# Patrick Duffy

Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Bobby Ewing on the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas (1978–1991). Duffy returned to reprise his role as Bobby in a continuation of Dallas, which aired on TNT from 2012 to 2014. He is also well known for his role on the ABC sitcom Step by Step as Frank Lambert from 1991 to 1998, and for his role as Stephen Logan on the CBS daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (2006–2011, 2022, 2023). Duffy played the lead character's father in the 2014 NBC sitcom Welcome to Sweden.

## Early life

Duffy was born in Townsend, Montana, in 1949, the son of tavern owners, Patrick Mor Terence and Marie Duffy (née Dawson). Duffy is of Irish ancestry. During high school, Duffy was living in Everett, Washington, and attended Cascade High School. At Cascade, he participated in the Drama Club and the Pep Club, for which he was a Yell King. Academically, Duffy graduated from the University of Washington in 1971 with a degree in drama. He ruptured both his vocal cords during his senior year of college, but was hired as actor-in-residence, where he worked as an interpreter for ballet, opera, and orchestra companies in Washington. He also taught mime and movement classes during this period. In a 2021 interview with David A. Weiner, Duffy credits his sister, an international champion diver, with teaching him the necessary swimming techniques for his first career break. She became a police officer in Seattle.

## Career

Duffy appeared in a Taco Bell commercial in the early 1970s, playing an employee describing an Enchirito. In 1977, he landed the role of Mark Harris in the short-lived television series Man from Atlantis. Following the series' cancellation in early 1978, he got his big break in the role of Bobby Ewing, opposite Barbara Bel Geddes and Larry Hagman, on the prime-time soap opera Dallas. The show became a worldwide success. Despite its success, Duffy opted to leave the series in 1985 with his character being killed off onscreen. However, with both the show and his career on the decline, he returned in 1986 in the famous shower scene that rendered the entire 1985–1986 season "just a dream." Duffy then remained with the series until its cancellation in 1991. He also appeared in several episodes of the spin-off series Knots Landing between 1979 and 1982. Throughout the 13-year run of Dallas, Duffy directed several episodes of the series. Along with Dallas fame, Duffy has also tried his hand at singing, and in 1983, he had a hit in Europe with Together We're Strong, a duet with French female singer Mireille Mathieu. The single reached No. 5 in the Netherlands in April 1983.
At the end of Dallas' run in 1991, Duffy began another television role, as Frank Lambert on the family sitcom, Step by Step in which he co-starred with Suzanne Somers. The series ran until 1998, and Duffy also directed numerous episodes. Also in the 1990s, he appeared in two Dallas reunion television films; J.R. Returns (1996) and War of the Ewings (1998), both of which he also co-produced. He has reunited on several occasions with many of his Dallas co-stars both onscreen and off, most notably for the non-fiction television special Dallas Reunion: Return to Southfork in 2004. Duffy later continued to act in occasional guest or voice acting appearances, including the series Family Guy (in which he appeared in a live action scene with Victoria Principal as they spoofed the Dallas shower scene), as well as Justice League and Touched by an Angel. Duffy starred in the television films Falling in Love With the Girl Next Door and Desolation Canyon. In 2006, he began a recurring role on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful as Stephen Logan. From April to July 2008, he hosted Bingo America, a partially interactive game show on GSN.
Duffy reprised his role as Bobby Ewing in TNT's continuation series of Dallas. The series aired from 2012 to 2014.
Duffy played a surreal double of Bobby Ewing in the experimental documentary Hotel Dallas, directed by artist duo Ungur & Huang. The film premiered at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.

## Personal life

Duffy married Carlyn Rosser, a professional ballerina 13 years his senior, in 1974. She danced with the First Chamber Dance Company of New York. Her nephew is former Major League Baseball pitcher Barry Zito. The Duffys lived near Eagle Point, Oregon, with their sons Padraic (b. 1974) and Conor (born c. 1980).
Introduced to Buddhism by his wife, Duffy converted to Nichiren Buddhism and began chanting Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō. He and his family are longtime members of the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International.
On November 18, 1986, Duffy's parents were murdered at their tavern in Boulder, Montana by two young men, Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz, during an armed robbery. Wentz and Miller, who were teenagers at the time, were convicted of the murders and sentenced to 75 years in prison. In 2001, Miller appeared before the Montana Parole board after Wentz recanted his original story and admitted that he, Wentz, was the sole gunman. Miller was denied clemency in 2001 but was released on parole in December 2007. Wentz was granted parole in 2015.
Duffy's wife Carlyn Rosser died in 2017. In 2020, he entered into a relationship with actress Linda Purl.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | The Stranger Who Looks Like Me | Adoptee #3 | Television film |
| 1974 | Hurricane | Jim | Television film |
| 1976 | Switch | Sgt. Musial | Episode: "The Walking Bomb" |
| 1976 | The Last of Mrs. Lincoln | Lewis Baker | Television film |
| 1977 | Man from Atlantis | Mark Harris | Television film |
| 1977 | Man from Atlantis: The Death Scouts | Mark Harris | Television film |
| 1977 | Man from Atlantis: Killer Spores | Mark Harris | Television film |
| 1977 | Man from Atlantis: The Disappearances | Mark Harris | Television film |
| 1977–78 | Man from Atlantis | Mark Harris | Series regular (17 episodes) |
| 1978–85; 1986–91 | Dallas | Bobby Ewing | Series regular (326 episodes) Director (29 episodes) Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Actor in a Prime Time Serial (1985) Special Bambi Award (Shared with Dallas co-stars) (1987) TV Land Pop Culture Award (Shared with Dallas co-stars) (2006) Nominated - Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Actor in a Prime Time (1988, 1990, 1992) Nominated - Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite Super Couple: Prime Time (Shared with Victoria Principal) (1988) |
| 1979–82 | Knots Landing | Bobby Ewing | 3 episodes |
| 1980 | Charlie's Angels | William Cord | Episode: "One Love...Two Angels" |
| 1980 | Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb | Colonel Paul Tibbets | Television film |
| 1981 | The Love Boat | Ralph Sutton | Episode: "The Expedition" |
| 1982 | Cry for the Strangers | Dr. Brad Russell | Television film |
| 1984 | Vamping | Harry Baranski | |
| 1985 | From Here to Maternity | Henderson | Television film |
| 1985 | Hotel | Richard Martin | Episode: "Missing Pieces" |
| 1985 | George Burns Comedy Week | | Episode: "Dream, Dream, Dream" |
| 1985 | Alice in Wonderland | The Goat | Television film |
| 1986 | Strong Medicine | Dr. Andrew Jordan | Television film |
| 1987 | Our House | Johnny Witherspoon | Episode: "Candles and Shadows" |
| 1988 | 14 Going on 30 | Actor in Black and White Movie | Television film |
| 1988 | Unholy Matrimony | John Dillman | Television film |
| 1988 | Too Good to Be True | Richard Harland | Television film |
| 1990 | Murder C.O.D. | Steve Murtaugh | Television film |
| 1990 | Children of the Bride | John Hix | Television film |
| 1990 | Newhart | Patrick Duffy | Episode: "Lights! Camera! Contractions!"; uncredited |
| 1991 | Daddy | Oliver Watson | Television film |
| 1991–98 | Step by Step | Frank Lambert | Series regular (160 episodes) Director (49 episodes) |
| 1992 | Goof Troop | Harold Hatchback | Voice, episode: "Buddy Building" |
| 1994 | Texas | Stephen Austin | Television film |
| 1996 | Dallas: J.R. Returns | Bobby Ewing | Television film |
| 1997 | Heart of Fire | Max Tucker | Television film |
| 1998 | Dallas: War of the Ewings | Bobby Ewing | Television film |
| 1998 | Rusty: A Dog's Tale | Cap the Dog | Voice |
| 1998 | Diagnosis: Murder | Wayde Garrett | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" |
| 1999 | Dead Man's Gun | Lyman Gage | Episode: "The Womanizer" |
| 1999 | Don't Look Behind You | Jeff Corrigan | Television film |
| 1999 | Twice in a Lifetime | Peter Hogan | Episode: "A Match Made in Heaven" |
| 1999–2001 | Family Guy | Bobby Ewing, Jack, Salesman, Teacher | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2000 | The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne | Duke Angelo Rimini | Episode: "Rockets of the Dead" |
| 2000 | Perfect Game | Coach Bobby Geiser | Television film |
| 2002 | Justice League | Steve Trevor | Voice, episode: "The Savage Time" |
| 2003 | Touched by an Angel | Mike | Episode: "I Will Walk with You" |
| 2004 | Reba | Dr. Joe Baker | Episode: "Couples' Therapy" |
| 2004 | Dallas Reunion: The Return to Southfork | Himself / Bobby Ewing | TV special |
| 2006 | Desolation Canyon | Sheriff Tomas 'Swede' Lundstrom | Television film |
| 2006 | Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door | James Connolly | Television film |
| 2006–11; 2022–23 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Stephen Logan | Series regular (155 episodes) |
| 2007 | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Himself | Uncredited cameo (unrated version) |
| 2008 | He's Such a Girl | Whitney's Father |
| 2008 | Bingo America | Host | Game Show |
| 2009 | Love Takes Wing | Mayor Evans | Television film |
| 2010 | Healing Hands | Uncle Norman | Television film |
| 2010 | You Again | Ritchie Phillips | |
| 2010 | Pony Exce$$ | Narrator | Television documentary |
| 2010 | Party Down | Himself | Episode: "Constance Carmell Wedding" |
| 2010 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Himself | |
| 2012–14 | Dallas | Bobby Ewing | Series regular (40 episodes) Director (1 episode) |
| 2012 | Lovin' Lakin | Himself | Episode: "Lakin Visits Her Dad" |
| 2014–15 | Welcome to Sweden | Wayne Evans | Recurring (4 episodes) |
| 2015 | The Fosters | Robert Quinn Sr. | Episode: "The End of the Beginning" |
| 2017 | The Christmas Cure | Bruce Turner | Television film |
| 2017 | Trafficked | Christian | |
| 2018 | Christmas with a View | Frank Haven | Television film |
| 2018 | American Housewife | Marty | Episode: "Saving Christmas" |
| 2019 | The Cool Kids | Gene | Episode: "Margaret Ups Her Game" |
| 2019 | Station 19 | Terry | Episode: "Into the Wildfire" |
| 2019 | The Mistletoe Secret | Mack Eubanks | Television film |
| 2019 | Random Acts of Christmas | Howard | Television film |
| 2019 | April, May and June | April's Father | |
| 2020 | All Rise | Ed Parker | Episode: "What the Constitution Greens to Me" |
| 2020 | NCIS | Ret. Lieutenant Commander Jack Briggs | Episode: "Flight Plan" |
| 2020 | Once Upon a Main Street | Elder Dubois | Television film |
| 2020 | Alley of Brandt | Master of Time | Short film |
| 2021 | Lady of the Manor | Grayson Wadsworth | |
| 2021 | Doomsday Mom | Larry Woodcock | Television film |
| 2021 | On the Verge | Gene | Episodes: "Viva Italia!", "Lip Wax" |
| 2021 | The Christmas Promise | Pops | Television film |
| 2024 | The Family Business | Sheriff KD Shrugs | 3 episodes |