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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Charlene Tilton, 66, was the flirty but spoiled blonde teenager on Dallas
Charlene Tilton played Lucy Ewing on the smash hit TV series Dallas about the booming oil business in 1970s Texas. Lucy was the teenaged daughter of Gary Ewing and Valene Ewing. She was also the granddaughter of Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing, and the niece of J.R. Ewing and Bobby Ewing. Her costars were Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray and Victoria Principal. The 66-year-old siren was seen on social media this week in images taken at the Southfork Experience, which ran from August 8 to 10 in Richardson, Texas. The event allowed fans to meet Dallas actors at the Renaissance hotel and Southfork Ranch. Tilton looked youthful as she posed alongside her former Dallas costars Morgan Fairchild and Sheree J Wilson. Also there were Knot's Landing stars Joan Van Ark, Donna Mills and Michelle Lee. Charlene is best known for her work as the young naïve sweetheart on the oil baron saga Dallas. But she acted in several other high-profile projects. Tilton had early roles on such television series such Happy Days and Eight Is Enough. She made her first film appearance alongside Jodie Foster in Freaky Friday (1976). In 1978, Tilton made a cameo appearance in the John Milius film Big Wednesday. That same year she was cast as Lucy Ewing, the granddaughter of John 'Jock' Ewing Sr. and the former Eleanor 'Ellie' Southworth on Dallas. She held her own against vets like Hollywood vets Jim Davis and Barbara Bel Geddes. The series ran from 1978 to 1985 and from 1988 to 1990. She also appeared on one episode of the series' spin-off Knots Landing in 1980. Tilton is also a singer. And she sang on a 1978 episode of Dallas titled Runaway. In 1984, she released the dance-pop single C'est la Vie. Tilton also appeared on game shows, such as Family Feud, Battle of the Network Stars, Hollywood Squares, Pyramid, 1 vs. 100, and Catch 21. And the star was a panelist on the 1979–1982 syndicated version of Match Game. After Dallas, Tilton went to star in the television films Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker and The Fall of the House of Usher, both from 1979. During the 1980s, she guest-starred on Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, Hotel, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote. She was also in Problem Child 2. In 1993, she appeared as herself in an episode of Married... with Children. In addition, she has appeared in several send-up comedies, such as The Silence of the Hams (1994), Superhero Movie (2008), and Paranormal Calamity (2010). In 2005, she appeared in the British reality television show The Farm. In January 2012, Tilton was a contestant on the British ice-skating show Dancing on Ice in its seventh season. In 2012, Tilton joined the cast of TNT's Dallas revival series, and reprised her role as Lucy Ewing. She later appeared in the ABC comedy series The Middle in 2015, and the thriller film Vengeance: A Love Story. Tilton also appeared in Lifetime and Hallmark Channel films. Tilton was married to country singer Johnny Lee from 1982 to 1984. Their daughter, Cherish Lee, was born in 1982. In 2001, Tilton began dating cinematographer Cheddy Hart. In December 2009, Hart suddenly died of heart failure at age 54. In 2023, Tilton opened up about her 'tumultuous' childhood and her struggles being raised by her mentally ill mother in People. The actress revealed that her mother's schizophrenia progressed throughout her childhood to the point that she was institutionalized for several years. Tilton described how her mother Katherine got pregnant after she began seeing an Air Force pilot during a period when she was working as a secretary at the Pentagon. However, her father didn't stick around after Charlene was born. 'My biological father didn't want anything to do with me,' she said, noting that her fame as an adult didn't change that. 'He had to have known about me — Dallas was so huge — but he never reached out.' She later learned via a DNA test that she had three half-siblings who had also never met their father, though she also learned that he had died six months before her discovery. Despite never being able to speak to her father, she stayed optimistic. 'I don't carry a chip on my shoulder. I don't get into self-pity,' she said. 'I see the bright side of things, and that's served me well during tumultuous times/' But Tilton went on to recall a sense of instability while living with her mother as a young child. She recounted seeing her mother furious after their television set was repossessed as she was trying to watch Captain Kangaroo, as well as a train trip from Los Angeles, to Omaha, Nebraska, where they were forced to get off at an early stop because her mother suffered a break down. Another disturbing memory was of police taking her mother away, leaving her alone in an unfamiliar place, and she shared the traumatizing memory of seeing Katherine outfitted with a straight jacket. In that atmosphere, she turned to movies to help her escape her fears and troubles. 'Everything was magical on screen,' Tilton said. 'I saw Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins and The Sound Of Music and thought, ' I want her to be my mother.'' Her mother's illness progressed to the point where she was institutionalized, beginning when Tilton was five and concluding with her release shortly before she turned eight. Without her parent, she was forced to travel between relatives' homes for years. 'I remember the kids saying, 'When is she going to go?' and the parents said, 'We're trying to send her off but we can't get anyone to take her.' I thought, 'I'm never going to depend on anybody to take care of me,'' she recalled. After she was able to live with her mother again in California, Tilton described how there were 'always a lot of pill bottles around,' but medication didn't seem to make much of an impact on her mother's condition. Their home was filthy, and Tilton revealed that her mother refused to use a toilet and would only urinate in plastic food storage containers. 'That went on for years. I could never bring friends over,' she lamented. At the time, Tilton's mother's struggles were even more stigmatized than today. 'Back then mental illness wasn't talked about,' she said. 'It was swept under the rug.' Katherine's illness spilled over into Charlene's school life when her mother offered to chaperone a school dance, but then had an episode in which she carried on an argument aloud with herself. Now, though, she finds solace in being able to share those stories without shame. 'Bringing things out in the open is so helpful,' she said. Tilton eventually moved out of her mother's apartment after a rat crawled across her. ''I can't live like this,'' she thought at the time. It wasn't until 1978, when she began starring on Dallas, that she gained a sense of stability, though her mother's mental illness still intruded. She shared that Katherine would write 'crazy' letters to the primetime soap opera's producers, though she stayed focused on her acting. Now that she was making $15,000 per week, it was easier to help her mother, but the money only went so far. She recounted learning that police had picked up her mother after she was found walking around in the nude in Hollywood, though she was released since she didn't pose a danger to others. While appearing on Dallas, Tilton said she empathized with her character Lucy, who had been raised by her grandparents. 'She was desperate to find the love of the parents she never had. I understood what made her tick,' she said. After her stint on the series ended in 1990, Tilton dealt with a 'lot of stress,' as she 'wasn't working and I wasn't taking care of myself.' In the wake of her failed two-year marriage to country singer Johnny Lee, which she called a 'disaster in the making,' she was left with her 'beautiful daughter' Cherish, whom she doted on. The cost of raising her daughter alone and caring for her mother, who eventually moved to an assisted-living facility, sapped most of her savings. 'My house was foreclosed. I left everything except what we could fit in a one-bedroom house.' After her mother's death in 2001, Tilton began to work on screen again with modest roles, and she found new love with the cinematographer Cheddy Hart. The two were eventually engaged, but then Hart died unexpectedly of heart failure in 2009, leaving Tilton devastated. 'I just sat on the couch drinking and smoking cigarettes,' she said. But she found new motivation after a friend encouraged her to volunteer with Actors for Autism. 'I fell in love with the students,' she gushed. 'To get out of your own depression or grief, you go help somebody.' Now, Tilton spends plenty of time with her grandsons and acts occasionally in faith-based movies, and she mused that aging suits her. 'When I was on Dallas and doing bathing suit magazine covers, I couldn't wait to get older,' she admitted. 'I always saw myself as a character actress. I'm petite and curvy, not tall and thin. I'm not elegant, I'm spunky. What I love about the age I am now is it brings different characters.'
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
80s TV hunk unrecognisable as he flogs loaves at supermarket after quitting fame to make bread
He was an 80s TV heart-throb much-loved by the tens of millions of viewers who regularly tuned in to watch Dallas. Now 76, the one-time sex symbol has reinvented himself with a very different career, launched with his girlfriend Linda Purl. Patrick Duffy, best known for playing Dallas ' Bobby Ewing over 320 episodes, is the proud CEO of Duffy's Dough and has taken to supermarkets to sell his loaves. A new video on Instagram shows him and Purl celebrating the brand's arrival in Kroger stores in the US. The couple wrote, 'From our garage to this. Thank you to each and every one of you for supporting us along this journey, and to @krogerco for helping us reach so many more of you!' 'We are so pleased to be able to support food scarcity with 100 per cent of our profits one loaf at a time.' The company also provides DIY dehydrated sourdough starter kits for those who want to make bread at home. Duffy became re-acquainted with old pal Purl during the coronavirus pandemic, speaking to one another via Zoom. For their first in-person meeting once restrictions had lifted, Duffy drove 20 hours to see her, determined to see if the spark they shared remotely existed in the flesh. It was Duffy's first and only relationship since the death of his wife Carolyn, with whom he had two sons Padraic and Conor, in 2017. Duffy said he truly believes his late wife would be happy he's found himself in a new relationship and enjoying spending time with Purl. Speaking to People last year, he opened up about finding love after a heartbreaking loss. He said, 'So when [happiness is] offered, think about it, do whatever you do, but don't let it pass you up if it's the right thing. 'I never thought for a minute this would happen again. I never thought I'd feel this way again.' Purl is also well known in her own right after playing Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley in Happy Days – a hugely successful sitcom which ran from 1974 to 1984. Outside of the Dallas franchise, which he returned to in 2012 for three seasons of the TNT revival, Duffy is recognised for his roles in You Again, Step by Step, and The Bold and the Beautiful. Aware he always wanted to act, he previously said: 'From high school on I wanted to act, that was all I wanted to do. I wasn't employed for years but I have been very fortunate and successful.'
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
80s TV hunk, 76, looks unrecognizable as he flogs loaves at the supermarket after quitting fame to make bread
HE was an 80s TV heartthrob much-loved by the tens of millions of viewers who regularly tuned in to watch Dallas. Now 76, the one-time sex symbol has reinvented himself with a very different career, launched alongside his girlfriend Linda Purl. 4 4 Patrick Duffy, most famous for playing Dallas's Bobby Ewing over 320 episodes, is the proud CEO of Duffy's Dough and has taken to supermarkets to sell his loaves. A new video on Instagram shows him and Linda celebrating the brand's arrival in Kroger stores. The couple wrote, "From our garage to this. Thank you to each and every one of you for supporting us along this journey, and to @krogerco for helping us reach so many more of you! "We are so pleased to be able to support food scarcity with 100% of our profits one loaf at a time." The company also provides DIY dehydrated sourdough starter kits for those who want to make bread at home. Patrick became reacquainted with old pal Linda during the coronavirus pandemic, speaking to one another via Zoom. For their first in-person meeting once restrictions had lifted, Patrick drove 20 hours to see her, determined to see if the spark they shared remotely existed in the flesh. It was Patrick's first and only relationship since the death of his wife Carolyn, with whom he had two sons Padraic and Conor, in 2017. Patrick said he truly believes his late wife would be happy he's found himself in a new relationship and enjoying spending time with Linda. Speaking to People last year, he opened up about finding love after a heartbreaking loss. Rarely-seen 90s star, now 48, hasn't aged a day as she reunites with hit sitcom co-stars in Hollywood He said, 'So when [happiness is] offered, think about it, do whatever you do, but don't let it pass you up if it's the right thing. 'I never thought for a minute this would happen again. I never thought I'd feel this way again." Linda is also well known in her own right after playing Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley in Happy Days - a hugely successful sitcom which ran from 1974 to 1984. Outside of the Dallas franchise, which he returned to in 2012 for three seasons of the TNT revival, Duffy is recognized for his roles in You Again, Step by Step, and The Bold and the Beautiful. Aware he always wanted to act, he previously said: 'From high school on I wanted to act, that was all I wanted to do. I wasn't employed for years but I have been very fortunate and successful.' 4 4
Sunday World
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Irish country legend meets Dallas star Patrick Duffy and reveals he owes success to show
'Patrick got a great kick out of the fact that I had a hit with Who Shot J.R. Ewing?' American soap star Patrick Duffy, who played Bobby Ewing in '80s' smash hit soap Dallas, has been touring the country this week doing a TV documentary on rural Irish pubs. And life has come full circle for Tom Allen, aka T.R. Dallas, as one of the pubs chosen for the series was Don's Bar in Moate, Co. Westmeath, owned by his son, Don. Duffy (76), whose great-grandfather came from Kilmovee, Co. Mayo, was accompanied by his wife, actress Linda Purl, known for her role in Happy Days as Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley Pfister. Patrick Duffy and wife Linda Purl with T.R. Dallas News in 90 Seconds - Thursday, July 3 'Patrick and Linda were lovely people to meet and they got a great kick out of the fact that I had a hit with Who Shot J.R. Ewing?,' Tom told the Sunday World . 'I had a copy of the original single with me and I sang a couple of verses for the documentary. They were also impressed by my Western stage style with the suit and the Stetson. Larry Hagman (as J.R. Ewing) and Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) in Dallas 'Patrick was interested in hearing the story of the single and what it did for my career. And, of course, he was fully aware of how big the Dallas TV show was in Ireland in those days. 'Watching Dallas in those times was a religion in Ireland. Nobody missed an episode and it was all the talk among people the day after. 'Then the shooting of J.R. happened, that was a massive story. A fella in Cork called Rocky Stone wrote a song about it that month and it landed in my lap. 'I recorded it and then we contacted The Late Late Show that week to see if they would have me on to sing it. Tony Boland, who was their music producer at the time, agreed but suggested that I change my name to T.R. Dallas. 'So overnight I became T.R. Dallas and it has stuck with me all these decades later. Even my own family call me T.R.' Who Shot J.R. Ewing? also became a huge hit in the UK after broadcaster Terry Wogan played it on his radio show. But because the single was sold through a deal with Woolworths the sales didn't register for the UK charts and so Tom missed out on the chance to perform on music show Top Of The Pops. Eddie Rowley with T.R. Dallas However, his brother, Tony, did make it on to the BBC TV chart show that year as one-half of Foster & Allen with their hit, A Bunch Of Thyme. 'Patrick and myself talked about Larry Hagman and he said the pair were good friends away from the cameras,' Tom reveals. 'I actually have a Stetson hat belonging to Larry that I bought at an auction in Ireland in the '80s where he was in attendance. It's signed by J.R. Ewing himself and I'd be happy to auction it for charity.' Duffy, who also filmed on the Aran Islands and in Hi-B bar, Cork, is no stranger to Ireland. Read more The actor, who also had an aunt, Agnes Powell, living in Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath, was guest of honour at the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Dublin in 2023. The previous year he had visited his relatives in Kilmovee, Co. Mayo, for a TV documentary sponsored by Tourism Ireland. Titled Finding Ireland, the series showcased Ireland's culture and scenery and encouraged the Irish diaspora to visit. It also explored Duffy's Irish ancestry. 'I'm sure when he emigrated in the 1800s, Patrick's great-grandfather never imagined that one day Ireland would be celebrating one of his relatives who made it big around the world as an actor,' T.R. added.
Irish Examiner
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Dallas and Happy Days stars film Irish pub documentary with visit to iconic Cork bar
Dallas star Patrick Duffy and Happy Days actor Linda Purl have been on a tour of Ireland and recently made a stop at one of Cork City's most iconic pubs. The pair, who have been in a relationship since 2020, posed for photos in the famous Hi-B bar. They are believed to be filming a documentary about Irish pubs. The TV stars previously visited Ireland in 2022 to trace Duffy's Irish roots and to film the pilot episode of a new TV series. Duffy shot to fame in the late 1970s and 1980s when he played Bobby Ewing in the hit American soap Dallas. Purl is best known as Ashley Pfister, Fonzie's girlfriend, in the US sitcom Happy Days. Posting a picture on social media, the Hi-B said they enjoyed a "great morning of filming" with the two stars in the bar. "Really looking forward to seeing the documentary at Christmas." The Hi-B, or the Hibernian Bar, is renowned for being one of the smallest pubs in Cork. Located on Oliver Plunkett Street, the bar has become synonymous with its mobile phone ban, with staff encouraging punters to enjoy conversation and each other's company instead. Read More Donal Ryan 'overjoyed' after winning Orwell Prize with novel Heart, Be At Peace
