The Opening titles queries

[Alison Carr]

It has never struck me before but Priscilla Beaulieu Presley surely should have been featured much higher up the running in order in the alphabetical list, Beaulieu was not her middle name was it? I believe her maiden name making her name double barrelled so really she should have been billed in that way. I realise that would have put her as the first person in the credits for season 9-11, was the reasoning for this simply to keep Barbara Bel Geddes at the top of the intro list? Sorry if it has been asked before!

I also found it so strange that the shot of Pam on her never ending walk across Southfork Ranch remained her main centre shot for seasons 3 - 10, that's surely the record but I wonder why that shot got such special treatment.

 

[LMLDallas78]

Beaulieu was not her middle name was it

No, she used Presley as her surname. If she had been just Priscilla Beaulieu ( which she never went by) then she would have been first in that season as you say.

Presley obviously offered her more clout and recognition?

shot of Pam on her never ending walk across Southfork Ranch remained her main centre shot for seasons 3 - 10,

I pointed this out some time ago and was very quickly reminded that Cliff and Bobby also had long running unchanged intro shots.

Not as long running as Pam's though I believe, but didn't disagree with the point at the time!

I've often wondered why that shot of her was used so long.

 

[Monzo]

I wonder if actors like John Beck, Katherine Brittany or Mary Crosby never made it into the opening credits because a spot before Duffy and Hagman would have given them too much attention, while Priscilla Presley and Sheree J Wilson fit in well at the end of the opening credits.

If you want to vote on who should have been in the opening credits, there's a poll:

Who should have been in the opening credits?

The opening credits were an exclusive club on Dallas, at least for the first twelve seasons. Looking back, who would have deserved a spot in the opening credits, even if it was only for one season or just half a season?

www.tellytalk.net

 

[DallasFanForever]

I wonder if actors like John Beck, Katherine Brittany or Mary Crosby never made it into the opening credits because a spot before Duffy and Hagman would have given them too much attention,

I always thought it was more because for many years the opening was mainly reserved for the original cast and their spouses. Had Katherine married Bobby, Kristin married J.R. or Mark married Pam, all hypothetically, then that probably would’ve changed the opening opportunities for those actors.

 

[Billy Wall]

Speaking of the alphabetical opening titles, I've often said, what if Charlene Tilton's last name was Anderson? No offense, but would they had really given her top billing? Lol

Anyway, they kinda lucked out with the last names.

 

[Monzo]

I always assumed the concept "In Alphabetical Order" came about by chance because Bel Geddes and Davis were at the beginning, otherwise the credits would have been designed according to the importance of the characters, like later with Dynasty and Falcon Crest. The concept worked well for a long time, but I never liked that Kimberly Foster was so high up in the opening credits.

 

[LMLDallas78]

I guess alphabetical order was the fairest thing to do. At the beginning VP and PD would have been top of the bill.

But that wouldn't have lasted.

Having the heads of the family billed first was appropriate albeit by coincidence of their names.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Would you like to know the history of why the DALLAS opening credits are in alphabetical order?

Of course you would!

It goes back to the movie The Towering Inferno.

This was a big budget movie destined to be a hit. Two of the main characters were played by Steve McQueen (lightning McQueen in the movie Cars) and Paul Newman.

Both McQueen and Newman insisted on top billing. Well, they can't both have top billing. The issue blew up and threatened production of the movie itself.

They finally came to a compromise-- diagonal billing. Both names appear on the screen at the same time. Steve McQueen was on the left, and Paul Newman was on the right, higher up on the screen. So reading left to right McQueen came first. Reading top to bottom, Newman came first.




This was an imperfect solution, and a simple thing like how and when the names appeared started to affect a lot of movies and tv shows.

The solution for shows like Dallas was to avoid all the squabbling by simply saying "Starring in alphabetical order"



Same thing with the classically cheesy "Love Boat"



It was good fortune that Bel Geddes and Davis come early in the alphabet. It avoided any discussion from Larry Hagman of saying, "Things have changed and I'm the star of the show so I should have top billing" because it was alphabetical order pure and simple.

As @Alison Carr and @Billy Wall point out, this could cause actors to change their names:

Priscilla Beaulieu Presley becomes Prescilla Beaulieu
Charlene Tilton becomes Charlene Anderson

John Zaremba becomes Aaron Aardvark Aabury

 

[Seaviewer]

Not as long running as Pam's though I believe, but didn't disagree with the point at the time!

I've often wondered why that shot of her was used so long.

I tried to answer this diplomatically before but viewed through a straight male gaze the answers seems obvious to me.

 

[Chris2]

They liked Bobby shirtless and Pam jiggly for the opening credits.

 

[LMLDallas78]

But w

They liked Bobby shirtless and Pam jiggly for the opening credits.

But what episode is "jiggly" Pam from? Looks similar to her outfit in Rodeo but the only shot like this in Rodeo, Pam is walking with Bobby.
The rest of Pam and Bobby on Rodeo are either watching the riders or following Digger around like a lost sheep scared of what he'll say about Boby John.

Was the shot created just for the intros?
All other shots are from episodes.

I tried to answer this diplomatically before but viewed through a straight male gaze the answers seems obvious to me.

It obviously wasn't obvious to me!

 

[Lastkidpicked]

I tried to answer this diplomatically before but viewed through a straight male gaze the answers seems obvious to me.

I can add to that. It's more than Victoria's nice figure. Viewing that shot, you can imagine why Bobby fell in love with Pam. She's pretty, but she also looks happy and friendly. Somebody you want to spend time with.

On a side note:

I do identify as a straight male.
But the Lasagna House identifies me as a family of four.

 

[TJP]

How can Priscilla Beaulieu Presley's name not be a double barreled last name? I'm not entirely familiar with U.S. laws concerning names, but is it seriously possible to change a birth name (if it's not dropped after marriage) to a middle name? Wouldn't it — if kept — technically always be the first part of a double barreled surname, regardless if it's hyphenated or not?

As for the alphabetical order, Lorimar used that in a number of shows although the company had actually preferred an order of "importance" (if you will). Lorimar usually had stipulations in the talents' contracts that the order was at the production company's discretion.
However, some ensembles — whether it be the actors or their agents / managers — were more quarrelsome than others, constantly fighting for a better position in the main titles, so the Lorimar bosses put a stop to those fights by simply sorting such ensemble casts alphabetically. There were other shows where less envious and aggressive talent was involved, so their main title credits were arranged the way the producers actually wanted them to be. Both the "Dallas" and "Knots Landing" casts and / or talent's agents, from day one, were notorious for causing trouble over everyone's position in the main title, so they simply avoided any further conflict.