Cover me badd

 Happy Easter, my dear readers! It's time for some chocolate eggs, bunnies - and magazine covers!

This time I'd like to spend a few moments with some supporting cast members of Dallas' later years. I realize these were not the golden years of the show, however, there were some bright spots here and there.

First: I give you hunky Jack Scalia a.k.a Nicholas Pearce on the cover of Katso-magazine in 1990. I had a huge crush on him. Oh boy! Of all the leading men in Sue Ellen's life - Peter, Dusty, Cliff, JR, Don - I liked him the best. Too shame they made him wear fat pullovers and sweaters, yet they gave Christopher Atkins speedos a few years earlier. Sigh. Why everything happens to me?

Title says "Jack Scalia saves a bad show" referring not to Dallas, but "Wolf". True or false, I don't know. Most importantly, I remember he had a nice, hairy chest, didn't he? Or was it just a dream I had...? Oh, well.

Next we have lovely Cathy Podewell. Year is still 1990. 

I was kind of excited that in the 1990s Dallas was trying to freshen up with these particular cast members. At the same time, I was sensing they were desperate to find same kind of charisma the original leading ladies had and that Dallas was sliding fast toward cancellation. So, I was praying they'd bring back Victoria Principal and Linda Gray to save the show. Sadly, they didn't.

Now, Cally was not every Dallas fan's favourite character, but I liked her. I wish they had done more with her. I would've liked to see her developing into a strong business woman like Sue Ellen did. But without her paintings, though. 

Title says "Dallas' enchantress Cathy cast a spell on JR". That's nice. (She had a smooth chest, by the way.) 

Last, it's wicked Michelle Stevens, a.k.a Kimberly Foster, in 1990. 

You know, it's funny how Dallas was still kind of hot in Finland in 1990. Three covers on Katso that year, which is not bad for a 12-year-old show. "Kimberly Foster is the newest baddie of Dallas". She surely was! Most importantly, she was the first female antagonist to have such short hair. I adored her style, it was very 90s look. With that look, she could be Justin Bieber's bitchy mom!  

Happy Valentine Girl!

Valentine's day may be long gone, but it's never too late to tribute my favourite Valentine Girl, Mandy Winger!

Oh, Mandy. You came and you gave without taking, but Sue Ellen sent you away...

Although losing Audrey Landers was a bummer, I liked Deborah Shelton equally well as Cliff's and eventually JR's new squeeze. "You'll hear from me again!" she whispered to Sue Ellen in 1987 and left Dallas. Despite her promise, she never came back. (Well, that's not true: she eventually did come back for a few minutes on TNT's new Dallas.)

Nevertheless, here are two articles from the 1980's celebrating her red-hot-beauty.

First one states rather sarcastically that "Deborah Shelton is here for the same reason she is on Dallas: as a decoration. Her fame has never reached the same heights as Victoria Principal's, Linda Gray's or even Priscilla Presley's."

The article goes on to explain how Priscilla has clout; she is now negotiating with the producers to get a real birthing scene on Dallas. "She, like her character Jenna, is pregnant." Priscilla's negotiations must have failed as we were spared from seeing a baby come out of Jenna's vajayjay. Oh, well.

(Same magazine tells us about a new series called Moonlighting starring someone called Bruce Willis. He has already started a singing career and is the coverboy at the moment.)

The second article is much nicer. It says: "Mandy is one fierce seductress, but in real life Deborah Sheldon (!) is the epitome of good mother: My daughter Tamara, 7, is the best thing that ever happened to me. Dallas comes second. Dallas has given me a chance to give my daughter the best possible education, which is more I ever dared to dream." 

Something Old...

Oh, the weddings of Dallas! They were always super-exciting. Of course, the press  - even in Finland - had usually revealed something about the upcoming event, so it wasn't a total surprise. Nevertheless, I was always beyond happy when they decided to have big, lavish weddings. Therefore, I felt betrayed if someone "eloped" or just went to the "city hall". This was before I understood anything about show business and budgets and stuff.

However, what fun times they were!

I used to love finding out what kind of wedding dresses the ladies of Southfork had chosen. More often than not I was bitterly disappointed. I have to say, out of all the weddings Dallas had, this dress was one of  my favorites:

The text says: "During her nightmare, Pam was remarried. However, when audience demanded Bobby back, the guy who played Pam's fiancé, John Beck, had to go." 

So sad. Naturally, Bobby was the king of stud muffins back then and I was ecstatic to see him back, but I liked Mark as well. I mean, who could resist his mustache-ious gorgeousness?

Pam's dress is tasteful and beautiful, unlike the true, spiky nightmare she was sporting when she married Bobby one year later. Yikes. *Shudder*

Another what-was-she-thinking -dress was this one:

(The mag also features the "famous Mayo-diet". Now what on earth is that?)

I had seen the pics of Sue Ellen's dress before the episode aired, but I was still surprised to find out the dress was actually long. And the eighties mullet didn't help one bit. However, Linda Gray is still gorgeous and the episode itself was amazing and memorable, classic Dallas.

Next, some clips of real-life Dallas weddings, Charlene Tilton's and Victoria Principal's second marriages from 1985 (not to each other, though):

We learn that "Charlene Tilton was married to scottish musician Dominique (?) "Nicky" Allen on Holy Thursday. Charlene says she and ex-beau Johnny Lee had totally different views of life.

Victoria Principal has been visiting italian designer Elvira Gramano in Rome. She is searching for the right dress for her wedding to Harry Glassman."

I like Charlene's dress, I think she looks radiant. Victoria's dress in this photo is not - thankfully - the one she chose to wear eventually. This is:

"The mid-summer bride of the whole world was Victoria Principal." The text also states rather cynically that "Victoria is not a newbie at the wedding game, she has also had time to drive Andy Gibb into mental break down." Now that's not nice. Victoria looks happy and beautiful regardless.

Ken Kercheval, a.k.a Cliff Barnes, was one of the stars who rarely was on the headlines. Here's one from 1984, however, featuring his wedding bliss:

His wife's name was Ava Fox, and they were married finally after all kinds of obstacles, including Ken's mother's illness.

Let's dive into the 90s. At the time there were only occasional stories of Dallas on Finnish magazines, which was sad. Dallas wasn't red-hot anymore. Here's something blue with lovely Sheree Wilson's wedding picture with her fiancé and their son, Luke. Her husband's name is Paul Derobbio: 

"From a funeral to a wedding. Now that we have said tearful goodbyes to Dallas' April, we are happy to learn that in real life Sheree Wilson is doing better than ever." Story goes on to state that "By the way, they are going to end Dallas. This is no surprise, since April was the only one of the show's current female stars to possess real charisma." This sounds about right. 

That's all for now. Take care, my dear readers! :)

Dallas vs. Dynasty

The most famous cold war in the 80s was not the one between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was between Dallas and Dynasty. Everybody was talking about it. 

Well, maybe not everybody, but, you know… me.

Dynasty began in 1984 in Finland, and the press wasted no time creating headlines about the bitter rivalry between the two super soaps. I personally preferred Dallas, of course. However, Dynasty was also one of my favorites at the time.

Here’s a bold article from 1984 ”Apu”-magazine about the rivalry. ”Which Pamela do you watch?” and (loosely translated) ”Battle of the breast size: Dallas vs. Dynasty”. Oh my. 

I remember being totally in shock after seeing this cover. It wasn't usual to a family-oriented magazine such as Apu to have bare-chested women on the cover, let alone mega-stars like Pamela Bellwood. Wow!

”Dallas leads over Dynasty! Two shows are fighting for the viewers wearing less and less clothes.”

Dynasty’s Pamela Bellwood (Claudia) is the one who has showcased her talents the most generously of them all. These pictures have been taken by her husband in Kenya. 

”First they were fighting over the best clothes. Now they are fighting without them. Priscilla Presley is pursuing a career as an actress quite diligently. She is the new attraction of Dallas. "

"Victoria Principal is following Jane Fonda’s footsteps. Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) gets a young lover on Dallas, while Alexis and Krystle (Joan Collins and Linda Evans) keep on fighting on Dynasty, although they are best friends in real life."(ß Really?)

"Originally Audrey Landers had only a small part in Dallas, but as her role grew, so did her singing career. Charlene Tilton has been having troubles in her personal life."

"JR wanted to have her own mother Mary Martin to play Miss Ellie after Barbara Bel Geddes left the show. Doris Day was also interested in the part. However, Donna Reed got it eventually. "

'Tis the Season!

Katso magazine (=Watch) is feeling all christmassy in 1982 and declares: "JR is alive and well and is buying Christmas presents. But who really did shoot him?"

Happy holidays my dear readers!

Yet more covers!

Here we go again! Some summery covers while waiting for winter. For winter is coming. I hope.

So, first one from 1983 is featuring sexy Audrey Landers a.k.a Afton Cooper.
"What Does JR See in Her? Dallas' who what and why" states the cover quite harshly. Well, duh.
The main story inside also introduces us her brother Mitch.

The next one is from 1982. Something called "video" seems quite relevant during 1982-83 in Finland, since both these magazines have the word on the cover. "Top 10 of the Video Movies", intriguing!

However, Victoria Principal is looking hot in red and couldn't care less about the "Video School" or "Why news anchors stare at the viewer" in this issue. She is "innocent seductress as Pamela on Dallas". Indeed.

Covers, covers everywhere!

1980s was very exciting time for Dallas collectors like me. Hardly a week went by without a magazine featuring a story of my favourite tv show. I almost passed out every time I saw Dallas made it to the cover as well! Here are some scanned covers of my collection. 

First one is from 1983 Seura. It features lovely Charlene Tilton on the cover.
In this exclusive story we learn that she has been forced to use welfare services to make a living. 

By the way, ”Seura” means company. The magazine still exists, however, I don't even remember when was the last time it had Dallas stars on the cover. Perhaps in the 1990s. 

Second Seura from 1985 has beautiful Priscilla Presley on the cover. Seura is starting to publish her revealing memoirs and states here that Elvis made an ideal woman out of a child bride. Good stuff!

Next cover is one of my all time favorites. Suosikki from 1983 has gorgeous Victoria Principal on the cover. "Dallas-extra! All the scandalous events of '83!"

Suosikki means a favorite in English. It was a very popular pop/rock magazine which featured Dallas quite regularly in the 1980s. Last Suosikki came out December 2012.

Another Suosikki from 1984. It says that Priscilla Presley is now the number one star of Dallas. I must say the article was probably originally from National Enquirer given how "scandalous" it was. Oh, well.