SO CAN EW GUESS WHO?
DALLAS 40TH ANNIVERSARY
DALLAS ran over 14 series, from 1978 to 1991. It was then revived with new and old cast members and shown on Channel 5 in 2012, but was cancelled after three series. THE original series was dubbed into 67 languages and broadcast in more than 90 countries. VILLAIN JR Ewing (Larry Hagman) was supposed to be only a minor character, but audiences loved him so much he became the main star. JR is the only character to appear in all 357 episodes of the original series. HIS trademark Stetson is in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. ONE of the biggest cliffhangers was Who Shot JR? which racked up 350million views worldwide. THE episode, which finally revealed it was his mistress Kristin Shepard, was watched by 90million US viewers. EVEN though she was just nine years older than Larry Hagman, Barbara Bel Geddes played his mum Ellie. HAGMAN drank five bottles of champagne a day during filming, but insisted he was never drunk. The alcoholic had a liver transplant 1995 before dying of cancer in 2012. LINDA Gray left after getting bored with Sue Ellen Ewing being alcoholic. She said: “This woman has been drunk for eight years!” BOBBY Ewing (Patrick Duffy) was killed off – only to come back from the dead in wife Pam’s shower a whole series later. Writers decided to make the previous season a dream! DALLAS may have inspired the fall of communism. When it was shown in Romania, Hagman felt the people wanted the same riches as the Ewings. IN fact Romania loved Dallas so much, tycoon Ilie Alexandru built a Dallas-esque hotel complex there, dubbed Southforkscu. HAGMAN said it was the Friday night slot that made the show a hit, because during the 1980s US recession people couldn’t afford to go out. YOU can get married at the actual Southfork ranch in Parker, Texas, where show exteriors were filmed. Couples will hope things turn out better than most Dallas marriages!