‘Dallas’ Ended 30 Years Ago: See the Stars Now

Dallas Steve Kanaly Charlene Tilton
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With its wealthy oil-industry setting, sudsy personal dramas, business skulduggery, and gunshot cliffhangers, Dallas defined appointment television and became a ratings champ for CBS over the course of its 14 seasons.

Even its polarizing 1991 series finale ended with a water-cooler moment: Larger-than-life villain J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) put a gun to his head in a cliffhanger that wouldn’t be resolved until a TV film, revealingly titled Dallas: J.R. Returns, five years later.

(Dallas star Patrick Duffy told TV Insider last month that the cast and crew had been expecting one more season, saying he found out about the cancellation at the Season 14 wrap party: “I scuttled over to my wife and my sons, who always went to the wrap parties, and I said, ‘Dad is out of work. Everybody stop spending money.’”)

That final episode aired 30 years ago on May 3, 1991, so it’s a good time to revisit the Ewings and the rest of the Southfork Ranch regulars. Many of the cast members have passed away—R.I.P. Larry Hagman, Barbara Bel Geddes, Ken Kercheval—and others have left showbiz behind them.

But some Dallas stars are still working in Hollywood, with a contingent of the original cast reprising their roles when TNT revived the show between 2012 and 2014. Here are updates on some of the major players.

Patrick Duffy
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Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing)

Duffy reprised his Dallas role in the TNT revival, appearing in all three seasons. He also played Stephen Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful. More recently, he has guest-starred on Station 19, All Rise, and NCIS.

Linda Gray
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Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing)

Gray also starred in TNT’s Dallas revival, as did the late Larry Hagman. In recent years, she recurred on the British soap opera Hollyoaks, guest-starred on the CW comedy Significant Mother, and appeared in the direct-to-video comedy film Grand-Daddy Day Care.

Steve Kanaly
ABC

Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs)

Kanaly’s most recent screen credit was a four-episode arc on the TNT revival, though he did reunite with three of his Dallas costars in a 2018 Good Morning America segment. He paid tribute to Hagman at the time, saying, “I live where I can see where his house is. We were neighbors, so I think of him every day.”

Victoria Principal
Instagram

Victoria Principal (Pamela Barnes Ewing)

Principal hasn’t taken an acting job in Hollywood since 2000, but she’s been keeping up with her philanthropy. In 2018, for example, she donated a fleet of boats for the rescue of pets stranded by Hurricane Florence.

Charlene Tilton
ABC

Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing Cooper)

Tilton has stuck to romance movies recently, appearing in the titles Road Less Traveled, Second Chance Christmas, Starting Up Love, and A Welcome Home Christmas. She also participated in GMA‘s 2018 Dallas reunion. “Just the chemistry that we have off-camera really came through,” she said of the cast. “It wasn’t fake, it was real.”

Priscilla Presley
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Priscilla Presley (Jenna Wade Krebbs)

Presley, ex-wife of Elvis, went on to star in the Naked Gun films, appear in episodes of Melrose Place and Spin City, and compete on Dancing With the Stars Season 6. In 2019, she played herself in the Hallmark movies Wedding at Graceland and Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays.

Sheree J. Wilson
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Sheree J. Wilson (April Stevens Ewing)

Wilson, seen here with husband Vince Morella, went on to star in Walker, Texas Ranger, playing ADA Alexandra Cahill in all eight seasons of the CBS action drama. More recently, she’s been hitting the stage alongside Walker costar Clarence Gilyard Jr. in regional productions of Driving Miss Daisy.