I’m Sure Some/Most Of You Know, But Did They Actually Drink Alcohol On The Show?

Angela Channing

Angela Channing

Telly Talk Veteran
I very much doubt it as the main cast were very professional about their work and I also can't imagine a director would have agreed to it. Larry and Ken would have done their drinking before arriving on set rather than when playing their scenes.
 
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AndyB2008

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
Billy Wall said:
We all know that the alcohol consumption was very high on Dallas. I’ve always wondered but never knew, but was it actually alcohol?
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On TV shows most of the time, the drinks are fake.

Cold tea is used for Cognac, and ginger ale is used for bubbly.

Coronation Street to quote an example also uses Vimto for red wine, water with lemon/lime juice for white wine, the bitter is weakened down shandy, and the vodka and rum optics are filled with water. For the scotch Mike Baldwin drank, Johnny Briggs was actually sipping apple juice. (Normally it's burnt sugar and water for Scotch, but Johnny hated the taste).
 
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AndyB2008

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
Can't answer on Dallas though, but they may have done the same.

Food is sometimes faked too on shows- the ice creams in the Bayside Diner on Home and Away were actually coloured mashed potato because Seven found it difficult with real ice cream in a studio. (The studio lights got too hot and the ice cream melted quickly).
 
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Toni

Toni

Maximum Member
They did drink champagne, if we have to believe what Deborah Shelton and Lesley-Anne Down said. They both got a bit tipsy when they drank it filming a scene at 8'00 AM!

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This was one of the scenes in question.​
 
Julia's Gun

Julia's Gun

Telly Talk Well-Known Member
Angela Channing said:
I very much doubt it as the main cast were very professional about their work and I also can't imagine a director would have agreed to it. Larry and Ken would have done their drinking before arriving on set rather than when playing their scenes.
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Not according to Larry himself. He says in this documentary (at around 41:45 mins in) he was drinking 4-5 bottles of Champagne a day and still managing to do his scenes.... He must have had a large fridge in his dressing room.

 
Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

Telly Talk Champion
Dear Terry Wogan once asked Linda Gray if she practiced with the alcohol when she wasn't working!?!

She of course said No.I don't.

I don't think it was real alcohol, it's either coloured water or cold tea or lemonade or stuff.

I gather Larry Hagman did like to drink champagne between scenes. There are occasions in the later seasons when his right eye looked bloodshot. :)
 
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