Dalllas: Starring-Victoria Principal

[Bobby Southworth]

Has anyone ever thought about what order the actors would be billed in had Dallas not been done in alphabetical order? If it were like Falcon Crest or Dynasty, what order do you think the actors would have been billed in? Just for fun, I've come up with my idea for the opening credits for the first four seasons had they gone by billing. This actually is not an easy task, so I'd appreciate any debate as to my choices.

Season 1:
Victoria Principal
Patrick Duffy
Larry Hagman
Barbara Bel Geddes
Jim Davis
Charlene Tilton

I went with the idea of Victoria first as I've heard the idea was to originally do away with Bobby after the first five episodes, and the show did start with centering around Romeo and Juliette.

Season 2:
Victoria Principal
Patrick Duffy
Larry Hagman
Linda Gray
Barbara Bel Geddes
Jim Davis
Charlene Tilton
Steve Kanaly

Season 3:
Victoria Principal
Patrick Duffy
Larry Hagman
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Barbara Bel Geddes
Jim Davis
Charlene Tilton
Steve Kanaly

Season 4:
Larry Hagman
Patrick Duffy
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Barbara Bel Geddes
Jim Davis
Steve Kanaly
Charlene Tilton
And starring Victoria Principal as Pam

As I said, this was no easy task. The show seemed to start focusing on Larry and Linda rather early on, but it was "Who Shot JR" that truly changed the dynamic. I figure by season 4, with Ray finding out he's a Ewing, he would get a slight bump up in the credits. It wasn't easy to figure where to place Barbara Bel Geddes, as she had probably the biggest credentials, but I tried to base it more on who was focused on the most.

 

[Angela Channing]

Interesting idea.

I think it would have been a mistake to change the order of the actors as the series went on, even if the prominence of their roles changed over time. Therefore, for the entirety of its run, this would be the order I would use:

Victoria Principal
Patrick Duffy
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Barbara Bel Geddes/Donna Reed
Jim Davis/Howard Keel
Steve Kanaly
Susan Howard
Charlene Tilton
Priscilla Presley
And starring Larry Hagman as JR Ewing

 

[Bobby Southworth]

Interesting idea.

I think it would have been a mistake to change the order of the actors as the series went on, even if the prominence of their roles changed over time. Therefore, for the entirety of its run, this would be the order I would use:

Victoria Principal
Patrick Duffy
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Barbara Bel Geddes/Donna Reed
Jim Davis/Howard Keel
Steve Kanaly
Susan Howard
Charlene Tilton
Priscilla Presley
And starring Larry Hagman as JR Ewing

I like your idea, too, Angela, and I can see where it would make sense not to change the order so much based on prominence. Also, even though the show was supposed to originally be centered around Pam and Bobby, and the feud between their families, JR always seemed to play a large role from the start, so I can see where placing him as the, "and starring" would make sense. It's tough, though because even though he seemed to be so prominent, even from the start, we always hear that the the Barnes/Ewing feud, and Pam and Bobby were "supposed" to be the focal point, so would he have been given such a credit so early on? I'm not sure.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

My Ideas for some further seasons.

Season 5:
Larry Hagman
Patrick Duffy
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Steve Kanaly
Susan Howard
Barbara Bel Geddes
Charlene Tilton
And Starring Victoria Principal as Pamela

Season 6: (see season 5)

Season 7Same)

Season 8:
Larry Hagman
Patrick Duffy
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Steve Kanaly
Susan Howard
Priscilla Presely
Donna Reed
Howard Keel
Charlene Tilton
And Victoria Principal as Pam

 

[Billy Wall]

I think it’s been brought up before, but they really got lucky with doing the billing in alphabetical order. What if Charlene Tilton’s last name was Anderson and Larry Hagman’s was Wilson? Lol

 

[Monzo]

I always felt that Dack Rambo was only able to appear in the opening credits because his last name allowed him to be named at the end of the credits. Other actors like John Beck, Morgan Brittany or Mary Crosby had the wrong first letter of their surname.

I have never understood why Priscilla Beaulieu Presley was classified as a P and not a B. Why wasn't Beaulieu left out entirely if the B was ignored? And why not do it right and credit her as Beaulieu Presley at first position in the opening credits?

 

[Mustard]

It's weird that Dack Rambo wasn't in the main starring cast for Season 9 DVD when he was supposed to be Patrick Duffy's replacement in a sense (especially as they were shorter on numbers that season after losing Duffy, Reed and Tilton and only regaining Bel Geddes), yet Rambo was on the main starring cast for Season 10 DVD when he was politically dead on the show behind the scenes.

 

[Mustard]

I always felt that Dack Rambo was only able to appear in the opening credits because his last name allowed him to be named at the end of the credits. Other actors like John Beck, Morgan Brittany or Mary Crosby had the wrong first letter of their surname.

I have never understood why Priscilla Beaulieu Presley was classified as a P and not a B. Why wasn't Beaulieu left out entirely if the B was ignored? And why not do it right and credit her as Beaulieu Presley at first position in the opening credits?

Priscilla Beaulieu Presley was counted as a P rather than a B, yet Barbara Bel Geddes was counted as a B rather than a G.

In Priscilla's earliest episodes on Dallas, they just had "Priscilla Presley" without the Beaulieu. I believe she was on the end credits back then.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I think Larry jumped to the top earlier than that, maybe even season 2 DVD. They may have still had Victoria up there for the sex appeal, but then again, Larry may have been more famous (not sure if Victoria’s popularity as a sex symbol was there in the pre- Who Shot JR days..)

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I always felt that Dack Rambo was only able to appear in the opening credits because his last name allowed him to be named at the end of the credits. Other actors like John Beck, Morgan Brittany or Mary Crosby had the wrong first letter of their surname.

I have never understood why Priscilla Beaulieu Presley was classified as a P and not a B. Why wasn't Beaulieu left out entirely if the B was ignored? And why not do it right and credit her as Beaulieu Presley at first position in the opening credits?

Beaulieu is Priscilla's maiden name, Presley is her married name.

The show got it right by using her married surname and not her own surname for the alphabetical order.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Priscilla Beaulieu Presley was counted as a P rather than a B, yet Barbara Bel Geddes was counted as a B rather than a G.

In Priscilla's earliest episodes on Dallas, they just had "Priscilla Presley" without the Beaulieu. I believe she was on the end credits back then.

The difference with Priscilla is Beaulieu is her maiden name. Barbara's surname is double barrelled, Bel Geddes although two words should be taken as one complete surname. So going with Bel is correct with it being the first word of her surname.

 

[Chris2]

If Priscilla hyphenated her last names - “Priscilla Beaulieu-Presley” then she would have been billed up front. Note that in her first few appearances, she was simply billed as “Priscilla Presley”.

Dack Rambo got into the credits because they needed him to tie up Jack’s storyline in season 10 and he wasn’t under contract to return for that season. That was apparently part of his demand for coming back and doing his 13 or whatever episodes. Good for him. He didn’t have the clout to demand opening credits bIlling when he first joined the show, and Dallas didn’t hand that out to newcomers (until the last couple of seasons). Until then, the only newcomer to appear in the opening credits during their first season was Donna Reed. And she had the clout to demand it.

 

[Monzo]

In later seasons, I wouldn't have added newcomers in the opening credits right away, preferring to use shots of Dallas and Southfork instead. Kimberly Foster and Sasha Mitchell would be Also Starring in season 13, then got upped into the opening credits in season 14. And I would never ever have put Lesley-Anne Down and Barbara Stock in the opening credits.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

Season 9:
Larry Hagman
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Steve Kanaly
Susan Howard
Priscilla Presley
Barbara Bel Geddes
Howard Keel
And Victoria Principal

Season 10:
Larry Hagman
Victoria Principal
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Steve Kanaly
Susan Howard
Priscilla Presley
Barbara Bel Geddes
Howard Keel
Dack Rambo
And Patrick Duffy

Season 11:
Larry Hagman
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Steve Kanaly
Priscilla Presley
Barbara Bel Geddes
Howard Keel
And Patrick Duffy

Season 12:
Larry Hagman
Linda Gray
Ken Kercheval
Sheree J. Wilson
Barbara Bel Geddes
Howard Keel
Charlene Tilton
And Patrick Duffy

Season 13:
Larry Hagman
Ken Kercheval
Sheree J. Wilson
Sasha Mitchell
Cathy Podewell
Michelle Foster
George Kennedy
Lesley Anne Down
Barbara Bel Geddes
Howard Keel
Charlene Tilton
And Patrick Duffy

Don't hate me folks. This is not in any way a reflection of my favorites, but rather how I most likely think they would have been credited.

 

[KayLloyd]

I've always thought that listing the cast in alphabetical order was the fairest way to do it. They were an ensemble team and everyone deserved equal recognition for the part that they played in Dallas's success.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

I've always thought that listing the cast in alphabetical order was the fairest way to do it. They were an ensemble team and everyone deserved equal recognition for the part that they played in Dallas's success.

I tend to agree with this. I just ran through how I thought they would actually be credited for fun. It was not easy to put names like Sasha Mitchell or Kimberly Foster about Barbara Bel Geddes. laugh. I just went by who was really the focal points at the time. However, Barbara and Howard did have some long running plots in season 13, even if they seemed kind of more like an after thought. Perhaps it would be more fair to place Barbara right after Ken Kercheval, or before from seasons 3-13..I don't know. You think of well seasoned actors like Barbara and Howard to be deserving of earlier billing, but then Cesar Romeo was last during his season on Falcon Crest. All said, it did work better in alphabetical order, and I'm glad they chose to do it that way.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I just wish that they'd put Steve Forrest in the main credits for season ten directly after Patrick Duffy.

I would love to see a version of the season ten credits with Steve Forrest in them.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I think I read somewhere that on the first day(s) of filming, VP said "Welcome to my show" to cast and crew

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I think I read somewhere that on the first day(s) of filming, VP said "Welcome to my show" to cast and crew

Yeah, I wonder if that is true.

Essentially the show was her's & Patrick Duffy's because the first episodes revolved around Digger's Daughter getting married & coming to live at Southfork.

Of course we all know that the conniving older brother played by Larry Hagman would soon get more to do during the show's run. Especially following the sad death of Jim Davis as Jock. JR soon became the breakout character alongside Victoria Principal as Pam.

 

[Snowcat]

Yeah, I wonder if that is true.

Essentially the show was her's & Patrick Duffy's because the first episodes revolved around Digger's Daughter getting married & coming to live at Southfork.

Of course we all know that the conniving older brother played by Larry Hagman would soon get more to do during the show's run. Especially following the sad death of Jim Davis as Jock. JR soon became the breakout character alongside Victoria Principal as Pam.

I highly doubt this is true. She was very unseasoned compared with the rest of them when Dallas started