Dallas Character Digger Who?

[Sarah]

Apologies if we have had this thread before, but I was watching old clips of Dallas on You Tube last night and it was the scene where Digger shows up wanting to meet Baby John Ross believing Cliff is his father.

I always loved any scene with Digger and particularly with Miss Ellie and Digger or Ellie and Jock.

I think both actors played Digger well, but always thought David Wayne gave Digger more of that edge that explained a lot of his behaviour.

Which Digger did you prefer?

 

[Michelle Stevens]

Nothing against Keenan Wynn but I preferred David Wayne.

I can't see Wynn's Digger dancing drunk or recklessly driving onto Southfork to Big Jock's dismay, some of David Wayne's best scenes.

Regardless of the actor, we had too few years of Digger Barnes.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I liked them both but prefer David Wayne. I think he had better chemistry with the other actors for the most part.

 

[cws]

Apologies if we have had this thread before, but I was watching old clips of Dallas on You Tube last night and it was the scene where Digger shows up wanting to meet Baby John Ross believing Cliff is his father.

I always loved any scene with Digger and particularly with Miss Ellie and Digger or Ellie and Jock.

I think both actors played Digger well, but always thought David Wayne gave Digger more of that edge that explained a lot of his behaviour.

Which Digger did you prefer?

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View attachment 33974

I think David Wayne and Larry were good friends too.

 

[Karin]

I think the two Diggers brought different qualities to the show. David Wayne were funnier somehow.
Just look at his eyes in the scene where Pamela tells him she's married Bobby Ewing. I laugh every time I watch that.
I also think he was more believable as the drunk man who thought Jock had cheated him out of everything.

Keenan Wynn gave a different impression.He was more respectable somehow. He showed a man who had cleaned up his act and wanted to do right by his children. It was also more believable that Miss Ellie had once liked him.

My preference was David Wayne since he was the original Digger and he was funnier somehow. It was hilarious when he sang "Yellow Rose" of Texas and entertained the guests at the Ewing Barbeque. :Clol:

 

[Jock Og]

The character of Digger was best played by David Wayne. A prime example of the original giving the better performance.

Digger II was a more stern type of guy, yet still very relevant/important as the daddy of the Barnes family moved ever closer to the heavenly oil field. I liked two of his scenes in particular, when he was drunk spending most of the time in the condo bedroom and when he gave up the ghost.

Imho Digger exited DALLAS too soon. There were more possibilities to be explored. Although David Wayne would've needed to come back. No disrespect to Keenan Wynn.


Pam and Bobby are babysitting Digger, due to his regular slugs from the liquor bottle. They sit him down at a table. The poor soul can hardly stand and speak coherently, (a scene from the miniseries; DVD-1, 1978):

J.R. brings up Bobby and Pam: "Hey Digger how do you like this marriage?"

Digger: "I don't like it!"

J.R.: "Well that's the first time you and I have agreed anything, in 20 years. Drink up buddy!"

 

[Bobby Southworth]

I have always preferred David Wayne's Digger. Although, Keenan brought a slight more seriousness to the role. It's easier to picture a younger Kennan and Miss Ellie together because of this, IMHO. I think they both did good jobs, but if I had to pick, I would say Wayne. Does anyone know why he was replaced? I think had they known the character of Jock was going to leave so early on in the series, maybe they would have reconsidered killing Digger off when they did. It would have been nice to have at least one of those characters around a little longer.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Both were good but I preferred David Wayne.

If Wayne hadn't got a part in another TV series and unable to return to Dallas I think he would've still been the definitive Digger Barnes.

 

[Mustard]

I'm in the minority. I preferred Keenan Wynn. Both were good though.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

David Wayne was such a great actor as Digger Barnes.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I liked Wayne's accent. I believe it was kind of a 'stage southern accent' rather than a Fenton Washburn dyed-in-the-wool native Texas accent, but I felt it fit the character - someone who, though just a step above a derelict at times, still had an immense amount of pride and truly believed he should be a multimillionaire oil baron like Jock.

Keenan Wynn, on the other hand, sounded like someone from the East Coast. I can't imagine him pulling off the "Cease! I have business to discuss." type of line that Wayne used early in the first season. ..or "if you think... I mislaid those papers in some drunken stupor" with the same flair.

 

[ClassyCo]

David Wayne was the better Digger for sure. Like others have said, we had too few years with Digger regardless the actor.​

 

[Seaviewer]

I'd say David Wayne as well. Also he was the Mad Hatter on Batman.

I can't see Wynn's Digger dancing drunk or recklessly driving onto Southfork to Big Jock's dismay, some of David Wayne's best scenes.

Keenan Wynn was a stalwart of the MGM musicals so I can definitely see him dancing. It's a shame he didn't last into the Howard Keel era for an Annie Get Your Gun reunion.

I think David Wayne and Larry were good friends too.

David Wayne had been a regular on the Larry Hagman/Donna Mills series The Good Life.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

David Wayne could act drunk far more believably than Keenan Wynn.

 

[Chris2]

I loved David Wayne in this role. He was a bit of a ham, and I think that’s exactly what the part called for (re: the “cease” line as Guzzler mentioned above). It’s a shame we didn’t see more of him - he was only in four episodes. Even during the 1978-79 season, prior to Wayne becoming a regular on “House Calls”, he was only in two episodes. Too bad.

 

[ClassyCo]

David Wayne was the original Digger, but the second Curtis "Big Daddy" Hollingsworth on THE GOLDEN GIRLS after assuming the latter role following the death of Murray Hamilton.

 

[Snowcat]

The character of Digger was best played by David Wayne. A prime example of the original giving the better performance.

Digger II was a more stern type of guy, yet still very relevant/important as the daddy of the Barnes family moved ever closer to the heavenly oil field. I liked two of his scenes in particular, when he was drunk spending most of the time in the condo bedroom and when he gave up the ghost.

Imho Digger exited DALLAS too soon. There were more possibilities to be explored. Although David Wayne would've needed to come back. No disrespect to Keenan Wynn.


Pam and Bobby are babysitting Digger, due to his regular slugs from the liquor bottle. They sit him down at a table. The poor soul can hardly stand and speak coherently, (a scene from the miniseries; DVD-1, 1978):

J.R. brings up Bobby and Pam: "Hey Digger how do you like this marriage?"

Digger: "I don't like it!"

J.R.: "Well that's the first time you and I have agreed anything, in 20 years. Drink up buddy!"

That’s one of my favorite scenes

 

[lbf522]

They were both wonderful in the role. Its a shame we did not have Digger Barnes longer and in more scenes.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Both excellent actors.

I do think Keenan Wynn's greater physical stature made him seem more of a rival to Jock Ewing