Johnny Depp attends the European premiere of 'The Rum Diary' at The Odeon Kensington on November 3, 2011 in London, England. Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images Johnny Depp released a statement Thursday on the "very sad" death of Dark Shadows star Jonathan Frid . PHOTOS: Stars we lost in 2011 Frid is best known for playing Barnabas Collins on ABC's vampire soap opera Dark Shadows from 1966-1971, and Depp is taking over that role in Tim Burton 's new film adaptation of the same name. Jonathan Frid was the reason I used to run home from school to watch Dark Shadows, Depp said in an email statement to the Los Angeles Times .His elegance and grace was an inspiration then and will continue to remain one forever more. When I had the honor to finally meet him [he] generously passed the torch of Barnabas. PHOTOS: Celebs gone too soon The two met last year on the set of Burton's Dark Shadows . Depp, 48, said the original Dark Shadows star was "as elegant and ...

April 19, 2012 | 4:23 p.m. Jonathan Frid as the vampire Barnabas Collins from "Dark Shadows." (ABC) http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/04/19/johnny-depp-shadows-star-jonathan-frid-was-elegant-magical/m15bg2pd/ 1 Link Jonathan Frid, 1971. (Los Angeles Times archives) http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/04/19/johnny-depp-shadows-star-jonathan-frid-was-elegant-magical/frid_603/ 2 Link Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins and Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans in a scene from "Dark Shadows," which aired 1966 to 1971. (Ben Martin) http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/04/19/johnny-depp-shadows-star-jonathan-frid-was-elegant-magical/la-et-trio/ 3 Link Jonathan Frid, left, as Barnabas Collins and David Selby as Quentin Collins on the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows." (ABC) http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/04/19/johnny-depp-shadows-star-jonathan-frid-was-elegant-magical/m15bftpd/ 4 Link In this 1971 photo, Lara Parker, who played Angelique on "Dark Shadows,...

Jonathan Frid, from "Dark Shadows. (AP/ABC) Johnny Depp has released a statement full of kind words for Jonathan Frid , the actor who played Barnabas Collins on the soap opera Dark Shadows and died last Friday. Depp plays the character in Tim Burtons film adaptation , which hits theaters this May. Jonathan Frid was the reason I used to run home from school to watch Dark Shadows, Depp said in a statement. When I had the honor to finally meet him, as he so generously passed the torch of Barnabas to me, he was as elegant and magical as I had always imagined. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. The world has lost a true original. ( LA Times ; EW ) Read a 1968 Washington Post interview with Frid here. Francis Lawrence has been picked to direct Catching Fire , the second film in The Hunger Games franchise. His past film credits ! include I Am Legend, Constantine and Water for Elephants. Lawrence also directed Lady Gagas Bad Romance music video, as well as ones for De...

April 20, 2012 05:02:57 GMT An ASL expert points out the flaw in the sign language delivered by the Mad Hatter of 'Alice in Wonderland', saying 'His middle finger should have been reversed.' Both and are accused of making a wrong sign language in 's , but it's the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor who's claimed to have made "the biggest error." According to expert Jami Fisher, he makes the wrong gesture near the end of the clip. "For me, the biggest error was when Johnny Depp signed 'valentine' at the end [of the music video]," the ASL Program Coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania shares her thoughts on the matter in an interview with TODAY.com. "His middle finger should have been reversed, so it looks like he's giving the middle finger." Depp is reported by U.K. publication, The Sun, that he says "enemy" instead of "valentine," but the speculation is cleared up by Fisher. ...

By Alexandra Myers - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller 2 mins 53 secs ago More From The Daily Caller Gingrichs Secret Service detail likely costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day The coming conservative landslide Kirsten Powers: Democrats are sort of trapped in the past on voter ID opposition [VIDEO] Be sure to pick up some official Barack Obama merchandise for your pet/dinner The new music video for Paul McCartney s My Valentine shows actors Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman signing along with the lyrics, but signing experts say some of the translations were not quite right. ABC News reports that Portmans attempt to sign the word appear actually translates to tampon and Depps sign for valentine ! turned o ut to be enemy,making the song say My enemy instead. The British Deaf Association said that even though the signs werent completely right, its still a great way to raise awareness of sign language . It would have been nice if genuine deaf people had been used, a ...

Paul McCartney The stars have signed the words enemy and tampon by mistake in Paul McCartney's new video. Although Paul McCartney s video for My Valentine sounds like a wonderful idea, there was always the chance of something going wrong. The video features Hollywood stars Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman signing their way through the lyrics of the song, all shot in tasteful black and white. However, a number of deaf music fans have been quick to point out a number of signing errors that have proved to be a little bit embarrassing for all involved. Two of the biggest misinterpreted signings are Portman producing tampon instead of appear and Depp mistakenly signing enemy instead of valentine. Despite the mistakes, the British Deaf Association still gave their support to the video, saying, Its great that famous people such as Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman are highlighting the use of sign language. Their use of it is more a poetic expression. "The sign for tampon does seem to c...

SIGNING BLUNDER? Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman have been accused of accidentally signing the word tampon in Paul McCartney's new music video. Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman have been accused of accidentally signing the word tampon in a new music promo. The Hollywood stars appear in the video for former Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney's new song My Valentine. They are seen using sign language in the promo, but it has been suggested they got some of the gestures muddled. According to British newspaper The Sun, some deaf people have claimed Natalie signs the word 'tampon' when she means to say 'appear'. It's alleged Depp made the same error and also accidentally signed 'enemy' rather than 'Valentine'. Fans have been furiously pointing out the mistake after the video was posted on YouTube. However, The British Deaf Association insists the promo is a good thing. The organisation admits Depp and Portman both seem confused when signing but are pl...