Alexis Colby
Encyclopedia
Alexis Colby is a fictional character
and the primary antagonist on the American
TV series Dynasty
.
The role was originated by Joan Collins
in the first episode of the show's second season in 1981 (the character appeared briefly in the first season finale, non-speaking and face unseen). Collins remained on the show until the finale in 1989, and then returned as Alexis for the 1991 miniseries
Dynasty: The Reunion
.
Alexis' schemes to destroy ex-husband Blake
, undermine his marriage to angelic Krystle
, and control her children drive much of the action over the series' run. Passionate yet vengeful, Alexis loves her children fiercely and will do anything to protect them, but she often ignores their own needs and desires in place of what she thinks is best. Often seen smoking her signature black Nat Sherman
cigarillo
s, Alexis rises and falls again and again, continually stirring up trouble for all around her.
During the series Alexis is married three additional times, to Cecil Colby, Dex Dexter
, and Sean Rowan. Alexis is widowed twice, first by Cecil and then by fourth husband Sean, prompting Alexis' cousin Sable to remark that with Alexis "death is always a simpler solution than divorce." Her third marriage (to Dex) ends in divorce after Alexis catches him in bed with her adult daughter Amanda
. The name Alexis uses the most consistently over the course of the series is Alexis Colby, though her marriage to Cecil Colby is her shortest. Alexis is romantically linked to a number of men over the years, including oilman Rashid Ahmed, tennis pro (and Krystle's first husband) Mark Jennings, King Galen of Moldavia, shipping tycoon Zach Powers, Congressman Neal McVane, Blake's brother Ben Carrington, Dirk and Gavin Maurier, and even a near-reconciliation with an amnesia
c Blake.
. Series co-creator Esther Shapiro later claimed that the character of Alexis was based on the Roman empress Livia
, as characterized in the 1934 novel I, Claudius
. A change in the writing and the addition of Alexis were credited with lifting Dynasty in the ratings
, and the character "quickly set off a host of female imitators in other prime-time soaps." Producer E. Duke Vincent said of Collins in 2005, "Joan Collins is the queen of the archetype … How do you get that? You get it in the storytelling, obviously, but the actress herself, her personality, brought something to that role which I don't think anybody else could have done." Executive Producer
Aaron Spelling
added, "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins … We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work."
Alexis' annual catfight
s with Linda Evans
' Krystle became eagerly anticipated, and Alexis would later have similar brawls with Dominique Deveraux
(Diahann Carroll) and Sable Colby (Stephanie Beacham
).
Alexis was conspicuously absent from the Season Six opener which followed the infamous Moldavian Massacre cliffhanger
; Collins was in a tense contract renegotiation with the show, seeking an increased salary. As a result, the first episode of the season had to be rewritten to explain her absence. Collins' demands were met (she reportedly signed a $60,000 per episode contract) and she returned to the series in the season's second episode.
As Dynasty declined in ratings in later seasons, Collins was contracted for only 13 of the 22 episodes in the series' ninth season as a money-saving move (by this time, Collins was bringing in $120,000 an episode). She later announced that she would not return for a tenth season but the series was cancelled at the end of the ninth season due to low ratings anyway. The majority of the cast (including Collins) reunited for the two-part, four-hour miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion
in 1991.
is on trial for killing his son Steven
's male lover, Ted Dinard. A veiled surprise witness for the prosecution appears, and Blake angrily asks his lawyer: "What's she doing here?" Blake's daughter Fallon
gasps in recognition, "Oh my God, that's my mother."
As the second season opens with the episode "Enter Alexis", the character has not only a face but a name: Alexis Morell Carrington. She had been exiled from Denver
by Blake after an affair with Carrington estate manager Roger Grimes
; her testimony, that Blake has a violent temper, proves damaging to his case. At odds with his father, Steven is drawn to the mother he hardly remembers; Fallon, however, is devoted to Blake and has long held a grudge against Alexis, a grudge further fueled by her testimony. Fallon says to her mother:
Alexis soon sparks the ire Blake's wife Krystle
, and brazenly moves into a cottage on the Carrington estate: her former art studio which she still owns, thanks to a technicality. The household staff remembers the first Mrs. Carrington all too well — especially longtime Carrington majordomo Joseph Anders. Staunchly loyal to Blake, Joseph has a particular dislike for socialite Alexis and has followed her scandalous adventures for years through the tabloids. Fallon, though not openly hostile, keeps an icy distance from Alexis and the two trade subtle barbs; Steven is seduced by his mother's apparent devotion to him, but soon gets a taste of her poison. According to Alexis, Fallon is not Blake's daughter at all: her father is really Blake's longtime friend and business rival, Cecil Colby. The secret eats at Steven, and Fallon eventually finds out. Ultimately, it is proven untrue. Alexis' consistent meddling and intrusions help improve Krystle's relationship with Fallon, Joseph, and the rest of the household staff and they soon accept her unconditionally as Blake's wife.
Alexis makes an enemy in Krystle when she purposefully fires a shotgun to make Krystle's horse throw her; a pregnant Krystle loses her baby, and is told she will probably be unable to have more. Alexis becomes romantically involved with Cecil, now Blake's adversary, but Cecil has a heart attack while in bed with her. They marry on his deathbed, Cecil exacting a promise from Alexis that she will use his company ColbyCo to ruin Blake.
In 1982, after their infant grandson L.B. Colby (son of Fallon and Jeff Colby
) is kidnapped, former spouses Blake and Alexis make a televised plea that he be returned. Alexis confesses a dark secret from their past: their firstborn son, Adam
, had been kidnapped as a baby and had never been returned. Traumatized by the event, they had hidden his existence from their subsequent children Fallon and Steven. Meanwhile, in Billings
, Montana
, an old woman named Kate Torrance tearfully tells her grandson Michael that he is really the Carrington heir. Armed with items from Adam Carrington's baby carriage, lawyer "Michael" comes to Denver and is eventually accepted as a Carrington; but like Alexis, his selfishness, greed and ambition put him at odds with all of his relatives at one time or another.
In 1984, a young woman named Amanda Bedford
appears on Alexis' doorstep; she is Alexis' daughter, and as news of her spreads, Blake takes a special interest. He soon learns that Alexis was pregnant when he banished her decades before. Though Alexis insists that Amanda's father is a ski instructor with whom she was involved, it is eventually revealed that she is indeed Blake's daughter.
In 1986, Alexis' younger sister Cassandra Morell is released from a Caracas
, Venezuela
prison, having been incarcerated years before after an incident involving Alexis and her then-paramour, Zach Powers. Calling herself Caress, the younger Morell comes to Denver
and hopes to make a fortune by writing a scathing tell-all book about Alexis and exposing her sister's darkest secrets. Alexis finds out about the book, secretly buys the publishing company and scuttles the project.
A handsome stranger saves Alexis from drowning in a river in 1987; dashing Sean Rowan soon sweeps her off her feet and they marry. Sean soon insinuates himself into her business, alienating Alexis' son Adam. It is revealed that Sean is actually the son of former Carrington majordomo Joseph Anders, and is bent on avenging his father and sister, Kirby
, who had been ill-treated by Alexis and the Carringtons. Sean has an affair with Leslie Carrington and schemes to destroy the family, but is ultimately killed by Dex after he attempts to murder Alexis.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the primary antagonist on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV series Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
.
The role was originated by Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
in the first episode of the show's second season in 1981 (the character appeared briefly in the first season finale, non-speaking and face unseen). Collins remained on the show until the finale in 1989, and then returned as Alexis for the 1991 miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Dynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion is a 1991 miniseries reuniting the characters from the American prime time television soap opera Dynasty, a series which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1989 and was the highest-rated U.S. series in 1985. The miniseries, like the series, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil...
.
Alexis' schemes to destroy ex-husband Blake
Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was portrayed by John Forsythe from the first episode of the series in 1981 until the finale in 1989. Forsythe returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion...
, undermine his marriage to angelic Krystle
Krystle Carrington
Krystle Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was originated by Linda Evans in the first episode of the series in 1981; she left early in the final season but returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.-Characterization:The character of Krystle...
, and control her children drive much of the action over the series' run. Passionate yet vengeful, Alexis loves her children fiercely and will do anything to protect them, but she often ignores their own needs and desires in place of what she thinks is best. Often seen smoking her signature black Nat Sherman
Nat Sherman
Nat Sherman is the brand name for a line of handmade cigars and "luxury cigarettes." The company, which began as a retail tobacconist, continues to operate a flagship retail shop now located on 42nd Street, off of Fifth Avenue, in New York City...
cigarillo
Cigarillo
A cigarillo is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped not in paper but in whole-leaf tobacco. Cigarillos can be found for purchase alone or in packs, and are often made without filters...
s, Alexis rises and falls again and again, continually stirring up trouble for all around her.
During the series Alexis is married three additional times, to Cecil Colby, Dex Dexter
Dex Dexter
Dex Dexter is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The character was introduced as a love interest for Alexis Colby in episode 69. He will become her third husband, and arguably the second great love of her life, after Blake...
, and Sean Rowan. Alexis is widowed twice, first by Cecil and then by fourth husband Sean, prompting Alexis' cousin Sable to remark that with Alexis "death is always a simpler solution than divorce." Her third marriage (to Dex) ends in divorce after Alexis catches him in bed with her adult daughter Amanda
Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Catherine Oxenberg early in the fifth season . Oxenberg left the series after the 1985-1986 season. The role was immediately recast with Karen Cellini, though no explanation was given as to why...
. The name Alexis uses the most consistently over the course of the series is Alexis Colby, though her marriage to Cecil Colby is her shortest. Alexis is romantically linked to a number of men over the years, including oilman Rashid Ahmed, tennis pro (and Krystle's first husband) Mark Jennings, King Galen of Moldavia, shipping tycoon Zach Powers, Congressman Neal McVane, Blake's brother Ben Carrington, Dirk and Gavin Maurier, and even a near-reconciliation with an amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c Blake.
Behind the scenes
Candidates for the plum role of Blake Carrington's ex-wife, initially named Madeleine, included film legend Sophia LorenSophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
. Series co-creator Esther Shapiro later claimed that the character of Alexis was based on the Roman empress Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
, as characterized in the 1934 novel I, Claudius
I, Claudius
I, Claudius is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius. As such, it includes history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in AD 41...
. A change in the writing and the addition of Alexis were credited with lifting Dynasty in the ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, and the character "quickly set off a host of female imitators in other prime-time soaps." Producer E. Duke Vincent said of Collins in 2005, "Joan Collins is the queen of the archetype … How do you get that? You get it in the storytelling, obviously, but the actress herself, her personality, brought something to that role which I don't think anybody else could have done." Executive Producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
added, "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins … We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work."
Alexis' annual catfight
Catfight
Catfight is a term for an altercation between two women, typically involving scratching, slapping, hair-pulling, and shirt-shredding as opposed to punching or wrestling . However, the term is not exclusively used to indicate a fight between women, and many formal definitions do not invoke gender...
s with Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
' Krystle became eagerly anticipated, and Alexis would later have similar brawls with Dominique Deveraux
Dominique Deveraux
Dominique Deveraux is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty and its spin-off The Colbys...
(Diahann Carroll) and Sable Colby (Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
).
Alexis was conspicuously absent from the Season Six opener which followed the infamous Moldavian Massacre cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
; Collins was in a tense contract renegotiation with the show, seeking an increased salary. As a result, the first episode of the season had to be rewritten to explain her absence. Collins' demands were met (she reportedly signed a $60,000 per episode contract) and she returned to the series in the season's second episode.
As Dynasty declined in ratings in later seasons, Collins was contracted for only 13 of the 22 episodes in the series' ninth season as a money-saving move (by this time, Collins was bringing in $120,000 an episode). She later announced that she would not return for a tenth season but the series was cancelled at the end of the ninth season due to low ratings anyway. The majority of the cast (including Collins) reunited for the two-part, four-hour miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion is a 1991 miniseries reuniting the characters from the American prime time television soap opera Dynasty, a series which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1989 and was the highest-rated U.S. series in 1985. The miniseries, like the series, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil...
in 1991.
Storylines
In Dynastys first season finale episode, "The Testimony," Blake CarringtonBlake Carrington
Blake Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was portrayed by John Forsythe from the first episode of the series in 1981 until the finale in 1989. Forsythe returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion...
is on trial for killing his son Steven
Steven Carrington
Steven Daniel Carrington is a fictional character on the American prime time soap opera Dynasty. Steven is noteworthy as one of the earliest gay main characters on American television...
's male lover, Ted Dinard. A veiled surprise witness for the prosecution appears, and Blake angrily asks his lawyer: "What's she doing here?" Blake's daughter Fallon
Fallon Carrington Colby
Fallon Carrington Colby is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty, and its spin-off The Colbys.The role was originated by Pamela Sue Martin in the show's first episode in 1981; Martin left in 1984. The role was recast with Emma Samms in 1985, and the character was spun off onto a...
gasps in recognition, "Oh my God, that's my mother."
As the second season opens with the episode "Enter Alexis", the character has not only a face but a name: Alexis Morell Carrington. She had been exiled from Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
by Blake after an affair with Carrington estate manager Roger Grimes
Roger Grimes
Roger D. Grimes is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Grimes was born and raised in the central Newfoundland town of Grand Falls-Windsor....
; her testimony, that Blake has a violent temper, proves damaging to his case. At odds with his father, Steven is drawn to the mother he hardly remembers; Fallon, however, is devoted to Blake and has long held a grudge against Alexis, a grudge further fueled by her testimony. Fallon says to her mother:
Alexis soon sparks the ire Blake's wife Krystle
Krystle Carrington
Krystle Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was originated by Linda Evans in the first episode of the series in 1981; she left early in the final season but returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.-Characterization:The character of Krystle...
, and brazenly moves into a cottage on the Carrington estate: her former art studio which she still owns, thanks to a technicality. The household staff remembers the first Mrs. Carrington all too well — especially longtime Carrington majordomo Joseph Anders. Staunchly loyal to Blake, Joseph has a particular dislike for socialite Alexis and has followed her scandalous adventures for years through the tabloids. Fallon, though not openly hostile, keeps an icy distance from Alexis and the two trade subtle barbs; Steven is seduced by his mother's apparent devotion to him, but soon gets a taste of her poison. According to Alexis, Fallon is not Blake's daughter at all: her father is really Blake's longtime friend and business rival, Cecil Colby. The secret eats at Steven, and Fallon eventually finds out. Ultimately, it is proven untrue. Alexis' consistent meddling and intrusions help improve Krystle's relationship with Fallon, Joseph, and the rest of the household staff and they soon accept her unconditionally as Blake's wife.
Alexis makes an enemy in Krystle when she purposefully fires a shotgun to make Krystle's horse throw her; a pregnant Krystle loses her baby, and is told she will probably be unable to have more. Alexis becomes romantically involved with Cecil, now Blake's adversary, but Cecil has a heart attack while in bed with her. They marry on his deathbed, Cecil exacting a promise from Alexis that she will use his company ColbyCo to ruin Blake.
In 1982, after their infant grandson L.B. Colby (son of Fallon and Jeff Colby
Jeff Colby
Jeffrey Broderick "Jeff" Colby is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty, and its spin-off The Colbys.The role was originated by John James in the show's first episode in 1981, and the character was eventually spun off onto a separate series called The Colbys...
) is kidnapped, former spouses Blake and Alexis make a televised plea that he be returned. Alexis confesses a dark secret from their past: their firstborn son, Adam
Adam Carrington
Adam Alexander Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Gordon Thomson in the first episode of the show's third season ; he played the character until the series finale in 1989...
, had been kidnapped as a baby and had never been returned. Traumatized by the event, they had hidden his existence from their subsequent children Fallon and Steven. Meanwhile, in Billings
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, an old woman named Kate Torrance tearfully tells her grandson Michael that he is really the Carrington heir. Armed with items from Adam Carrington's baby carriage, lawyer "Michael" comes to Denver and is eventually accepted as a Carrington; but like Alexis, his selfishness, greed and ambition put him at odds with all of his relatives at one time or another.
In 1984, a young woman named Amanda Bedford
Amanda Carrington
Amanda Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Catherine Oxenberg early in the fifth season . Oxenberg left the series after the 1985-1986 season. The role was immediately recast with Karen Cellini, though no explanation was given as to why...
appears on Alexis' doorstep; she is Alexis' daughter, and as news of her spreads, Blake takes a special interest. He soon learns that Alexis was pregnant when he banished her decades before. Though Alexis insists that Amanda's father is a ski instructor with whom she was involved, it is eventually revealed that she is indeed Blake's daughter.
In 1986, Alexis' younger sister Cassandra Morell is released from a Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
prison, having been incarcerated years before after an incident involving Alexis and her then-paramour, Zach Powers. Calling herself Caress, the younger Morell comes to Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and hopes to make a fortune by writing a scathing tell-all book about Alexis and exposing her sister's darkest secrets. Alexis finds out about the book, secretly buys the publishing company and scuttles the project.
A handsome stranger saves Alexis from drowning in a river in 1987; dashing Sean Rowan soon sweeps her off her feet and they marry. Sean soon insinuates himself into her business, alienating Alexis' son Adam. It is revealed that Sean is actually the son of former Carrington majordomo Joseph Anders, and is bent on avenging his father and sister, Kirby
Kirby Anders
Kirby Anders is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was portrayed by Kathleen Beller from 1982 to 1984. She was introduced in the 7th episode of the third season, and was written off after the last episode of the 4th season...
, who had been ill-treated by Alexis and the Carringtons. Sean has an affair with Leslie Carrington and schemes to destroy the family, but is ultimately killed by Dex after he attempts to murder Alexis.