IT WAS the show that gave Dallas a run for its money, stealing the US soap’s crown with its big hair, big shoulder pads and big stars.
Dynasty was a huge hit both here in the UK and around the world in the 80s, with a dazzling cast list which included Kate O’Mara as scheming Caress Morrell, Joan Collins as Alexis Carrington (a role which earned her six Golden Globe nominations), Stephanie Beacham as Sable, Alexis’s arch enemy, Heather Locklear, as simpering Sammy-Jo, and Linda Evans, who played Krystle Carrington.
Hollywood royalty Linda is 80 years old this week, and to celebrate, Times Past has uncovered a tale from our archives which reveals she once had a close connection with our newspaper.
In September, 1982, reporter Rosemary Long spent a day on location with Linda and the rest of the cast at Malibu Lake on America’s West Coast, as part of a series in which she also visited the sets for Dallas, Knot's Landing and Hart to Hart.
She wrote: “Malibu Lake is where the beautiful people play. Its country club has clipped, springy grass the colour of dollar bills and golden people play tennis on its high-hedged courts.
“This is Dynasty on location…as soap operas go, Dynasty is opulence gone wild. Its cars are longer, its acres are lusher, its stairs are broader, its women are glossier than any of its competitors. In May it pushed Dallas out of its top rating spot.”
Rosemary was on assignment from Glasgow to cover the second series of the hit show, which introduced Joan Collins as scheming Alexis, and she spent some time getting to know Krystle Carrington herself.
“She has marvellous cheek-bones and eyes like violets,” wrote Rosemary. “Her hair is heaped in a silver-blonde whirl over a long slim neck. She should be wearing something long and luscious and dripping diamonds but Linda Evans, the lady of the Carrington mansion, is like a leggy schoolgirl in sherbet-pink towelling shorts and shirt for Dynasty rehearsals.”
Linda was happy to chat. “I love playing wealthy women in lovely clothes with fancy cars,” she said.
Dynasty, about a wealthy family residing in Denver, Colorado, ran from 1981 until 1989. A reboot series with a new cast ran in 2017.
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