TV Flashback: Dallas

Dallas was a prime-time serial Drama that aired on CBS from 1978-1991.

The show starred:

Larry Hagman – JR Ewing
Patrick Duffy – Bobby Ewing
Barbara Bel Geddes – Miss Ellie Ewing
Linda Gray – Sue Ellen Ewing
Victoria Principal – Pamela Barnes Ewing
Ken Kercheval – Cliff Barnes
Steve Kanaly – Ray Krebbs
Charlene Tilton – Lucy Ewing Cooper
Jim Davis – Jock Ewing
Susan Howard – Donna Krebbs
Howard Keel – Clayton Farlow
Priscilla Presley – Jenna Wade
Dack Rambo – Jack Ewing
Sheree J. Wilson – April Ewing
Donna Reed – Miss Ellie
Cathy Podewell – Callie Ewing
Mary Crosby – Kristin Shephard
Jared Martin – Dusty Farlow
Morgan Brittany – Katherine Wentworth
Morgan Fairchild – Jenna Wade
Deborah Shelton – Mandy Winger
Jenilee Harrison – Jamie Barnes Ewing

The show originally aired in 1978 as part of a planned 5-part Mini-series. After the success of the mini-series, it was picked up as a regular series.

The entire 5-part mini-series was filmed in and around the Dallas area. When the show was picked up, some of the exteriors were filmed at the Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas and some location shooting was done around the Dallas area. As the series progressed, less and less filming was being done in Texas with most of the show being filmed in Southern California. By the 1989 season, the show was being filmed entirely in Southern California with a replica exterior and pool area of the Southfork Ranch being used in some scenes.

I have been to the actual Southfork Ranch multiple times. Obviously, the exterior looks just like it did on the show, but the house is not quite as “out in the country” as what you would think. The ranch is now completely surrounded by housing developments and has been swallowed up by the urban sprawl of the Dallas suburbs. When you enter the house, it is painfully obvious that the interior filming was done on sound stages as the interior of the house is actually very modest and small, nothing like the huge mansion-type feel of the home on the show.

Larry Hagman was the only actor to appear in every episode of the series.

The famed “Who Shot JR?” episode, in 1980, was the most-watched Television episode in TV History, until it was beaten by the series finale of M*A*S*H in 1983.

Who shot JR? It was Kristin Shephard (Mary Crosby).

Larry Hagman was not the first choice to portray JR Ewing. Hagman was best known for his comedic work on the long-running sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie“. Producers wanted Robert Foxworth to portray JR. He declined but did end up on the spin-off “Knots Landing”.

“Knots Landing” was spun-off from “Dallas” though Knots Landing was actually developed first. Producers could not sell the show, so they developed Dallas instead. When a Dallas spin-off was suggested, Knots Landing was dusted off and produced.

Larry Hagman and Ken Kercheval were the only actors to appear in every season of the show.

Hagman’s “I Dream of Jeannie” co-star, Barbara Eden, appeared in episodes of the show in 1990 and 1991 as a former girlfriend of JR’s.

Susan Lucci of “All My Children” fame appeared in 1990 and 1991 as a crazed kidnapper.

Patrick Duffy left the series for a season. Upon his return, his absensce, including the death of his character, was explained via the ENTIRE previous season having supposedly being a dream by his wife Pam.

The series won 4 Emmy Awards and One Golden Globe Award during it’s run.

A renewal of “Dallas” is being produced which will focus on the interactions between the sons of JR and Bobby Ewing. The show will feature original Dallas actors Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, and Linda Gray, along with a host of young actors. The show is currently in production in Dallas.