Woman’s Day (Australia)

10 things you didn’t know about Dallas!

The beloved show still lives on in the hearts of many

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It’s been three decades since Dallas – the show about Southfork Ranch and the Ewing family who ran it – left our screens, but there’s still things you may not know about the TV phenomenon that was watched by more than 300 million people worldwide...

1 IT ORIGINALLY HAD A DIFFERENT NAME!

Creator David Jacobs wrote the story about Ewing Oil in 1977 and the TV executives who read it changed the name to Dallas because, well, “it sounded better than Houston”, he said. Back then, Dallas was known more for its banks while Houston was the city known for oil.

2 LARRY HAGMAN BASED JR EWING ON A REAL PERSON

Larry grew up in Texas, and as a young man did odd jobs for an oil baron with four sons. “When [the oil man] died, there was kind of a war to see who would take over the business and one of the sons won, and I modelled my character after that son,” he once said.

3 JR WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE THE LEAD CHARACTER

The star of the show was meant to be Pam Ewing, played by Victoria Principal. However, Larry’s portrayal of JR was so good – and so popular – that the producers made him the main character instead!

4 LINDA GRAY WAS ONCE FIRED...

Linda, who played Sue Ellen Ewing, actually had her contract terminated after she asked for a pay rise and for a chance to direct a couple of episodes.

5 ...BUT LARRY WENT TO BAT FOR HER

After Linda was fired, Larry threatened to resign, saying there could be no JR without Sue Ellen. The producers had no choice but to bring her back!

6 LARRY WAS A VERY BUSY MAN...

JR was the only character who appeared in every single episode of Dallas – that’s 357 episodes in total!

7BRAD PITT WAS IN THE SHOW, TOO!

A then-unknown Brad guest-starred in four episodes during season 11 as a frisky teenager called Randy.

8THERE WAS CHAMPAGNE ON SET ALL DAY!

“I was drinking five bottles of champagne a day [during the filming of the original series], but I was never drunk,” Larry once said. “I just took little slugs throughout the day.”

9THERE WEREN’T MANY FAVOURITES LEFT AT THE END

When the show finally ended in 1991, only three of the original characters were still there. The rest had been killed off or left town.

10SPIN- OFF SHOW KNOTS LANDING WAS CREATED FIRST!

Producers couldn’t sell Knots Landing originally, but when Dallas became a hit and the network asked for a spin-off, they offered them the LA soap again… and it was a huge hit, too!

 ??  ?? Larry reprised his role as scheming oilman JR in the 2012 reboot.
Patrick says he loved the “soulsearch­ing scenes” he shared with his TV wife Victoria.
It was supposed to be a miniseries but Dallas aired for 13 seasons!
Larry reprised his role as scheming oilman JR in the 2012 reboot. Patrick says he loved the “soulsearch­ing scenes” he shared with his TV wife Victoria. It was supposed to be a miniseries but Dallas aired for 13 seasons!
 ??  ?? A young Brad starred as Charlie’s boyfriend Randy.
A young Brad starred as Charlie’s boyfriend Randy.
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