Willie Loomis was a disappointment to everyone. His father was dead, and it was his aunt Sarah Johnson who got him a job as a servant at Collinwood. But lazy, alcoholic and belligerent, he couldn't do anything right. Apparently his constant foul-ups were tolerated until Roger Collins came back to town. Elizabeth Stoddard's younger brother took a dislike to Willie, making his life more miserable than it already was.
But Willie had discovered something among the old books at Collinwood: the location of the missing Collins family jewels. So caught up in his research (and his drinking), he forgot to pick up the new governess, Victoria Winters. Almost getting into a fight with just about everyone in town, he finally did pick her up and took her to Collinwood. Then, following the clues he had found, Willie went to the cemetery and located a secret room with a chained coffin in it. Believing the jewels to be inside, he broke the chains, and released Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire, and fell victim to his powers.
Under the vampire's influence, Willie was more subdued and much more responsible. He became Barnabas' handyman, helping him to restore the Old House. Unknown to anyone else, he was also guarding Barnabas' coffin during the day. But everyone noticed the changes in him, and treated him with more respect. Perhaps this was the reason Willie protected Barnabas as well as he did, knowing the vampire was responsible for his new-found respectability. So when Julia Hoffman arrived one night, just before Barnabas awoke, he tried to get her to leave. Imagine Willie's surprise when he realized Julia knew Barnabas' secret, and his shock when she offered to try to make the vampire human again. Willie gave Barnabas encouragement when the cure seemed to be working, and rushed to get Julia when he needed her help. When Barnabas became ill from facing the sunlight too soon, thanks to the suspicious Dr. Woodard, it was Willie who nursed him back to health, apparently having become quite fond of his supernatural master.
However, Willie was also fond of Victoria, one of the few people who was nice to him before his change. So he became concerned when Barnabas started showing interest in her, the image of his lost Josette. Willie's attempts to warn Vicki away from Barnabas failed, and he got thoroughly beaten for his trouble when Barnabas overheard. Deciding he needed help to protect Vicki, he enlisted the aid of Dr. Hoffman, unaware that Julia was in love with Barnabas herself. It wasn't until Barnabas regressed so badly that he had to be chained in his coffin that Willie found out she was diluting the serum until he gave up on Victoria. Though he tried to protect Julia from Barnabas' wrath, he was no match for the vampire's strength. Luckily, Barnabas only insisted on a final injection to finish the cure. Though it seemed to work at first, Willie was forced to go for Julia again when Barnabas started to age rapidly, but this time she steadfastly refused his pleas for help. Panicked, he returned to the Old House, and was heartbroken to discover Barnabas had reverted to a vampire again, having had to feed on the blood of Carolyn Stoddard to become young again. Once she had regained her strength, Willie took the dazed Carolyn back to Collinwood.
Knowing Barnabas blamed the doctor for his troubles, Willie tried to avoid Julia, but she showed up at the Old House a few days later, and almost got herself strangled by the angry vampire. Willie tried to stop him, but was thrown to the floor - again. (You think he would have learned by now.) Only the ghost of Barnabas' sister Sarah saved Dr. Hoffman, and Willie was amazed and touched by the tenderness Barnabas showed the young spirit.
When Vicki was mysteriously transported to the year 1790, Willie became concerned when they were informed by Sarah that Vicki had been arrested by the witch-hunting Reverend Trask. Following Barnabas' orders, he told Julia to arrange another seance in hopes of bringing Vicki back to the present. A few days later, Willie was shocked to find Julia in the basement of the Old House standing over the dead body of Joe Haskell. He was even more shocked when she attacked him screaming in French. He was able to subdue her, and was relieved to see Barnabas was unharmed. Willie regretted having to bury Joe in an unmarked grave, in spite of their past differences.
Presumably, Willie was glad when Victoria returned safely from the past, and continued helping Barnabas and Julia in their future endeavors.
