20111008

SHOW BUSINESS

Soapnet re-broadcast Dynasty in November 2002. "Since our network launched," Soapnet stated at the time, "Dynasty has become the show our viewers demanded the most."

When Dynasty premiered in 1981 it was described as a "literary effort". Of working on the series, John Forsythe recounted in 2006, "It was a pleasurable, joyous good time. Those were good days, fruitful days."

It was said for years Dynasty was not just a TV soap opera but a way of life. Joan Collins believed, "There was huge interest in the clothes because until Dynasty, even Dallas and even Charlie's Angels, the women were quite simply dressed."

On Dallas, Donna Reed played Miss Ellie. "I liked Miss Ellie," Donna declared in 1984, "especially probably because of the age bracket she was playing – my age. I could relate to the pioneer element in her life and the fact that she was essentially a farm woman, like me. I thought it would be lovely to play a woman with a strong attachment to the land and her family."

Ralph Bellamy co-starred with Joan Collins in the TV mini-series, The Moneychangers in 1976. He mentioned at the time, "Almost all of us knew each other, but we never met unless we had scenes together. I've known Helen Hayes for years, but we didn't get to see each other. That's not the way it used to be. In the Hollywood movie days it was an easy, comfortable thing, compared to the pressure today."

In August 1977, Joan Collins announced she was writing her memoirs to be called, Past Imperfect. "Certainly I'm not writing about going from bed to bed," she insisted. "I was liberated sexually long before women began demanding such things." However "looking back on my life," Joan conceded, "most of the things I've done were chronicled more or less accurately by the media." Of her book, Joan hinted at the time,"I'm writing more of an inside story."

Seven days after Joan Collins made the announcement, Elvis Presley died. "His influence apparently touched people around the world, each person in a peculiar way," one doctor declared in 1979.

"The problem for the scholar is," the doctor continued, "so few people got close to Elvis. We have so few real facts to go on. So much of his life is left blank....There are so many opportunities to read more into Elvis’ life than may be there."

Actor Lionel Stander made the observation in 1982, "None of today stars will ever compare with the legendary actors of the past because the publicity was controlled by the studios and they had the machinery to create legends. You don't have that today. Everyone is for himself."

Of acting, Pamela Sue Martin remarked, "I don’t think of characters in terms of how similar they are to me, I really don't....I leave myself behind....I deal with it at kind of an emotional level. I say, 'Well this person feels this way' and so I think about feeling that way when I'm acting the role. But I don't think about it in terms of how it relates to Pamela."

Jenilee Harrison - Miss Young America - appeared on Dallas between 1984 and 1986. Of fitness, she shared, "Running helps your heart, but unless you run a whole, whole lot, it doesn't really change your body....I have fruit in the morning, granola in the afternoon and dinner is a big bowl of lettuce and steamed vegetables with maybe some chicken or tuna fish for protein. I never pass up dessert. Pecan pie is my favorite, but I'll never eat the whole slice."

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