Nothing" (as Benedick), several productions of "Love Letters," "A Long Day's Journey Into Night" (as James Tyrone), "Lincoln and James" (as Lincoln, which he wrote), and "A Delicate Balance" (as Tobias). David also penned the play "Final Assault" which premiered in 2003. A long-time staple player in radio drama with the L.A. Theatre Works, he has written books of poetry, plays and several novels including Promises of Love and A Casualty of Indifference.

David and his wife Chip ran a summer children's musical theatre in New York for ten years before moving to Los Angeles. They have three children.
- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Thick, nasal, commanding voice.

West Virginian accent.

The role of Quentin Collins on Dark Shadows (1966).

Frequently plays villainous roles who occasionally served people towards compassion.