TV Tidbits Shows We Love: Dynasty

Dynasty
1981-89, on ABC

Stars: John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Heather Locklear

Premise: Denver multi-millionaire is driven up the wall by the women in his life: super-sweet current wife, Krystle; wicked-witch ex-wife, Alexis; spoiled-rotten daughter Fallon; and surprise illegitimate half-sister, Dominique — plus a bevy of kids who just keep coming out of the woodwork.

Blake Carrington's Denver-based company was called Denver-Carrington.

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The Carringtons' butler, Joseph, was played by Lee Bergere. In a Sabrina-like twist, his daughter, Kirby, returned to the Carrington mansion after growing into a lovely young woman -- and won the hearts of richer and older Jeff Colby and Adam Carrington. Kirby was played by Kathleen Beller.

It's difficult to imagine Dynasty without Alexis (Joan Collins), but the character didn't show up until the end of the first season. Blake’s vindictive ex-wife made a dramatic appearance at the very end of the season-ending-cliffhanger murder trial. As Fallon gasped, "Oh my God, it's my mother!" Alexis arrived, in dark glasses and a big hat, to testify in Blake Carrington's murder trial (Blake had killed his gay son’s lover, Ted). The glasses and hat concealed the fact that Alexis hadn’t been cast yet; a stand-in played the part in that first appearance. Sophia Loren was rumored to be offered the part, but instead Joan Collins got an amazing second-wind to her career when she was revealed beneath the concealing costume at the beginning of the second season. The actress, who had been essentially washed up, quickly became one of the biggest TV stars of the 1980s.

When Steven Carrington was recast (Jack Coleman took over from Al Corley), the character’s altered appearance was explained: Steven had to have reconstructive plastic surgery after an accident.
But later, when Pamela Sue Martin left the show and Emma Samms took over, Fallon's change of face wasn’t explained. Fallon’s widower, Jeff Colby (John James), was shown talking to a painting of Fallon, in which she looked like Emma Samms, and in a later scene, Samms was seen as Fallon.

Before she played spoiled-rotten Fallon Carrington Colby, Pamela Sue Martin played girl detective Nancy Drew. Before she took over the role of spoiled-rotten Fallon Carrington Colby, Emma Samms played soap opera detective Holly Scorpio on General Hospital.

Krystle's tennis pro ex-husband entered the scene in 1982 to stir things up. Geoffrey Scott played Mark Jennings, who had affairs with mother and
daughter Alexis and Fallon. Geoffrey played one of evil Angelique's husbands on Dark Shadows.

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Fallon had a fling with her doctor—a man who also tempted Krystle. This hard-to-resist physician, Dr. Nick Toscanni, was played by James Farentino.

Two former movie greats who headed the cast of the Dynasty spin-off
The Colbys: Charlton Heston as Jason Colby and Barbara Stanwyck
as Jason’s sister, Constance. Stanwyck and Linda Evans (Dynasty's Krystle ) starred in the 1965–69 TV western series The Big Valley, as mother and daughter Victoria and Audra Barkley.

Just so there'd be no confusion, at first The Colbys was titled Dynasty II: The Colbys.

In the final episode of The Colbys, Fallon was kidnapped by a UFO. When she returned to Denver (and Dynasty), nobody believed her wild tales about outer space adventures.

Joan Collins's sister, Jackie, is the author of such mega-hit books as Hollywood Wives and The Bitch. (Joan starred in the movie version of The Bitch.) Art imitated life a bit: On Dynasty, Alexis's sister, Caress, was also a writers. She penned a a tell-all novel about Alexis, titled Sister Dearest.

Before Dynasty John Forsythe (Blake) provided the voice of Charlie on Charlie's Angels -- but the character's face has never been shown. (He has provided the voice again for the two Charlie's Angels feature films in recent years.)

Diahann Carroll portrayed Dominique Devereaux, Blake's African-American half-sister. Their father had carried on an affair with the family maid. About the time Carroll joined the almost-entirely white cast, she appeared in a soft-drink commercial in which a man argued with her about whether she should take an unnamed role. She said that whatever anyone thought, it was a Diahann Carroll role.

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When it was announced that movie great Rock Hudson had AIDS, it was believed that the virus might be spread through kissing. Not long before, Hudson had briefly played Daniel Reece, a debonair horse-breeder, on Dynasty -- and had shared a passionate lip-lock with Linda Evans. Tabloid magazines had a field day, printing photos of that kiss and stating, true or not, that Evans was terrified that she might have been exposed to the dreaded disease.

• • •

Jack Coleman (Steven) played Jake, a handsome psycho, on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives from 1981 to '82.

Krystle and Alexis engaged in several catfights, including one particularly messy battle in a goldfish pond.

Steven Carrington was one of the first gay characters in primetime, but his sexuality was a little fluid. At one point he was married to Sammy Jo (Heather Locklear) and they had a son named Danny.

Blake and Alexis' daughter, Amanda, married Prince Michael of Moldavia. Their wedding ended up a bloody massacre, when revolutionists stormed it and sprayed the crowd with machine guns. At the cliff-hanging end of the episode, just about every major character was unconscious and many were covered with blood. But at the beginning of the next season it was revealed that nearly everyone had survived.

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford made a cameo appearance as himself on a 1983 Dynasty episode.

Wayne Northrop, who played upwardly mobile chauffeur Michael, originated the role of Roman Brady on Days of Our Lives. Roman was half of one of the soap's biggest super-couples -- the other half was Marlena (Deidre Hall).

In October 1991, Dynasty: The Reunion aired, tying up most of the loose ends left when Dynasty was cancelled.

Craig Hamrick has written several books about TV trivia. The three most recent, The TV Tidbits Classic Television Trivia Quiz Book, Big Lou and Barnabas & Company, are all currently available on Amazon.com.