Christopher Bernau (June 2, 1940 - June 15, 1989) was an American actor who created the role of Philip Todd on Dark Shadows. Bernau was born Herbert Augustine Bernau in Santa Barbara, California. He was one of the first openly Gay actors in the soap opera world. He was most famous for his role of Alan Spaulding on Guiding Light which he held for over a decade until his death. Bernau had AIDS, and died of a heart attack in 1989, two weeks after his 49th birthday.