MALICE IN DALLAS
At the beginning of 1978, director and writer DAVID JACOBS had the great idea of creating the show as he was watching I. Bergman´s movie “SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE” on TV: a troubled relationship was being profoundly analysed by the Swedish director, considered as one of the most impenetrable in the European cinema. JACOBS originally presented this issue in an all-American background and extended it to several couples simultaneously, allowing a more complete analysis...and more profitable too.
But CBS, the network that assigned him the project, asked him for something bigger, saga-like. His first idea ended up becoming KNOTS LANDING, the DALLAS´ spin-off. So he originally imagined the show to be located in the N.Y. high finance world, but the skycrapers´ city was considered to be overused. Cattle and oil fields turned out to be a whole new, real element, since TEXAS had been one of the most financially developed states in the 70´s.
The next step was contacting a company to produce the project: LORIMAR agreed to. It had made several hit series like FAMILY or 8 IS ENOUGH, with an theme contrary to DALLAS´. First shot as a 5-part pilot-season or miniseries, episode 1, DIGGER´S DAUGHTER, was aired on 2 April 1978. The secret of its unexpected success was due to the bright scripts and the well-cast stars. The roles of the patriarchs were always meant for BARBARA BEL GEDDES, a remarkable actress with a lifetime experience on stage, and JIM DAVIS, an old supporting actor in uncountable westerns who never had a chance to outstand.
The show´s main role, the one doomed to become a popular icon, was won by LARRY HAGMAN, a fortysomething actor, the son of stage star MARY MARTIN who didn´t make it in his performances in movies and TV. His only relative success had been the 60´S sitcom I DREAM OF JEANNIE co-starring BARBARA EDEN. HAGMAN would have never guessed that such a character (an unredeemable bad guy) was going to make him the most popular, highest paid star in the American TV History. The person who convinced him to accept the role of J.R. EWING, an adulterous man with no scruples, was just his wife Maj.
The other roles were cast through auditions at LORIMAR. A role of a transsexual in a sitcom made the producers notice LINDA GRAY and call her for a test: to say 4 lines and cry. Obviously, she was convincing enough to get the part of SUE ELLEN EWING, J.R.´s wife. As for PAMELA, the executive producer PHILIP CAPICE and the casting director IRENE MARIANO did not hesitate to choose VICTORIA PRINCIPAL when they saw her dry-swimming after saying her dialogue, the way the script described to.
That scene belonging to episode 1 was co-acted by STEVE KANALY, who went to the studio dressing like a foreman. That´s how he got the role of RAY, the foreman of the ranch where the core characters lived. He was auditioning for any of the other available male parts, though. Rebel LUCY EWING went to sparkling CHARLENE TILTON, and PATRICK DUFFY as BOBBY EWING completed the show´s cast in its Season 1.
Although kept secret for a long time, BOBBY´s death was meant to be the end of the pilot-season´s fifth episode, leaving PAMELA confronting J.R. alone. Ironically, the youngest EWING “died” 7 years later by request of his performer...and one year later, he “resurrected”, as the viewers wished to, proving the audiences to be who really ruled over their TV heroes´ destinies.
However, in that far 1978, DAVID JACOBS was persuaded to write that first tragedy off the script since it didn not give a long life to the show, as seen later. KEN KERCHEVAL (CLIFF BARNES) was credited as part of the main cast on Season 2, after also starring on Season 1. From then on, producers hired a wide list of actors to support the stars. Therefore were cast unknown beauties like MARY CROSBY (KRISTIN), AUDREY LANDERS (AFTON), MORGAN BRITTANY (KATHERINE) or SHEREE J. WILSON (APRIL).
Season 4 registered one loss: JIM DAVIS, starring as patriarch JOCK, had died before tying up the previous episode series. To fulfill the space left by him, they called back HOWARD KEEL as CLAYTON FARLOW, future second husband for MISS ELLIE EWING. At the same time, SUSAN HOWARD, who played the foreman´s wife-to-be, was credited as a star from the same season on.
Actors like JARED MARTIN, LEIGH McCLOSKEY, TIMOTHY PATRICK MURPHY, JOHN BECK, CHRISTOPHER ATKINS, DACK RAMBO and SASHA MITCHELL gueststarred on a more or less regular basis, upon the case, as a plus appeal for the female audiences. Other parts went to better-known US actresses: SUSAN FLANNERY, JOANNA CASSIDY, PRISCILLA POINTER, LOIS CHILES, BARBARA CARRERA, LEIGH TAYLOR-YOUNG, LESLEY-ANNE DOWN or BARBARA EDEN.
Incidentally, they hired stars like ALEXIS SMITH and DONNA REED, while sometimes they were cast for their well-known lives (PRISCILLA PRESLEY) or for winning beauty contests (DEBORAH SHELTON, JENILEE HARRISON and KAREN KOPINS, among others). Along with the DALLAS stars, we should mention those who said no to the show (ROBERT FOXWORTH), or quit their characters (as did COLLEEN CAMP, MORGAN FAIRCHILD, FRANCINE TACKER, DAVID ACKROYD and DAVID WAYNE). Because of so many defections, the producers had to look for substitutes too often.
Among the stars who supposedly refused to act on DALLAS, we should remark MADONNA, WARREN BEATTY, NASTASSIA KINSKI, DOROTHY MALONE, LORI SINGER and RYAN O´NEAL. All of them preferred to resume their careers in movies or TV.
Instead the initial 5 episodes, 13 were aired and then more to complete 29, thus finishing Season 1. On March 1982 episode nº 100 was shown, on November´85 the amazing number of 200 episodes was registered, until summing up over 300. Something always was out of discussion for the producers: LARRY HAGMAN should stay in the show, since his character J.R. was the symbol of DALLAS, wearing his Stetson and his ambivalent smile.
Now meet the main characters and the actors we identify them with...
CHARACTERS
