Archive for the ‘Historical / Preservation’ Category

Note: This fantastic article about the legacy of the Dallas TV show is copyrighted and was written by Jake Batsell of The Dallas Morning News.

He hangs his hat almost 5,000 miles from Southfork, but Colin Hunter has rounded up a huge herd of fans still infatuated with Dallas.

Never mind that the iconic television show has been off the air since 1991. Each day, some 23,000 people visit UltimateDallas.com, the fan site Mr. Hunter produces out of his north London home.

“There are people from everywhere — Romania, Japan, the U.S., Indonesia,” Mr. Hunter, 36, said in a telephone interview. “We’ve got this whole new fan base, some people as young as 12 and 13.”

Three decades after J.R., Sue Ellen and company began bickering on prime-time TV, Dallas remains an unstoppable force in popular culture.

The show that epitomized American grandeur and greed during the Reagan years is still syndicated in dozens of countries. Southfork Ranch in Parker draws more than 300,000 visitors a year. Diehards and new fans devour episodes on DVDs and cable soap channels.

“Dallas is not a phenomenon of 30 years ago, but actually is continuing to bring in new viewers,” said Janet Staiger, curator of Dallas: Power & Passion on Primetime TV, a new exhibit at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

The exhibit, which runs through Sept. 14, chronicles how the show’s memorable characters, scandalous storylines and TV firsts — most notably the “Who shot J.R.?” cliffhanger — spawned a global juggernaut that continues to fascinate legions of fans.

Boosters of modern Dallas, meanwhile, often cringe at the show’s over-the-top stereotypes and the lingering perception that the city remains a mecca for big hair, 10-gallon hats and cutthroat capitalism.

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” said Phillip Jones, president and chief executive officer of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The show’s persistent popularity makes it more challenging to promote Dallas as a progressive, ethnically diverse city with plentiful options for culture, dining and commerce, Mr. Jones said.

On the plus side, he said, “everywhere you go in the world, people know Dallas.”

“The curse is, everywhere you go in the world, people know Dallas from 30 years ago,” he said. “People think if they come to Dallas, they’re going to see J.R. Ewing walking down the street.”

First of its kind

When the show first aired on CBS in April 1978, Dallas chiefly was known as the site of the Kennedy assassination. The Dallas Cowboys, fresh off their second Super Bowl victory, weren’t even America’s Team yet.

Then came the TV series, which suddenly recast Dallas as a glitzy universe of shimmering skyscrapers, slick oil barons and gorgeous women clad in fur coats and showy jewelry.

“It was, of course, not a totally accurate image,” said Dr. Staiger, a professor of film and television studies at the University of Texas at Austin. “Not all women dress as beautifully as beautifully as Pamela Barnes and Sue Ellen did when they went to lunch. But it gave Dallas an image of richness.”

By the end of the second season in spring 1980, the show gave America its first prime-time cliffhanger when an unknown assailant gunned down J.R. Ewing in his office.

The scheming, sharp-tongued oilman — played by Fort Worth native Larry Hagman — had a long list of enemies. A prolonged actors strike forced fans to wait eight months before finding out the answer to the now-historic marketing slogan: “Who Shot J.R.?”

In November 1980, roughly 360 million viewers worldwide finally discovered who pulled the trigger. At the time, it was the most heavily watched event in television history.

The success of Dallas also elevated the soap-opera plot formula — serial narratives featuring multiple, intertwined story lines — into prime time.

“Now, you can hardly find a drama on prime-time that doesn’t have this format,” Dr. Staiger said.

The show inspired a crush of merchandise, some of which is on display at the Austin exhibit — puzzles, albums, even J.R. beer in pull-top cans.

Hollywood’s efforts to remake Dallas into a movie have sputtered. Janis Burklund, director of the Dallas Film Commission, said studio executives recently told her that the project is still alive but on hold as writers rework the script.

Actors still pleased

Susan Howard-Chrane accepts that her public persona will always be intertwined with her Dallas character, Donna Krebbs.

George W. Bush, then governor, appointed Ms. Howard-Chrane to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in 1995. During her confirmation hearing, the room went silent when Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, accidentally called her Donna.

“It wasn’t any big deal,” said Ms. Howard-Chrane, a Boerne resident who now serves on the Texas Commission on the Arts and is still constantly recognized by Dallas fans.

“I am never offended by someone calling me Donna — ever,” she said.

Ms. Howard-Chrane said viewers kept tuning in to Dallas because they related to the personal stories of each character — a rare occurrence in today’s prime-time lineup of reality shows and crime dramas.

“It was probably the last of its kind,” she said. “It primarily was a show to entertain, and to showcase actors and pretty clothes and attractive people and relationships. It was entertainment. I think we’ve kind of gotten away from that.”

The show’s success surprised actor Steve Kanaly, who played Ray Krebbs, Donna’s husband and the Ewings’ ranch foreman. Mr. Kanaly, who now grows avocados and citrus crops in Ojai, Calif., said he expected a quick exit after filming the first five episodes.

“I never believed the show had a chance to be successful,” he said. “I did five shows with everybody and thought, ‘Well, this is great; it’s been fun working with you, see you later.’.”

In retrospect, Mr. Kanaly said, the show may have caught on because it provided an escape from real-world issues like inflation, unemployment and the Iran hostage crisis.

“There were a lot of negative things going on,” he said. “And then this show pops up that doesn’t have anything to do with anything except a bunch of rich people in Texas and their crazy, mixed-up lives.”

Worldwide reach

Shady deals, boozy carousing and messy family politics may have been off-putting to some, but the program showed the world that America was a land of big dreams, Cadillacs and swimming pools.

Just ask Tomas Spilacek. During a visit to Southfork last month, Mr. Spilacek remembered watching Dallas in communist Czechoslovakia 20 years ago.

“Every person was watching this movie because Dallas is like all life in the U.S.,” he said. “Over there, communism. Over here, Dallas. Every Saturday night watching this movie is beautiful.”

Sally Peavy, the ranch’s tourism sales manager, hears stories like that all the time. Roughly two-thirds of the visitors who show up to tour Southfork are international.

“I would’ve thought that maybe it would have died down by now,” Ms. Peavy said. “But it’s amazing to me that people are still intrigued about the show, want to come see it, want to come experience it.”

Colin Mallon, a Southfork visitor hailing from Kent in the United Kingdom, said he got hooked on Dallas in the 1980s because “the storyline was brilliant, had a good laugh in it. It’s just something that made you watch every week.”

“Some of the things that happened in the show were just kind of bizarre,” added Angie Green of Wapakoneta, Ohio. “You couldn’t wait until the next week to see what was going to happen with J.R. and Cliff and all the characters.”

Still holds up

On UltimateDallas, the Web site Mr. Hunter started with two friends in 1997, fans interview the show’s stars, debate old plot twists and answer poll questions like: “Which forbidden love would you have liked to see?”

Mr. Hunter runs the site and attached fan forum with help from fellow fans in London, Canada and the United States. He said interest in the show has endured because its human storylines held such universal appeal.

Viewers could relate to Bobby and J.R.’s sibling rivalry, Sue Ellen’s alcoholism, Pam’s insecurity about her inability to have children and the family squabbles between the Ewing and Barnes clans.

“It was a character-driven show in a way we don’t tend to get now,” Mr. Hunter said. “It still kind of holds up, even nowadays.”

Design Within Reach, in collaboration with moderndallas.net, welcomes Don and Heather Ferrier, Gary Olp and Chad Vickers - builders on the forefront of sustainable residential design - for a panel discussion on the topic.

Don and Heather Ferrier are the father/daughter partners of Ferrier Custom Homes, the first firm in Texas (and third in the country) to receive a Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) award.

Gary Olp, of GGO Architects, is well-known Dallas architect who specializes in sustainable building.

Chad Vickers will represent Current Energy, an agency who finds energy-efficient solutions for the home.

The discussion will focus on how to make your home and everyday living more environmentally friendly.

Refreshments will be served.

Event co-sponsored by www.moderndallas.net

Where:
DWR Dallas Studio
4524 McKinney Ave, Suite 103
Dallas, TX 75205
214.521.0100
When: April 24th
Time: 6:00-9:00pm

RSVP to: dallas@dwr.com

In a fantastic move, ARTFEST is returning to their roots in Dallas’ historic Fair Park over Memorial Day weekend (May 23-25). This event is an absolute must with more than 200 of the nation’s best artists displaying their creations.

Traditions continue with live bands, a Cultural Arts Stage featuring performing artists, and ARTFEST for Kids, presented by Tom Thumb, with free activities including the classic “Box City” in which children design and build a town with boxes that they decorate. Festival food favorites, such as funnel cakes, corndogs and cotton candy, will be available to purchase. In addition to Saturday and Sunday events, ARTFEST visitors can toast the weekend with a very special Wine Stroll Preview Party on Friday evening, which includes an art preview, “meet and greet” with the artists, a weekend pass to ARTFEST, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres.

As always, ARTFEST is a fundraiser . . . unusual for an arts festival since most similar events of such magnitude are organized by cities and communities. To date, ARTFEST has raised over $12 million, with proceeds assisting numerous musical, dramatic, visual, and other arts organizations. Past beneficiaries include Dallas Chamber Music Society, USA Film Festival, Shakespeare Dallas and Dallas Center for Contemporary Art.

ARTFEST 2008 will be held at Fair Park (3809 Grand Avenue) over Memorial Weekend, May 23rd – 25th. The Wine Stroll Preview Party, $20 per person, is on Friday, May 23 from 6pm – 9pm. Advance discount tickets for the Wine Stroll can be purchased at Tom Thumb for $15 beginning May 5th. The main event will be held from 10am – 7pm on Saturday, May 24 and from 10am – 6pm on Sunday, May 25. General admission is $6 per day for adults; children under 6 are free. Advance discount tickets can be purchased at Tom Thumb for $5 beginning May 5. Parking is complimentary on Washington Avenue. For more information, visit www.artfest500.com or call 214.565.0200.

Beginning tomorrow, Friday, February 29, the North Texas Irish Festival will be having their 26th annual blowout at historic Fair Park.

I’ve been watching the set up since Monday and it’s really amazing what their volunteers can pull together.

They expect 50,000 attendees to this event and if the forecast holds true, they should definitely be able to pull in that number!

The gates open tomorrow nite at 6p and entrance is free until 7p….after that, you have to pay! The festivities continue all day Saturday and Sunday.

And be forewarned! It seems that Hilary and Bill Clinton will be holding court at 1p on Saturday in the Coliseum on the park grounds so make sure to get there early so you don’t have to fight for parking.

After more than 40 years, new documents are beginning to see the light of day in the President John F. Kennedy assassination.

Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins said that the documents were brought to his attention soon after taking office last year. He also stated that every DA since Henry Wade (of Roe v. Wade fame) has known of the documents and chosen to keep quiet about them.

Watkins said that after discussions with his staff, they felt the citizens of Dallas County deserved to know about the documents and make their own decisions - if nothing else, some of the content is bound to fan the conspiracy flames.

The DA’s office is in talks with the Sixth Floor Museum about the future of the items.

Amongst brass knuckles, gun holsters and a $1 million dollar movie contract for Henry Wade, there is a transcript that supposedly documents a conversation between Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby and alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. An excerpt is below:

Oswald: You said the boys in Chicago want to get rid of the Attorney General.

Ruby: Yes, but it can’t be done … it would get the Feds into everything.

Oswald: There is a way to get rid of him without killing him.

Ruby: How’s that?

Oswald: I can shoot his brother.

Ruby: You mean the President?

Oswald: Yes, the President.

Ruby: But that wouldn’t be patriotic.

Oswald: What’s the difference between shooting the Governor and in shooting the President?

Ruby: It would get the FBI into it.

Oswald: I can still do it, all I need is my rifle and a tall building; but it will take time, maybe six months to find the right place; but I’ll have to have some money to live on while I do the planning.”

The Cedars is the up-and-coming artist commune of Dallas’s south side. The neighborhood features artists, photographers, ceramicists, glass blowers, fragrance designers and entertainment spaces.

Anchored by the new Buzz Condominiums, the 2-story Hotel Newland is one of the oldest buildings on South Akard, featuring live/work space recently highlighted in this article from the Dallas Morning News with 3 highly artistic tenants.

Dallas Voice Entertainment Reporter/Environmentalist/Fragrance Designer Gus Klein, Eric Sachs Event Space owner of Quixotic, and highly reputable portrait artist to city officials and the social elite, David Terry, present the Hotel Newland Open House, February 10th, 2008, from 11a-5p, featuring the property owner Paul Cook the Urban Pioneer.

Mr Cook will give tours of available ground floor units for live/work/retail purposes while detailing the building’s unique history of the 1920’s architecture, and it’s past as a local Piggly Wiggly, while Gus Eric and David present their different trades in each of their respective spaces.

The Dallas Historical Society, which is based at Fair Park, has reported a box of 21 historically valuable items missing.

One of the most high profile items is a brass spur used by Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Also, a Bible belonging to one of Dallas’ first families, and a five-star collar insignia worn by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz during at the Japanese surrender ceremony.

The items on their own hold little monetary value - it’s the story behind them that gives them value. However, the antiques market that would be able to sell items like this is a very close knit community and coupled with the Internet, it would be virtually impossible to sell them for their appraised value.

If you know who the thief is, please contact the Dallas Police Department by calling 911.