Dallas | Soap Opera Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Dallas was an hour long primetime soap opera on the CBS network at 10 o'clock in the evening from 1978 to 1991. The show started out as a mini-series. Contents [ show ] Premise The show chronicled the tales of the Ewing family, whose wealth comes from the twin industries of oil and cattle ranching. It was broadcast around the world and is still considered to be the most successful drama series in television history, in or out of the United States. Heading the family was John Ross Ewing, Sr, (called Jock), the founder of Ewing Oil Company, the family-owned oil and petroleum company; and his wife, Eleanor, called Miss Ellie by everyone, whose father, Aaron Southworth, was the original owner of Southfork, the ranch the family lived at, and the other source of their wealth. Jock and Miss Ellie had three sons. Their oldest son, J.R., an amoral greedy oil baron who had absolutely no scruples about hurting people; Gary, the alcoholic black sheep of the family who was not liked by J.R.

and to some extent, Jock; and Bobby, the youngest son, who was a lot more likable than his scheming older brother. Also living with them was Sue Ellen, J.R.'s miserable, alcoholic wife who constantly quarreled with J.R. about his many and varied affairs (i.e.: Sue Ellen: Tell me, J.R. Which slut are you going to be seeing tonight?! J.R.: Well, whoever she is, she will be more interesting than the slut I am looking at now!); Pam, Bobby's wife, who was the daughter (or so it was thought at first) of Willard "Digger" Barnes, Jock's ex-partner in Ewing Oil, and up until his death, one of his arch-enemies; (it was later revealed that Pam was the daughter of one Hutch McKinney, a Southfork ranch hand who had been killed by Digger); and Lucy, Gary's daughter, a sexy, rebellious young girl.

Seen frequently was Ray Krebbs, the ranch's foreman, who was later revealed to be the half-brother of J.R.; Gary and Bobby; and Cliff Barnes, the half-brother of Pam, who was, like his father, a consistent thorn in the side of the Ewing family. Cliff was just as manipulative and devious as J.R. but he was less talented at it. Even after his father's death, he still tried to sink the Ewings, but his attempts usually failed. Some years later, when Jock died (necessitated by the death of actor Jim Davis, who played Jock), Ellie would eventually marry another oil man, Clayton Farlow (Howard Keel), whose son, Dusty (Jared Martin), was one of Sue Ellen's many paramours. The Dallas series is probably best-known for the central character of J.R. Ewing, the vain, greedy, scheming, crass oil baron played by Fort Worth native Larry Hagman for the show's entire run. Ironically, J.R.

was only meant to be a supporting character when the show premiered (the show was originally to be based around the Romeo-and-Juliet-esque romance between J.R.'s brother Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and his new bride Pam (Victoria Principal). When Dallas proved to be a hit, CBS again turned to Jacobs to create a show, and Knots Landing (which was originally created and pitched but Jacobs created Dallas because CBS wanted a more glamorous show. Dallas character, Gary, the family's alcoholic black sheep, played a more prominent role in Knots Landing) was aired as a spinoff . The series pioneered the idea of the cliffhanger, which was usually some kind of apocalyptic disaster aimed to bring the viewers back for more. One of the most famous cliffhangers in all of television was the episode "A House Divided" in which, J.R., after pretty much angering everyone in Dallas, was shot by an unknown assailant. In the next season, it was revealed that J.R.'s sister in-law, Kristin Shepherd (played by Mary Crosby) had been the one who committed the dreadful deed, in retaliation for his attempt to make her leave Dallas.

A few years later, they repeated the idea of a Ewing being shot, only it was Bobby being shot this time. And the culprit at that point was Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany), who obsessed over Bobby and hated the fact that he was in love with Jenna Wade (played at various times by Morgan Fairchild; Francine Tacker and lastly by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley); and then with Pam. The original series ended when J.R., after seeing what a real vile person he was, nearly killed himself, after a reverse It's A Wonderful Life scenario showed how the family would be better off had he never lived. 2012 continuation Dallas returned in the summer of 2012 on cable network TNT, (after an absence of many years) and starred Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray and Larry Hagman, reprising their roles from the original series (Bobby, Sue Ellen and J.R., respectively). Also starring in the show was Jesse Metcalfe and Josh Henderson as cousins, Christopher Ewing and John Ross Ewing, III, who were the main focus of the series, as they were rivals, much like their fathers had been on the original show.

Bobby, who had been widowed with the loss of his wife, April, in the original, was now married to an old friend of Sue Ellen's, Ann Ryland (Brenda Strong), who was now the new lady of Southfork (both Clayton Farlow and Miss Ellie were both dead by this time). Also involved in the mix was Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster), the daughter of the family's cook, who was in love with both Christopher and John Ross; and Pamela Rebecca Barnes (Julie Gonzalo), who was the daughter of the forever hated Cliff Barnes (her mother was Afton Cooper, who had been played on both series by Audrey Landers). Also making trouble occasionally was Ann's scheming former husband, Harris Ryland (Mitch Pileggi) and his equally troublemaking mother, Judith (Judith Light). Harris and Ann were the parents of a daughter, Emma (Emma Bell), who was also having an affair with John Ross, who had married Pamela Rebecca Barnes after she left Christopher. The same wheeling and dealing; conniving, scheming and backbiting (not to mention a few fistfights) that was a mainstay of the original show was evident here as well.

Lucy, Gary, Ray and Cliff made some appearances during the run of the series. When Hagman passed away during the new series second season, the character of J.R. Ewing was allowed to pass away too. During J.R.'s wake service, Cliff Barnes, of course, just HAD to ruin the festivities, which would lead up to yet another fistfight that Dallas was always famous for. The death of J.R. Ewing, clearly the series most visible character and indeed, one of fiction's most infamous villains, as well as the show's low ratings, contributed to its demise. The show ended its run in 2014, after three seasons, with Christopher Ewing being killed in a car explosion. Primary Cast (1978-1991) DAVID ACKROYD -- Gary Ewing #1 JOHN BECK -- Mark Graison BARBARA BEL GEDDES -- Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth Ewing Farlow #1 MORGAN BRITTANY -- Katherine Wentworth JIM DAVIS -- John Ross "Jock" Ewing, Sr.

PATRICK DUFFY -- Bobby Ewing BARBARA EDEN -- LeeAnn De La Vega MORGAN FAIRCHILD -- Jenna Wade #1 FERN FITZGERALD -- Marilee Hurst Stone LINDA GRAY -- Sue Ellen Shepard Ewing LARRY HAGMAN -- John Ross "J.R." Ewing, Jr. JENILEE HARRISON -- Jamie Ewing Barnes SUSAN HOWARD -- Donna McCallum Culver Krebs STEVE KANALY -- Ray Krebs OMRI KATZ -- John Ross Ewing III HOWARD KEEL -- Clayton Farlow AUDREY LANDERS -- Afton Cooper Barnes TINA LOUISE -- Julie Grey JARED MARTIN -- Steven "Dusty" Farlow LEIGH J.

MCCLOSKEY -- Mitch Cooper SASHA MITCHELL -- James Beaumont CATHY PODEWELL -- Cally Harper Ewing PRISCILLA POINTER -- Rebecca Barnes Wentworth PRISCILLA BEAULIEU PRESLEY -- Jenna Wade VICTORIA PRINCIPAL -- Pamela Barnes Ewing DACK RAMBO -- Jack Ewing DONNA REED -- Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Southworth Ewing Farlow #2 MARTHA SCOTT -- Patricia Shepard TED SHACKELFORD -- Gary Ewing #2 DEBORAH SHELTON -- Mandy Winger Official Dallas website cast deaths Leonard Katzman, 69, Producer, Director and Writer for 'Dallas' Died September 1996 aged 65. Leonard Katzman, a television producer, director and writer who produced more than 350 episodes of ''Dallas,'' one of the most popular series in television history, died on Thursday at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 69. The cause was apparently a heart attack, said his son Mitchell, The Associated Press reported. The longtime executive producer of ''Dallas,'' Mr. Katzman also directed and wrote one-third of the episodes that he produced.

The show, on CBS in prime time, focused largely on a fictional Texas oil family, the Ewings, and was spiced with sex, intrigue and power-wielding. ''Dallas'' made its debut in 1978. Its Nov. 21, 1980, episode, revealing the solution to the mystery of who had shot the dastardly J. R. Ewing, was the most widely watched single program in television history until then. ''Dallas'' came in first in the seasonal ratings for the 1980-81 television season, the second dramatic series to achieve that success, after ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' But its ratings began to decline in the 1985-85 season, and it ended in 1991. Musing about the dozen years of ''Dallas'' in its final season, Mr. Katzman disclaimed any profound significance. ''All we were ever trying to do was entertain the audience,'' he said. ''There never was any real deep meaning to it. We weren't trying to do a documentary every week.'' The show's vitality became apparent early in its history.

In 1979, one reviewer called it a ''prime-time soap opera'' and added: ''The Ewing family has enough problems collectively to supply the plots for a dozen daytime dramas. Somehow it works.'' Mr. Katzman also worked on other successful shows like ''Gunsmoke,'' ''The Wild, Wild West'' and ''Hawaii Five-O.'' A native New Yorker, he began to work -- under his uncle Sam Katzman, a producer -- on movie serials like ''Superman,'' and he made his entry into television producion with the CBS adventure series ''Route 66,'' which ran from 1960 through 1964. In addition to his son Mitchell, Mr. Katzman is survived by his wife, LaRue; another son, Frank, and six grandchildren. A daughter, Sherril Lynn Rettino, an actress who played the role of Jackie Dugan on ''Dallas,'' died in 1995.

Barbara Bel Geddes, 82, Lauded Actress, Is Dead Died August 2005 aged 82 Barbara Bel Geddes, a critically acclaimed stage, screen and television actress known for her work with Alfred Hitchcock in the 1950's and, more recently, for her role as Miss Ellie, the matriarch of the fractious Ewing clan on the long-running nighttime soap opera "Dallas," died on Monday at her home in Northeast Harbor, Me. She was 82. The Jordan-Fernald Funeral Home in Mount Desert, Me., confirmed the death to The Associated Press, giving no cause. The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that Ms. Bel Geddes had died of lung cancer. On Broadway Ms. Bel Geddes was best known as the original Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams's "Cat on Hot Tin Roof," which opened in 1955. She also appeared in "The Moon Is Blue" (1951) and "Silent Night, Lonely Night" (1959).

Her film credits include Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (1958); "Caught" (1949), directed by Max Ophüls; and "Panic in the Streets" (1950), directed by Elia Kazan. On television Ms. Bel Geddes starred in several episodes of Hitchcock's weekly series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" during the late 1950's and early 1960's. In 1980 she won the Emmy Award for best actress in a dramatic series for her role on "Dallas." Blond, soft-spoken and slightly plump as a young woman, Ms. Bel Geddes projected a resolute, even steely, intelligence beneath her cherubic exterior. It was a quality Hitchcock used to great effect, notably in "Vertigo," in which Ms. Bel Geddes played Midge, the steadfast, unglamorous ex-fiancée of Jimmy Stewart, who watches his painful descent into obsession and madness.

Hitchcock used her memorably again in "Lamb to the Slaughter," widely considered one of the finest episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Broadcast in the spring of 1958, it starred Ms. Bel Geddes as a wife who murders her philandering husband by bludgeoning him with a frozen leg of lamb. When detectives show up to investigate the death, the murder weapon is nowhere to be found. Ms. Bel Geddes, smiling a tiny, knowing smile, sits them down to a home-cooked meal. Barbara Bel Geddes was born in New York on Oct. 31, 1922. Her father was Norman Bel Geddes, the architect and stage designer. She made her Broadway debut in 1941 in the forgettable play "Out of the Frying Pan." She went on to win a Theater World Award in 1946 for her performance in "Deep Are the Roots," which Kazan directed. Soon afterward, Ms. Bel Geddes went to Hollywood, where she starred opposite Henry Fonda in her first film, "The Long Night" (1947).

Although she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Katrin Hanson, the daughter of Norwegian immigrants in "I Remember Mama" (1948), Ms. Bel Geddes made relatively few movies, working primarily in theater and television. Her other film credits include "Blood on the Moon" (1948), "Fourteen Hours" (1951) and "The Five Pennies" (1959). Ms. Bel Geddes's greatest critical acclaim came as Maggie, the restless young wife in a decaying family of Mississippi planters in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Reviewing her performance in The New York Times, Brooks Atkinson called it "vital, lovely and frank." Her other Broadway credits include "The Living Room" (1954), by Graham Greene; "The Sleeping Prince" (1956), by Terence Rattigan; and "Mary, Mary" (1961), by Jean Kerr. Ms. Bel Geddes appeared on "Dallas" in two installments, the first from 1978 to 1984, when she retired after heart surgery.

She was replaced as Miss Ellie by Donna Reed, who sued to retain the role after the show's producers reinstated Ms. Bel Geddes in 1985. Ms. Reed lost her bid, and Ms. Bel Geddes remained in the role until 2000. Ms. Bel Geddes's first marriage, to Carl Schreuer, an engineer, ended in divorce. Her second husband, Windsor Lewis, a theater director, died before her. She is survived by a daughter, Susan, from her first marriage, and a daughter, Betsy, from her second. In addition to acting, Ms. Bel Geddes also worked as a professional artist. She wrote and illustrated two children's books, "I Like to Be Me" (Viking, 1963) and "So Do I" (Arbor House, 1972). Looking back on her career, Ms. Bel Geddes expressed amusement that she was so often cast as patricians. "They're always making me play well-bred ladies," she told People magazine in 1982.

She added, "I'm not very well bred, and I'm not much of a lady." Dack Rambo; Actor, 52 Died March 1994 aged 52. Dack Rambo, who played Jack Ewing, the cousin of the villainous J. R. Ewing, in the long-running television series "Dallas," died on Monday at the Delano (Calif.) Regional Medical Center. He was 52. Jan Minot, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said Mr. Rambo died shortly after being admitted. She would not say why he was admitted or what caused his death. Mr. Rambo, a native of Delano, appeared on "Dallas" from 1985 to 1987. His twin brother, Dirk, also an actor, died in a motorcycle accident in 1967. The brothers started in television on CBS's "New Loretta Young Show," which ran on CBS for two seasons in the early 1960's.

Dack Rambo appeared in several television series in the 1960's and 70's, among them "Never Too Young," "The Guns of Will Sonnett" and "Sword of Justice," before switching to daytime television on the ABC soap opera "All My Children" in 1982. In 1991, Mr. Rambo quit his role as Grant Harrison on the NBC soap opera "Another World" and announced that he was H.I.V. positive. David Wayne, Sprightly and Versatile Actor, Is Dead at 81 David Wayne, an actor who played widely divergent roles on Broadway, in television and in films for almost 50 years and who was the first recipient of a Tony Award for acting, died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 81. The cause was lung cancer, said his daughter Melinda. Mr. Wayne navigated his sprightly 5-foot-7-inch frame through a half-century of turbulent changes in American acting. He portrayed, and won acclaim for, performances ranging from the precocious ensign in the 1948 stage version of "Mr.

Roberts" to the Mad Hatter in the 1960's "Batman" series on television. One of his most memorable performances was as a leprechaun in the 1947 stage version of "Finian's Rainbow," for which he was given the nation's first Tony Award for acting. It was not his only Tony. Seven years later, he received another for his role as Sakini, a man from Okinawa trying to meld cultures, in "The Teahouse of the August Moon." "David Wayne is an actor of more than one dimension," wrote Brooks Atkinson in a 1956 New York Times review of Mr. Wayne's performance as a character 20 years older than he was at the time, in "The Ponder Heart." "He can depart from realism into imaginative characterizations," Mr. Atkinson said. Mr. Wayne, whose original name was Wayne McKeekan, was born on Jan. 30, 1914, in Traverse City, Mich. His father was an insurance executive. His mother died when he was 4 years old, and he was raised by close family friends.

After two years at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, he moved to Cleveland, taking work as a statistician. In 1936, he joined that city's Shakespearean repertory company, a troupe that also gave such actors as Arthur Kennedy and Sam Wanamaker their theatrical starts. He moved to New York City in 1938, won a minor role the next year in "The American Way," and in 1941 married Jane Gordon, an actress. When World War II began he was rejected by the Army, but volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver in North Africa with the American Field Service. Mr. Wayne resumed his stage career soon after the war ended and quickly won critical praise. His Broadway performances included major roles in such plays as Arthur Miller's "Incident at Vichy" and Eugene O'Neill's "Marco Millions." He starred in the Broadway productions of "Say Darling" and "Send Me No Flowers" and received his third Tony nomination for "The Happy Time." He lived in Manhattan during the 1950's and in Westport, Conn., in the 1960's.

Despite his belief that the stage was where an actor truly exercised his craft, his growing interest in film and television lured him and his family to Los Angeles in 1977. His movie credits include roles in "Portrait of Jennie" and "Adam's Rib" (1949), "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" (1952), "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953), "The Tender Trap" (1955), "The Three Faces of Eve" (1957), "The Last Angry Man" (1959), "The Front Page" (1974), "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975), "The Andromeda Strain" (1971) and "The Survivalist" (1987).

His work on television included the starring role in the 1955 series "Norby," a leading role in "The Good Life" (1971-72), the role of Inspector Richard Queen in "The Adventures of Ellery Queen" (1975-76), the part of Willard (Digger) Barnes in "Dallas" in 1978 and the role of Dr. Amos Weatherby in "House Calls" (1980-82). He was nominated for Emmy Awards for guest appearances in "Suspicion" and "Gunsmoke." Mr. Wayne's wife died in 1993. He is survived by his twin daughters, Susan Kearney and Melinda, both of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and two grandchildren. Martha Scott who played Patricia Sheperd died 2003 Martha Scott, who created the role of the sweet, ethereal Emily in the original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town'' and was nominated for an Oscar for repeating it in the film version, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 88. Miss Scott's trademark was warm sincerity in an era when glamour-girl artificiality reigned.

She appeared in more than 20 movies, at least that many Broadway productions and a variety of television shows. She also produced plays and movies. She loved to point out that she had played Charlton Heston's mother twice in films, in ''The Ten Commandments'' (1957) and ''Ben-Hur'' (1959) and his wife twice onstage: in ''Design for a Stained Glass Window'' (1950) and ''The Tumbler'' (1960). But her most sparkling accomplishment was when, as a 23-year-old novice, she was chosen at the last minute for the part of Emily Webb in ''Our Town,'' Wilder's classic about the cycles of birth, love and death in Grovers Corners, a small New England town. A previous actress had been fired for not capturing the character in the final act, when Emily appears after death. In an interview with The New York Times in 1969, Miss Scott recalled her brief audition with Jed Harris, the original producer and director of ''Our Town.'' He was desperate because the play was about to open in Princeton, N.J.; she had been recommended for the part by several of his colleagues.

''He just pushed back my hair, looked at me and said, 'You've got the job,' '' she said. ''Then he said, 'How many years' experience have you had?' I told him five years. He said, 'You're gonna get a chance to prove it.' '' She did. In his review in The Times in February 1938, Brooks Atkinson praised her interaction with John Craven, who played her husband, saying, ''Some of their scenes are lovely past all enduring.'' She was also praised for her performance as Emily in the film version, but lost the Academy Award to Ginger Rogers, who won for ''Kitty Foyle.'' In 1940, Miss Scott also appeared in ''The Howards of Virginia,'' which many critics consider Cary Grant's worst movie. Her other films included ''In Old Oklahoma'' (1943) with John Wayne and ''The Desperate Hours'' (1955) with Humphrey Bogart. Martha Ellen Scott was born on Sept. 22, 1914, in Jamesport, Mo. Her father later opened a garage in Gallatin, Mo., and went on to become an engineer for a paint firm in Kansas City.

Her parents disapproved of acting, but a sympathetic aunt reportedly lent her $2,500 so she could study acting at the University of Michigan. She repaid the loan. She then appeared in Shakespearean parts at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. By the winter of 1937-38, she was making the rounds in Manhattan and was asked to audition for the role of Emily. Miss Scott's long career kept veering back to the stage, which she loved best. In 1991, she played the doomed Rebecca Nurse in ''The Crucible,'' the first production of Tony Randall's National Actors Theater in New York. Among her many television roles were Sue Ellen Ewing's mother on ''Dallas'' and a mysterious grandmother on ''General Hospital.'' She also produced plays. In 1968, she joined Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan in forming the Plumstead Playhouse, which produced classical revivals with all-star casts in New York. It later became the Plumstead Theater company in Los Angeles. Her first marriage, to Carlton Alsop, a radio and film producer, ended in divorce in 1946.

She later married the composer Mel Powell, who died in 1998. She is survived by her son, Scott Alsop; her daughters Mary Powell Harpel and Kathleen Powell; and her brother, Charles Scott. Miss Scott asked to be buried in the cemetery in Jamesport, where she rehearsed Emily's graveyard scene. Keenan Wynn who played Digger Barnes dies of cancer at 70 Died October 1986 aged 70 Motion picture and television actor. Son of actor/comic Ed Wynn. Born Francis Xavier Aloysius Wynn, Keenan took his stage name from his grandfather Frank Keenan who was a Broadway actor. Keenan Wynn came from a well-known show-business family and it was he that encouraged his father Ed, a comedian, to pursue acting. Keenan was known for his mustache and expressive face. He appeared in hundreds of movies and television programs between 1934 and 1986.

Some of his notable film appearances were in Week-end At the Waldorf (1945), Song of the Thin Man (1947), The Hucksters (1947), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Kiss Me Kate (1953),The Long, Long Trailer (1954), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb(1964), The War Wagon (1967), Herbie Rides Again (1974), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980). He also had an unbilled bit part in Touch of Evil (1958) which Orson Welles directed and starred in. Just a few of his numerous television appearances included "Playhouse 90," "General Electric Theater," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "77 Sunset Strip," "One Day at a Time," "St. Elsewhere," "Taxi," "The Fall Guy." He was also a regular on Dallas from 1978 through 1980.

Keenan enjoyed racing boats, cars and motorcycles and was frequently found in the Detroit Michigan area racing boats on the Detroit River. Since racing is a very loud hobby, it‚s been speculated that those activities attributed to his eventual loss of hearing. He later suffered from a chronic ringing in his ears that forced him to wear two hearing aids. In his later years, Keenan supported numerous philanthropic groups. He has two sons, actor/writer Ned Wynn and screenwriter Tracy Keenan Wynn. He was uncle by marriage to the Hudson Brothers, his daughter Hilda is married to actor/singer/songwriter Paul Williams. Another Daughter, Emily, died of cancer in her early 20s. Sarah Cunningham played Aunt Maggie dies age 67 Died April 1986 aged 67 Sarah Cunningham, an actress of stage and screen and co-founder of the Ensemble Studio Theater in New York and Los Angeles, died of an asthmatic attack March 24 while attending the Academy Awards Dinner in Los Angeles.

Actor/singer Howard Keel dead at 85 Monday, November 8, 2004; Page B07 LOS ANGELES -- Howard Keel, 85, the broad-shouldered baritone who romanced his way through a series of glittery MGM musicals such as "Kiss Me Kate" and "Annie Get Your Gun" and later revived his career with television's "Dallas," died Nov. 7. He had colon cancer. Mr. Keel starred in Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals in New York and London before being signed to an MGM contract after World War II. The timing was perfect: He became a star with his first MGM film, playing Frank Butler to Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun." Mr. Keel's size and lusty voice made him an ideal leading man for stars including Esther Williams ("Pagan Love Song," "Texas Carnival," "Jupiter's Darling"), Ann Blyth ("Rose Marie," "Kismet"), Kathryn Grayson ("Show Boat," "Lovely to Look At," "Kiss Me Kate") and Doris Day ("Calamity Jane").

His favorite film was the exuberant "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." "It was a fine cast and lots of fun to make," Mr. Keel remarked in 1993, "but they did the damn thing on the cheap. The backdrops had holes in them, and it was shot on the worst film stock. . . . As it turned out, the miracle worker was George Folsey, the cinematographer. He took that junk and made it look like a Grandma Moses painting." When film studios went into a slump, MGM's musical factory was disbanded. Mr. Keel kept busy on the road in such attractions as "Man of La Mancha," "South Pacific," "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Mr. Keel was 66 and presumably nearing the end of his career when he suddenly became a star in another medium. From its start in 1978, "Dallas," with its combination of oil, greed, sex and duplicity, had become the hottest series on television.

After Jim Davis, who had played the role of Jock Ewing, died in 1981, producers needed another strong presence to stand up to the nefarious J.R. Ewing Jr. (Larry Hagman). They chose Mr. Keel. Mr. Keel played the part of Clayton Farlow, husband of "Miss Ellie" Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes), until the show folded in 1991. When Mr. Keel was born in Gillespie, Ill., his name was Harold Clifford Leek. His father, once a naval captain, became a coal miner and drank to soothe his bitterness. During drunken rages, he beat his children. His mother, a strict Methodist, forbade her two sons from having any entertainment. "I had a terrible, rotten childhood," Mr. Keel commented in 1995. "My father made away with himself when I was 11. I had no guidance, and Mom was six feet tall, bucktoothed and very tough. I was mean and rebellious and had a terrible, bitter temper. I got a job as an auto mechanic, and I would have stayed in that narrow kind of life if I hadn't discovered art.

Music changed me completely." At 20, he was living in Los Angeles and was befriended by a cultured woman who took him to a Hollywood Bowl concert featuring famed baritone Lawrence Tibbett. Mr. Keel was inspired, and he started paying 25 cents an hour for vocal lessons. His first semiprofessional opportunity came as a singing waiter at the Paris Inn Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $15 a week and two meals a day. Six-foot-three and a gawky 140 pounds, Mr. Keel was painfully shy. For five years during World War II, he worked at Douglas Aircraft, and the experience helped his confidence. He sang in recitals and opera programs and was summoned to an audition with Oscar Hammerstein II, who was looking for young singers to play Curly in the growing number of touring "Oklahoma!" companies. Hammerstein approved, and soon under a new name, Howard Keel, he was singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" in New York eight times a week.

He sometimes replaced John Raitt in another Rodgers and Hammerstein hit, "Carousel." On occasion, he would appear in a matinee of "Oklahoma!" and an evening performance of "Carousel." He played in "Carousel" for 18 months in London. He made it big in musicals but also appeared in westerns: "Waco," "Red Tomahawk," "The War Wagon" (with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas) and "Arizona Bushwhackers." Mr. Keel married and divorced actress Rosemary Cooper and then dancer Helen Anderson, with whom he had three children: Kaija, Kristine and Gunnar. In 1970, he married former airline stewardess Judy Magamoll, with whom he had a daughter, Leslie. He continued singing in the 1980s, explaining: "As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing [than act].

There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good numbers to do and having a fine orchestra." Tom Fuccello Is Dead at 56; Dallas Dave Culver Died August 1993 aged 56 Tom Fuccello, an actor for three decades, whose career ranged from soap opera to Shakespeare, died on Monday at a convalescent hospital in Van Nuys, Calif. He was 56 and lived in North Hollywood, Calif. The cause was AIDS, said Rona Edwards, a friend. Mr. Fuccello, who was born in Newark, appeared on Broadway in the 1970's in "Butterflies Are Free," "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife" and "Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been?" From 1977 to 1979, he had a recurring role as Paul Kendall on the ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live." He moved to California in 1979 to pursue his acting career with a role as Senator Dave Culver on "Dallas." Mr.

Fuccello also made many television commercials, and appearances on shows including "Highway to Heaven" and "Knots Landing." He is survived by his mother, Ida Fuccello, and a brother, Charles, both of Bloomfield, N.J. Timothy Patrick Murphy who played Mickey Troyyer died aged 29 Timothy Patrick Murphy, died of an AIDS related illness in 1988 at the age of 29. Actor. Best know for his 2 year role (1982 to 1983) as “Mickey Trotter” in the prime-time television soap opera Dallas.” Appeared in several television mini-series and movies, and had a host of guest appearances in a number of popular television shows. Alexis Smith, Actress, Dies at 72 - played Lady Jessica Montford Alexis Smith, a Hollywood actress of the 1940's and 50's who later won a Tony Award as a star of the Broadway musical "Follies," died yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She was 72 and lived in Los Angeles. The cause was cancer, her doctors said.

In a career that began when she was spotted by a Warner Brothers talent agent in 1941, Miss Smith had an image as a strong-willed actress who often played tempestuous romantic leads opposite many of Hollywood's most glamourous male stars. Starting out as a young actress at Warner Brothers, she played a series of film roles that established her as one of Hollywood's leading actresses. Though known for her beauty, with her penetrating blue-green eyes and low, throaty voice, she managed to submerge it when asked to play a vengeful woman or a cold, calculating seductress. Popular With Crews One of her most successful films was "Night and Day" (1946), in which she played the wife of the composer Cole Porter, opposite Cary Grant. Among her other films were "The Constant Nymph" (1943), with Charles Boyer; "The Horn Blows at Midnight" (1945), with Jack Benny; "Stallion Road" (1947), with Ronald Reagan; "Of Human Bondage" (the 1946 version), with Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker; "The Two Mrs.

Carrolls" (1947), with Humphrey Bogart; "Any Number Can Play" (1949), with Clark Gable; "Here Comes the Groom" (1951), with Bing Crosby; and "The Turning Point" (1952), with William Holden. More often than not, Miss Smith received good reviews even when her play or film had bad ones. And on stage and film sets, she was widely known as an easygoing professional who loved her craft. Like Barbara Stanwyck, whose career paralleled hers, she was a favorite among crews and stagehands. From Canada to Broadway Miss Smith was born in Canada, but her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a child and she grew up in Southern California. While a student at Los Angeles City College, she was spotted by a Warner Brothers talent scout when she appeared in a campus theater production. The steady stream of films that followed extended her career for nearly two decades.

But in what many critics regard as the pinnacle of her career, Miss Smith became the toast of Broadway in 1971 when she starred in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Follies" and wowed patrons with her biting rendition of "Could I Leave You?" Starting in 1984, she had a small, recurring role in the hit CBS television series "Dallas." In 1988 she appeared in the short-lived television drama "Hothouse." But her opinion of her film career was mixed. In a 1971 interview, she said she rarely watched her old films because she thought they were not very good and "would not improve with age." "People frequently said it was a shame Warner Brothers typecast me," she said. "But I believe I typecast myself." She cited actresses like Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland, who successfully resisted such efforts. "I ended up being the wife of Cole Porter sitting in the audience applauding the composer," she added ruefully. Miss Smith was married for 49 years to Craig Stevens, the actor who played the title role in the television series "Peter Gunn" in the late 1950's and early 60's.

Miss Smith and Mr. Stevens often played opposite each other in film, television and stage shows. They had no children. She is survived by Mr. Stevens. Ben Piazza, who played Walt Driscoll, died in 1991 Died September 1991 aged 58 Ben Piazza, a Broadway stage and screen actor who appeared in "Guilty by Suspicion," has died. He was 58. James Brown who played Harry Mcsween died aged 72 Died April 1992 aged 72 James Brown was born 22 March 1920 in the small town of Desdemona, Eastland County, Texas. Brown graduated from The Desdemona School (grades 1-12) which was built in 1922. It finally closed in 1969. Very athletic, Brown became a tennis pro before there was any money in it. He then entered films in 1941. Clearly a man of unlimited athletic prowess, he appeared in such rugged Hollywood productions as Wake Island (1942), Air Force (1943), Objective, Burma!

(1945) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). He had more sedate roles in Going My Way (1944), as the romantic lead "Ted Haines" ( Bing Crosby , who was the star of the film, was a priest and therefore out of the running for the leading lady) and then, in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) (with John Wayne ), Brown was a U.S. Marine, private first class "Charlie Bass". In The Pride of St. Louis (1952), a biopic about baseball star Dizzy Dean , Brown played a sidelined ballplayer "Moose". In Flight Nurse (1953), he played the plane's Flight Engineer on the mission mercy aircraft. He then began a television career as "Lt. Rip Masters" on TV's "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" (1954), which ran from 1954 to 1958. He then appeared in "The Rounders" (1966) TV Comedy Western Series (as James Bowen Brown) character "Luke".

In 1976, the Rin Tin Tin TV series was re-released with new sepia tinted beginnings and endings with James L. Brown reprising his role as "Lt. Rip Masters". Few of his later movies are worth mentioning, though he had a few telling moments as the stern, rifle-toting father of the serial killer "protagonist" in Peter Bogdanovich 's Targets (1968). He retired from acting in the late 1960s to manage his successful body-building equipment concern, and then was appointed head of customer relations at Faberge, a cosmetics firm. When Faberge's filmmaking division, Brut Productions, put together a 1975 comedy titled Whiffs (1975), the producers persuaded Brown to return to acting in a supporting role. He passed away in 1992 after a long battle with lung cancer. John McIntire,who played Sam Culver died aged 83 John McIntire, the character actor who portrayed the stolid, laconic wagonmaster in the hit television series "Wagon Train" in the early 1960's, died on Wednesday at St. Luke's Hospital in Pasadena, Calif.

He was 83 years old and had a home in Laguna Beach, Calif., and a cattle ranch in northern Montana. The actor died of emphysema and cancer, a family spokeswoman said. Mr. McIntire was a tall, leathery veteran of more than a thousand roles, first in radio and then in television and more than 100 films, often playing law officers and politicians. He was a no-nonsense police chief in "The Asphalt Jungle" in 1950, a meek sharecropper in "A Lion Is in the Streets" in 1953 and a stunned sheriff in "Psycho" in 1960. He also won acclaim as a sardonic villain in three 1950's westerns directed by Anthony Mann -- "Winchester .73," "The Far Country" and "The Tin Star." Reviewing "The Far Country" in The New York Times, A. H. Weiler wrote, "Credit John McIntire with the top characterization." As Chris Hale, a wagonmaster, he appeared on "Wagon Train" from 1961 to 1965, succeeding Ward Bond in the role.

Also on television, Mr. McIntire performed in specials, mini-series and the series "Naked City" and "The Virginian." In the latter he appeared with the actress Jeanette Nolan, whom he married in 1935. Mr. McIntire was born in Spokane, Wash., and grew up in Montana, where his father, a lawyer, knew many Indian leaders and where the son learned to ride broncos and love the Old West. He completed high school in Santa Monica, Calif., studied for two years at the University of Southern California, saw the world as a seaman and learned acting on radio, including announcing national "March of Time" broadcasts. The McIntires' son, Tim, an actor and musician, died in 1986. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Holly Wright, a fine-arts photographer, of Charlottesville, Va., and a grandson, Luke Savin Wright.

Howard Duff, Senator O'Dell in the 1988-89 season LEAD: Howard Duff, a character actor who played the tough private detective Sam Spade on radio in the 1940's and a colorful Southern sheriff, Titus Semple, on the television series ''Flamingo Road'' in the 1980's, died Sunday at his home. He was 76 years old. Howard Duff, a character actor who played the tough private detective Sam Spade on radio in the 1940's and a colorful Southern sheriff, Titus Semple, on the television series ''Flamingo Road'' in the 1980's, died Sunday at his home. He was 76 years old. Mr. Duff's wife, Judy, said authorities believe her husband suffered a heart attack. Mr. Duff had taken part in a telethon Saturday night to raise money for victims of the fire in Santa Barbara last month, which left hundreds homeless. Mr. Duff was born in Bremerton, Wash., on Aug. 24, 1913.

He joined the Seattle Repertory Theater after his graduation from high school and appeared in a wide range of productions, including ''Private Lives,'' ''Waiting for Lefty'' and ''Volpone.'' He was attached to the Armed Forces Radio Service branch during World War II. After the war, he joined the Actor's Laboratory in Los Angeles. Crime Films at Start He made his movie debut in 1947 in ''Brute Force,'' directed by Jules Dassin and produced by Mark Hellinger. The following year he appeared in another Dassin-Hellinger film, ''The Naked City,'' a crime story set in New York City. He was a regular on such hit television series of the 1950's and 60's as ''Mr. Adams and Eve,'' ''Dante'' and ''Felony Squad.'' Among his later films were ''Kramer vs. Kramer,'' ''The Late Show'' and ''The Wedding.'' In recent years, he was a guest on such shows as ''The Golden Girls,'' ''Midnight Caller,'' ''Knot's Landing'' and ''Murder, She Wrote.'' In 1951 Mr.

Duff married the actress Ida Lupino, with whom he had a daughter, Bridget. The marriage ended in divorce in 1973. In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by a brother, Doug. John Anderson... Dr. Herbert Styles, died in 199 John Anderson... Dr. Herbert Styles, died in 1992 following a heart attack at age 69 in Los Angeles. 1000+ images about Return To Dallas on Pinterest | Dallas show, Nu'est jr and Howard keel Forward The late Howard Keel, who had a 12-season stint as Clayton Farlow, J.R. Ewing’s step-father on tv's Dallas, is shown here with his wife Judy. I rented my condo at The Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert to Howard and his wife. When the lease ended, he and his wife gave me a beautiful set of platemats. I purchased the condo from Carl Karcher, Jr., son of the founder of the Carl's Jr. restaurant chain. I sold it a few years later. See More

Question: Who played oil baron Clayton Farlow in the 80's soap Dallas?
Answer: HOWARD KEEL