Recently it has come to light that Carol Lynley was offered and turned down the role of Valene Ewing on TV’s Dallas. The show was filming on location in Dallas around summertime 1978 (after its brief run in the spring) and due to a personal comittment Lynley could not accept the role in the two-part episode “Reunion.” This was not Carol’s first big career mistake. Prior she turned down the role of Jack Nicholson’s sister-in-law in the acclaimed Five Easy Pieces (1970) because the producers were only paying scale.
There has been much message board chatter about Carol Lynley vs Joan Van Ark as Valene. Though I am a huge Carol fan and met Van Ark in person who did not impress me in the least, I agree with my friend that Carol would have handled the victimization of Valene on the Dallas episodes but not so sure if she would have excelled enough as Van Ark did to carry the spinoff series Knot’s Landing. What do you think? Post your comments if you have an opinion.
As a footnote when Lorimar Productions (who made Dallas and Knots Landing) came a-calling a second time Carol Lynley jumped at the chance to play the lead in Willow B: Women in Prison (1981) a TV pilot cashing in on the popularity of the hit Australian series Prisoner: Cell Block H that aired in late night. Alas Willow B was not picked up as a series.
