Charlene Tilton felt like she was flying by the seat of her pants at the beginning of her career.
The actress who played Lucy Ewing on Dallas recently reflected on booking the hit prime-time soap when she was just 17 and looking to her castmates for advice.
“I was fortunate that after I got Dallas, the people I was surrounded by, such as Oscar nominee Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), and Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing) had a stellar work ethic,” Tilton told Woman’s World. “And I just watched them.”
Tilton, who was on Dallas from 1979 to 1985 and again from 1988 to 1990, elaborated on the wisdom that her seasoned costars shared with her on set. “I learned things such as you always arrive 15 minutes early,” she said. “You come to work prepared. You know your lines, it’s an all-for-one environment, no one is a diva, no one is demanding, and you always be professional. That’s how I got educated. I had no idea what I was doing when I was cast in Dallas because I was 17 years old.”
The actress also said she was overwhelmed by her parts in Freaky Friday, Happy Days, Eight Is Enough, and Dallas — all of which she played within the first two years of her career. “I was in over my head because it was a lot of work, I was only 17, and the show was a worldwide phenomenon,” she recalled. “When I wasn’t filming, I traveled all over the world doing interviews, events, and appearances. I look back now and realize it was such a whirlwind. It was crazy and it was all going so fast.”
Dallas followed the exploits of a Texas oil dynasty from 1978 to 1991, reaching its cultural zenith in the early 1980s. The show won four Emmys across its 14 seasons and earned enormous viewership ratings by building massive anticipation with its signature cliffhangers. Its “Who Done It?” episode that revealed “who shot J.R.” reached more than 80 million viewers, and remains the second-most-watched narrative TV episode in American history.
Tilton still keeps in touch with many of her Dallas costars. “I participate in reunions and cast panel discussions with Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue-Ellen Ewing), and Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs),” she said. “We did German Comic Con about two years ago and — get this — 50,000 people showed up. Now that Dallas is streaming, people are rewatching the episodes, or young people are just discovering it. Dallas still attracts an audience.”
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Charlene Tilton as Lucy Ewing on ‘Dallas’ in 1979
The actress later reflected on her close friendship with Hagman, who played her onscreen uncle on the show. “I always called him Uncle Larry and he always called me Niecy,” Tilton said. “After my divorce with my first husband, Larry called me … and said, ‘Niecy, no one knew what to say to you,’ and remember, back then, things like divorce were not talked about the way they are today.”
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She continued, “Larry was always warm, loving, and fun with everyone. Larry loved laughing, blowing bubbles, and he took a lot of home movies when he was on set. Some were behind the scenes, some were at his house. Other times it was the cast goofing around.”
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