Valene Ewing
Encyclopedia
Valene "Val" Ewing is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas and, more prominently, its spin-off series Knots Landing
. She was played by Joan Van Ark
.
(Charlene Tilton
) and estranged wife of Gary Ewing
(David Ackroyd
, later Ted Shackelford
), the middle son and the black sheep of the Ewing family. Valene and Gary Ewing married when they were teenagers (he was 17 years old and she was 15) but Gary was both weak and an alcoholic, who was often manipulated by his brother J.R. Ewing
(Larry Hagman
).
J.R.'s interference caused Gary and Val's marriage to collapse, and Gary deserted her. When Valene gave birth to their daughter Lucy, J.R. made it clear that the child was a Ewing and would be raised by the Ewings themselves. Valene tried to flee and went to her mother, Lilimae Clements (Julie Harris
), but was turned away. Valene was unable to stop J.R. from taking Lucy, and she was then prevented from seeing her daughter for many years.
Valene's bitterness over her mother's indifference, and the subsequent loss of Lucy, was not resolved for many years, until she and Gary moved to Knots Landing in 1979. Much of this early backstory was told through flashback in episodes of Knots Landing, and only briefly referenced in Dallas.
When Lucy found her working as a waitress in a diner, she arranged a reunion for her parents in the fall of 1978. Gary and Val moved back to Southfork for a short time, but their reunion was again undermined by J.R.
In December 1979, Val and Gary reunited once more in Dallas, and were remarried. Gary's parents Jock Ewing
(Jim Davis
) and Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes
), and Gary's brother Bobby (Patrick Duffy
) and sister-in-law Pamela (Victoria Principal
) attended the wedding. Shortly afterwards, they moved to California to live in a home that Miss Ellie had bought for them as a wedding gift.
Valene also appeared in the final episode of Dallas, in J.R.'s dream. In the dream she meets Gary for the first time, highlighting that they were destined to meet one way or another.
Valene was initially skeptical of the move, describing Knots Landing as "no place to start over". She was particularly struck by her neighbours, the Fairgates, and their estranged daughter Annie, who reminded her of her own daughter Lucy.
Gary was more determined to stay, and convinced Val to give Knots Landing a chance. Val and neighbour Karen Fairgate MacKenzie(Michele Lee
) would eventually become best friends, a relationship struck when Annie, on the run, turned to Val for help, and Val convinced her to return to the Fairgate home.
Val remained one of the central characters on Knots Landing from 1979 to 1992. Gary and Val's daughter, Lucy, visited her parents in Knots Landing, appearing in one episode in the show's first season.
Though largely uneducated, Valene discovered she had a talent for writing and wrote a thinly-veiled expose of the Ewings of Dallas called "Capricorn Crude". Gary was extremely critical of the book, which had an impact on their marriage. However, the book was published and made Val a best-selling novelist and independent in her own right.
Val divorced Gary after his affair with neighbour Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills
), but kept the house at Seaview Circle. She was subsequently married to Ben Gibson (Doug Sheehan) and later briefly to Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens
), both of whom lived with her at 16966 Seaview Circle. Other residents of Valene's house included her mother, Lilimae Clements, her half-brother Joshua Rush (Alec Baldwin
), Joshua's wife Cathy Geary (Lisa Hartman
), Lilimae's sister Virginia "Ginny" Bullock (Betsy Palmer
), and Valene's twins, Bobby and Betsy Ewing.
One of Val's most memorable storylines occurred during the 1984-85 season when she was told that her infant twins had been stillborn. Val sensed that this couldn't be true as she had a clear memory of hearing the babies cry. After suffering a nervous breakdown and disappearing from Knots Landing for some months, Val was later reunited with her babies, thanks largely to the investigations secretly undertaken by her neighbors Karen and Mack MacKenzie.
Whilst working on an assignment to write a biography about Greg Sumner (William Devane
) in 1992, Valene crossed paths with some shady mafioso type characters who were targeting Sumner. Fearing that she could expose them, they kidnapped Val and she was later believed to have died in a car accident (actress Joan Van Ark had decided to leave the series prior to its final season). However, it was discovered that she was never in the car and she later returned to Knots Landing, having escaped her kidnappers, for the series finale in 1993.
Valene was seen once again in the 1997 reunion mini-series Knots Landing: Back To The Cul-De-Sac where she began a new career as a screenwriter, adapting her best-selling novel "Hostage" (which told the story of her kidnap five years earlier) into a film.
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
. She was played by Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark is an American actress, most notable for her role as Valene Ewing, which she originated on the CBS series Dallas and continued for thirteen seasons on its spin-off, Knots Landing...
.
Dallas
Valene Ewing first appeared on Dallas in 1978 as a recurring character. She was the mother of Lucy EwingLucy Ewing Cooper
Lucy Ewing Cooper was a character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Charlene Tilton .Lucy was the saucy daughter of Gary Ewing and Valene Clements Ewing and confused niece of JR Ewing & Bobby Ewing. Lucy was raised on the Southfork Ranch by her grandparents, Jock and Miss...
(Charlene Tilton
Charlene Tilton
Charlene L. Tilton is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Lucy Ewing in the television series Dallas.-Career:...
) and estranged wife of Gary Ewing
Gary Ewing
Garrison Arthur Ewing was a character in the CBS television series Knots Landing and Dallas. The character of Gary Ewing was played most notably by Ted Shackelford and briefly played by David Ackroyd .-Dallas:...
(David Ackroyd
David Ackroyd
David Ackroyd is an American actor, who first came to prominence in soap operas such as The Secret Storm and Another World. He was born in Orange, New Jersey, a suburb of Newark.-Career:...
, later Ted Shackelford
Ted Shackelford
Ted Shackelford is an American actor best known for his role as Gary Ewing on the CBS television series Knots Landing, in which he starred from 1979–93...
), the middle son and the black sheep of the Ewing family. Valene and Gary Ewing married when they were teenagers (he was 17 years old and she was 15) but Gary was both weak and an alcoholic, who was often manipulated by his brother J.R. Ewing
J.R. Ewing
John Ross Ewing, Jr., more commonly known as J. R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was a central, nefarious figure on the hit CBS television series Dallas . J. R...
(Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
).
J.R.'s interference caused Gary and Val's marriage to collapse, and Gary deserted her. When Valene gave birth to their daughter Lucy, J.R. made it clear that the child was a Ewing and would be raised by the Ewings themselves. Valene tried to flee and went to her mother, Lilimae Clements (Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
), but was turned away. Valene was unable to stop J.R. from taking Lucy, and she was then prevented from seeing her daughter for many years.
Valene's bitterness over her mother's indifference, and the subsequent loss of Lucy, was not resolved for many years, until she and Gary moved to Knots Landing in 1979. Much of this early backstory was told through flashback in episodes of Knots Landing, and only briefly referenced in Dallas.
When Lucy found her working as a waitress in a diner, she arranged a reunion for her parents in the fall of 1978. Gary and Val moved back to Southfork for a short time, but their reunion was again undermined by J.R.
In December 1979, Val and Gary reunited once more in Dallas, and were remarried. Gary's parents Jock Ewing
Jock Ewing
John Ross Ewing, Sr., better known as Jock Ewing, is a character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Jim Davis and Dale Midkiff in Dallas: The Early Years...
(Jim Davis
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
) and Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes was an American actress, artist and children's author. She is best known for her role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie...
), and Gary's brother Bobby (Patrick Duffy
Patrick Duffy
Patrick George Duffy is an American character actor of stage and film. He is best known for his role on the CBS television drama Dallas, where he played Bobby Ewing from 1978 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1991, Duffy returns to reprise his role as Bobby in a new up-to-date Dallas currently scheduled to...
) and sister-in-law Pamela (Victoria Principal
Victoria Principal
Victoria Principal is an American actress, best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime drama Dallas from 1978 to 1987.-Early life:...
) attended the wedding. Shortly afterwards, they moved to California to live in a home that Miss Ellie had bought for them as a wedding gift.
Valene also appeared in the final episode of Dallas, in J.R.'s dream. In the dream she meets Gary for the first time, highlighting that they were destined to meet one way or another.
Knots Landing
After their re-marriage, Valene and Gary Ewing moved to Knots Landing, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, California. They moved into a home at 16966 Seaview Circle.Valene was initially skeptical of the move, describing Knots Landing as "no place to start over". She was particularly struck by her neighbours, the Fairgates, and their estranged daughter Annie, who reminded her of her own daughter Lucy.
Gary was more determined to stay, and convinced Val to give Knots Landing a chance. Val and neighbour Karen Fairgate MacKenzie(Michele Lee
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
) would eventually become best friends, a relationship struck when Annie, on the run, turned to Val for help, and Val convinced her to return to the Fairgate home.
Val remained one of the central characters on Knots Landing from 1979 to 1992. Gary and Val's daughter, Lucy, visited her parents in Knots Landing, appearing in one episode in the show's first season.
Though largely uneducated, Valene discovered she had a talent for writing and wrote a thinly-veiled expose of the Ewings of Dallas called "Capricorn Crude". Gary was extremely critical of the book, which had an impact on their marriage. However, the book was published and made Val a best-selling novelist and independent in her own right.
Val divorced Gary after his affair with neighbour Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills
Donna Mills
Donna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
), but kept the house at Seaview Circle. She was subsequently married to Ben Gibson (Doug Sheehan) and later briefly to Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens
Sam Behrens
Sam Behrens is an actor most notably recognized from his role as Gregory Richards in Aaron Spelling's Sunset Beach. He has been married to Shari Belafonte since December 31, 1989.-Filmography:...
), both of whom lived with her at 16966 Seaview Circle. Other residents of Valene's house included her mother, Lilimae Clements, her half-brother Joshua Rush (Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
), Joshua's wife Cathy Geary (Lisa Hartman
Lisa Hartman
Lisa Hartman is an American actress and singer.After some minor television appearances, Lisa Hartman starred in the short-lived Bewitched spin-off, Tabitha during 1977-78...
), Lilimae's sister Virginia "Ginny" Bullock (Betsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer is an American actress, best known as a regular panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing Pamela Voorhees in the notorious slasher film Friday the 13th.-Life and career:...
), and Valene's twins, Bobby and Betsy Ewing.
One of Val's most memorable storylines occurred during the 1984-85 season when she was told that her infant twins had been stillborn. Val sensed that this couldn't be true as she had a clear memory of hearing the babies cry. After suffering a nervous breakdown and disappearing from Knots Landing for some months, Val was later reunited with her babies, thanks largely to the investigations secretly undertaken by her neighbors Karen and Mack MacKenzie.
Whilst working on an assignment to write a biography about Greg Sumner (William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
) in 1992, Valene crossed paths with some shady mafioso type characters who were targeting Sumner. Fearing that she could expose them, they kidnapped Val and she was later believed to have died in a car accident (actress Joan Van Ark had decided to leave the series prior to its final season). However, it was discovered that she was never in the car and she later returned to Knots Landing, having escaped her kidnappers, for the series finale in 1993.
Valene was seen once again in the 1997 reunion mini-series Knots Landing: Back To The Cul-De-Sac where she began a new career as a screenwriter, adapting her best-selling novel "Hostage" (which told the story of her kidnap five years earlier) into a film.