EXCLUSIVE: Secrets of 'Dallas' — Original Cast Members Share Stunning Never-Before-Told Stories of Working on Smash Soap
'Dallas' cast members share stunning behind-the-scenes stories from the hit soap opera.
May 25 2026, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
In the premiere of Dallas on April 2, 1978, a Texas oil baron's son, Bobby Ewing, married Pamela Barnes, the daughter of his family's rival, and brought her home to his conniving clan at Southfork Ranch.
And for 14 seasons on CBS, the Ewings' manipulations, seductions and infighting often dominated the ratings, while also spawning the spinoff Knots Landing and a 2012 to 2014 TNT revival, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Most Beloved Drama
Victoria Principal said she immediately believed 'Dallas' would become a hit after reading the script for Pamela Barnes Ewing.
Dallas became one of the most beloved and longest-lasting dramas of all time. We sidled up to the cast as they reminisced about the show that changed their lives.
Victoria Principal (Pamela): I received a script from a friend who put a note on it and it said, "Read this. Pamela Barnes Ewing is you." When I finished it I thought, I want to memorize this moment because my life just changed. I was so sure Dallas was going to be a hit.
Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing): I had no idea how life-changing it would be, that I really would become part of a family that would last the rest of my life.
In the show's season 3 finale, J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman, who died in 2012) was shot by an unseen assailant. The resolution to "Who shot J.R.?" (his mistress, Kristin!) drew in over 41million viewers and is still the third most-watched TV episode ever.
Patrick Duffy (Bobby): Everybody was asking the question! It happened just before [the cast] went on vacation. The Queen Mother in England tried to get [Hagman] to tell her who shot him, and he didn't know, but he tried to get some money out of her. She wouldn't give it to him. So that's when we knew... chances were we were gonna come back.
Patrick Duffy recalled even the Queen Mother tried to learn who shot J.R. on 'Dallas.'
Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing): Larry and I did most of our scenes together, and it was absolutely amazing to work with him. It's like playing tennis with somebody better than you. We would immediately click into J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing and let the games begin. I miss him.
Principal: The show flourished with this great writing, and [it had] the courage to bring to the screen things that had never been discussed on American television: infidelity, infertility, alcoholism, cancer, business practices – both good and bad human nature. How complicated it is. That's why I believe it was the first show to ever go global while it was on the air in America.
Tilton: I love the arc where Lucy was engaged to Kit Mainwaring (Mark Wheeler), who had to come out to her to confess that he could not marry her because he was homosexual. [The writers] handled that topic very well, and it was beautiful.
Linda Gray said working alongside Larry Hagman on 'Dallas' felt like 'playing tennis with somebody better than you.'
Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs): We had a range war, that was fun! And a bunch of rodeo episodes.
Principal: As a result of playing this wonderful character, she influenced me. I took lessons from [Pamela] and incorporated them into me. Pamela had the ability to step back and see the point of view of everyone involved and that is the basis for compassion. I think she made me less judgmental. She was open-minded and compassionate.
One of the most famous Dallas moments remained a secret until the end of season 9. Bobby had been hit by a car and killed the year before, but then....
Duffy: We filmed several ways that Bobby [would come] back, where bandages come off his head, and we did that on the soundstage where Dallas was shot. And then on our own the producers and I went to a production house that only does commercials. None of the same crew [was there].
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TNT revived 'Dallas' from 2012 to 2014 with returning cast members including Duffy, Gray and Hagman.
They built a little shower stall in the middle of a soundstage, and I spent an entire day making a commercial for Irish Spring soap! All I did was turn around, and I said, "Good morning." I'd hold up a bar of soap, going, "You can have a good morning, too, if you wake up like the Duffy family with Irish Spring soap."
We didn't want [the production house] to know that it was only a gag. So I did that scene for about eight hours, just to get the turning around when the door opens and saying, "Good morning." I was really wrinkled [but it] started my career again.
TNT brought Dallas back from 2012 to 2014 with some of the original actors, including Hagman, Gray and Duffy, and pushed their storylines further.
Gray: It was my idea to have Sue Ellen run for governor. The producers said, "OK, let's do it." So we start the campaign, the posters. And they came to me and they said, "She can't win, because the capital's in Austin and we don't have enough money to fly you back and forth." They said I had to lose.
Duffy: And then TNT canceled it prematurely, didn't they? We've learned over the years to never say never [to Dallas coming back]. There's nothing we would love more than working together again.
