| Donna Culver Krebbs Dowling | |||||||||||||||
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| Dallas character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Susan Howard | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1979–1987 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | March 16, 1979 The Outsiders | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | May 15, 1987 Fall of the House of Ewing | ||||||||||||||
| Created by | David Jacobs | ||||||||||||||
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Donna Culver Krebbs is a fictional character in the popular American television series Dallas , played by Susan Howard from 1979 to 1987. [1]
Susan Howard was cast in the series in 1979. [2] For the second and third seasons, she appeared in a recurring capacity; during the fourth season, she became a regular cast member. In 1986, Howard won Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role on a Primetime Serial for role. [3] In 1987, the show's producers opted not to renew her contract, stating that her character had run its course. [4] Howard has claimed this decision was connected to her opposition of what she saw as pro-abortion storylines involving her character. [5]
Donna was an intelligent, ambitious and well-regarded politician's wife, married to much older Sam Culver, a former governor of Texas and Speaker of the House who is an old friend and former business partner of Jock Ewing. Sam Culver is most likely based on longtime Texas Congressman and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. During her marriage, she began an affair with Ray Krebbs, foreman of Southfork Ranch. However, despite finding love with Ray, Donna decided to remain with Sam because he was dying. After Sam's death, Donna and Ray attempted a reconciliation but she rebuffed his proposal of marriage because she felt it was too soon after Sam's death. Donna then briefly got romantically involved with Cliff Barnes, but their relationship dissolved when Donna backed Bobby Ewing as a replacement for her stepson Dave Culver in the state senate instead of Cliff. Donna then married Ray in 1981 and they lived in a house that Ray built on the outskirts of Southfork Ranch. Since Ray had found out he was Jock Ewing's son, he acted as though he wasn't good enough for Donna, comparing himself to her and Jock's other sons, especially after he made failed attempts to compete in business by working on development projects with Jock and Punk Anderson. After Jock died in a helicopter crash in South America, Ray fell into a deep depression: drinking, neglecting his duties at Southfork, and having an affair with an old girlfriend named Bonnie. However, he and Donna remained married and stuck by each other. While researching her new book on Sam Culver's early years in politics, Donna discovers that Sam and Jock had put Sam's uncle, Jonas Culver, in a mental institution in order to get his land and drill the oil on it, which was the start of the Culver and Ewing family fortunes. Jonas committed suicide shortly after institutionalized.
In the 1984-85 season, Donna and Ray decided to separate due to her emphasis on her new career in the oil industry, but Donna discovered she was pregnant with Ray's child. In the 1985-86 season, Donna and Ray discovered their unborn child had Down syndrome and, despite Ray's efforts for an abortion, Donna decided to keep the child. At a rodeo, she was injured by a bull, causing her to miscarry. She and Ray then adopted a deaf boy named Tony in 1986. However, when star Patrick Duffy decided to return to the show — despite his character Bobby having died a season earlier — the entire 1985-86 season was relegated to a dream. As a result, in the following season, Donna was still pregnant, having never miscarried. This time, she decided to divorce Ray. Donna moved to Washington, D.C., and became a lobbyist for the oil industry. During this time, she met Senator Andrew Dowling and they started a relationship. She subsequently gave birth to Ray's daughter, Margaret (named after Ray's mother) in 1987, and she and Ray parted ways as friends.
Dallas is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolved around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who owned the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes, whose families were sworn enemies. As the series progressed, Bobby's elder brother, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, became the show's breakout character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark. When the show ended on May 3, 1991, J.R. was the only character to have appeared in every episode.
John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas (1978–1991) and its spin-offs, including the revived Dallas series (2012–2014). The character was portrayed by Larry Hagman from the series premiere in 1978 until his death in late 2012; Hagman was the only actor who appeared in all 357 episodes of the original series. As the show's most famous character, J.R. has been central to many of the series' biggest storylines. He is depicted as a covetous, egocentric, manipulative and amoral oil baron with psychopathic tendencies, who is constantly plotting subterfuges to plunder the wealth of his foes. In the PBS series Pioneers of Television, Hagman claimed the character of J.R. began its development when he played a similar character in the film Stardust, and that he was also inspired by a mean boss he once had.
Steven Francis Kanaly is an American actor, best known for his role as Ray Krebbs on the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas.
Robert James Ewing is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas and its 2012 revival. The youngest son of Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing, he was portrayed by actor Patrick Duffy. Bobby had been killed off in the final episode of the 1984–1985 season, and Patrick Duffy left the show for a year. Bobby returned in the famous "shower scene" at the end of the following season. The subsequent "dream revelation" at the start of the next season explained Bobby's accident, his death, and all but the final scene, as a dream of Bobby's fiancée and ex-wife, Pamela Barnes Ewing.
Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, titled "Digger's Daughter", which was first broadcast on April 2, 1978. Dallas follows the trials of the wealthy Ewing family in the city of Dallas, Texas, which Pam has married into. Principal played Pam until the end of season 10 in 1987, when the character crashes her car into a truck carrying butane and propane and her body is severely burned. A year later, she was briefly played by actress Margaret Michaels in an attempt to write the character out. Pamela's storylines in season 1 focus on her relationship with her new husband, Bobby Ewing, and her fight against the considerable suspicion and hostility from within the Ewing family, due to Pamela being a member of the Barnes family. Pamela's love for Bobby remains a strong character trait throughout her tenure on the show, noted for its similarities to Romeo and Juliet, with two people from hostile families falling in love.
Clifford Barnes, played by Ken Kercheval, is a fictional character from the popular American television series Dallas. The Barnes family are competitors and sometimes enemies of the Ewing family. Cliff is the son of Willard "Digger" Barnes and Rebecca Barnes, the brother of Pamela Barnes Ewing, and half-brother of Katherine Wentworth. J.R. Ewing was Cliff's personal nemesis, with J.R. and Cliff continuing on the bitter feud that started with their fathers, Jock Ewing and Digger, from their oil wildcatting days during the Great Depression. J.R. and Cliff were the only two characters to appear throughout the entire run of the series. A running gag on the series is Cliff's fondness for Chinese take-out.
Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing Farlow is a fictional character from the primetime CBS television series Dallas, a long-running serial centered on the lives of the wealthy Ewing family of Dallas, Texas. Created by writer David Jacobs, the character of family matriarch Miss Ellie was an important part of the show's structure and conflict. The dynamic role was originated by stage and screen actress Barbara Bel Geddes, who was awarded both the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama.
John Ross "Jock" Ewing Sr. (1909–1982) is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas created by David Jacobs. Jock was played by Jim Davis in the show's first four seasons from 1978 to 1981, and as a young man by Dale Midkiff in the made-for-TV movie prequel The Early Years in 1986. Jock founded Ewing Oil in 1930 and was the patriarch of the Ewing family. Steve Forrest portrayed a character called Wes Parmalee who may or may not have actually been Jock who had survived the helicopter crash in 1982. The chopper crash storyline was necessitated by the death of Davis -- but Jock's body was never found, hence this storyline was played out in the original series.
Lucy Ann Ewing is a fictional character in the popular American television series Dallas. The character is played by Charlene Tilton and first appeared in the series premiere on April 2, 1978. Tilton left the show at the end of season 8 in 1985, before returning for the last two episodes of season 11 in 1988, becoming a series regular again in season 12. Lucy was then written out again in 1990.
Garrison "Gary" Arthur Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, Knots Landing, a spin-off of Dallas. The character of Gary Ewing was first played by actor David Ackroyd in a two-part Dallas season two episode "Reunion" in 1978. Gary Ewing was the middle son of oil baron Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing, the father of Lucy Ewing and the ex-husband of Valene Ewing. Over a year later, the part of Gary Ewing was recast for the spin-off Knots Landing with actor Ted Shackelford in the role, and Gary became one of the main stars of the series in 1979. Shackelford played Gary Ewing in Knots Landing for its entire fourteen seasons (1979–1993), while continuing to make occasional appearances in Dallas during that time. The character of Gary made his last Knots Landing appearance in 1997 in the reunion series Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. Shackelford reprised his character for the new, updated version of Dallas in 2013.
Clayton Farlow is a fictional character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Howard Keel from 1981 to 1991.
Valene "Val" Ewing, portrayed by Joan Van Ark, is a fictional character in the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing, a spin-off from the long-running series Dallas, in which she also appeared. The character originated on Dallas in 1978 as the mother of Lucy Ewing and ex-wife of Gary Ewing. Van Ark made several guest appearances on Dallas before becoming one of the main stars of the spin-off Knots Landing in December 1979, though she continued to make small appearances in Dallas for the next several years. Van Ark played Valene in Knots Landing for thirteen of its fourteen seasons, which made her one of the show's longest running stars. The character made her last Knots Landing appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. In 2013, Van Ark reprised her character for the new, updated version of Dallas.
Ray Krebbs is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas, played by Steve Kanaly from 1978 to 1989. Ray Krebbs is the illegitimate son of Texas oil baron Jock Ewing. He later appeared in the reunion movie Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998) and made guest star appearances in the 2012 continuation of Dallas.
Jenna Wade is a fictional character on the popular American television series Dallas, played, most notably, by Priscilla Presley from 1983 to 1988. Jenna was also briefly played by Morgan Fairchild in 1978 and Francine Tacker in 1980.
Michelle Stevens is a fictional character who appeared in the last seasons of the popular American television series Dallas, played by Kimberly Foster, from 1989 to 1991.
Dallas is an American prime time television soap opera developed by Cynthia Cidre and produced by Warner Horizon Television, that aired on TNT from June 13, 2012, to September 22, 2014. The series was a revival of the prime time television soap opera of the same name that was created by David Jacobs and which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. The series revolves around the Ewings, an affluent Dallas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries.
The Ewing family is the fictional family of the American prime time soap opera Dallas and its 2012 revival, as well as the foundation of the spin-off series Knots Landing. In the original series of Dallas, the Ewings own and run Southfork Ranch and the oil giant Ewing Oil; in the revival series, Ewing Oil is replaced by Ewing Global, formerly Ewing Energies. Knots Landing features the large corporation of Gary Ewing Enterprises.
"Conundrum" is the title of the 22nd episode of the fourteenth season of the American television drama series Dallas. It is also the 356th and last episode of the original Dallas series. The episode was written and directed by showrunner Leonard Katzman and aired on CBS on Friday, May 3, 1991, as a double-length episode. Subsequent airings in syndication split the episode into individual hours, which raises the total episode count to 23 for the season and 357 for the series.
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