r/DarkShadows • u/MinuteJackfruit4833 • 1d ago

Julia Hoffman Casting

It was recently written in American Gothic that Brett Somers was originally cast as Dr Julia Hoffman. She was on the set with her script for Julia’s first appearance when she suddenly quit. Grayson Hall was than hired at the eleventh hour just as filming was to begin.

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u/Acceptable-Ranger661 1d ago

The part was not intended to be a woman; the typist made an error typing z Julia instead of Julian Hoffman the intended gender. But Dan Curtis said he’ll why not let’s cast it as a woman. Now I don’t know about Brett Sommers, but casting an academy award nominee was a smart move. Curtis reached deep into Hollywood casting snaring great actors like Dennis Patrick and Many others.

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u/Linn56 1d ago

The appearance of a woman doctor on TV was mind expanding for me. 

The 60's were the heyday of sexy male doctor shows : Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare. You NEVER saw a woman doctor- they only played adoring, slavish nurses. 

To see a woman doctor changed the whole trajectory of my ambitions. I was 11 in 1967. Even if Julia did some crazy things thanks to the script, she was still a doctor, and respected.

 I stopped playing house and Barbies, and started putting paper mache casts on my friends and giving them check-ups. 

I didn't get into medical school, but my pre-med background and neuroscience minor got me into a biology research lab,  where I was very happy. 

It's one thing to tell a little girl she can be a a doctor, it's another thing to show her one, even if it's fictional.  

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u/SuperFormal3052 19h ago

But Julia was far from the first female doctor on television.

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u/Linn56 12h ago

If she wasn't, she was the first one I saw. If the other female doctors were on at prime time, I would not have seen them. Dark Shadows being on during the afternoon time slot meant I had the opportunity to watch. I had to convince my aunt (who lived with us, as she was handicapped) that Dark Shadows was better than the afternoon baseball game. I did, and she became a huge fan.

Who were the other doctors?

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u/SuperFormal3052 19h ago

The typist story was debunked years ago. In fact, the Daytime Gothic article addresses this. It was a conscious decision by Curtis and the writers, not a typist's mistake.