Christopher Pennock Passes On

Christopher Pennock, who played various roles on Dark Shadows (including Leviathan leader Jeb Hawkes and astrologer Sebastian Shaw), died on February 12 at the age of 76. He had been diagnosed with melanoma last summer.

Christopher Pennock was born on June 7 1944 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He was an understudy for the part of Jack Hunter in the Broadway production The Rose Tattoo. In the late Sixties he appeared on Broadway in A Patriot for Me. He first appeared as Jeb Hawkes on Dark Shadows in 1970. Until the end of the run of the series, he played various characters in various timelines, including Cyrus Longwoth, Sebastian Shaw, and Gabriel Collins.

Mr. Pennock continued on Dark Shadows in the early Seventies. Later in the decade he appeared on the soap operad General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. He also guest starred on Cannon and the soap opera Somerset. He appeared in the TV movies The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer and The Women's Room. He appeared in the movie Night of Dark Shadows (1971), playing the role of Gabriel Collins. He also appeared in the movies Savages (1971), The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976), and California Suite (1978). He appeared on Broadway in Abelard and Heloise.

In the Eighties Christopher Pennock appeared on the soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Guiding Light. He guest starred on the TV shows The Love Boat, Strike Force, Tucker's Witch, Cagney & Lacey, The A-Team, Dynasty, Riptide, Hotel, Houston Knights, Simon & Simon, High Mountain Rangers, and Knot's Landing. He appeared in the movies Frances (1982), Basic Training (1985), and Caged in Paradise (1990).

In the Nineties Mr. Pennock guest starred on Melrose Place, Baywatch, and Silk Stalkings. He appeared in the movie Running Woman (1998). In the Naughts he appeared in the movies High (2009) and Legacy (2010). In the Teens he appeared in the movies Lost on Purpose (2013), Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar (2014), A Journey to a Jorney (2016), and The Night-Time Winds (2017). He was a regular on the TV series Theatre Fantastique and High.

Mr. Pennock also wrote a series of comic books based on his experiences on Dark Shadows.

Christopher Pennock was an immensely talented actor capable of playing a wide variety of roles. On Dark Shadows alone he played the Leviathan leader Jeb Hawkes, the astrologer Sebastian Shaw, and the Dr. Jekyll inspired Cyrus Longworth and his Hyde inspired alter ego John Yaeger. In shows from The A-Team to Melrose Place, he played a wide variety of characters, from essentially good characters to outright villains. Throughout his career he displayed an enormous amount of talent.