Hello dear DWR friends:

Recently I wrote a Character Guide for my "Dallas" fanfic "Ewing Empire" and I thought that it would be a good idea to share it with all the writer pals here. I have adapted it to the "Dallas" canon, so to say (in my fanfic, JR committed suicide). Just keep in mind two things: everything happened after Bobby and Pam´s reconciliation in 1985, has been dated MINUS one year, due to the Dream Season débàcle. At the end you can see the "Dallas" timeline (the Dream Season or Season 8, 9 for Warners, is gone). Also remember that I have used all dates appeared in the show and also the Laura Van Wormer book (as referenced in the "Destination: Dallas" book by BR Bates), so in some cases, there might be contradictions. I have opted by one of the choices in these cases. Also there are small references to the new TNT "Dallas" and, of course, Gary´s family in "Knots Landing". Any correction is welcomed. I hope this guide will be useful to you! Good writing!

J.R. EWING (born JOHN ROSS EWING III, played by LARRY HAGMAN):

Born in Braddock, Texas, in 1939. He was 39 when “Dallas” began. First son of deceased JOCK EWING and ELLIE SOUTHWORTH. Married to SUE ELLEN SHEPARD (see) in 1971 and again in 1982. After their divorce in 1987, married CALLY HARPER (see) twice in 1988. He had an illegitimate son with VANESSA BEAUMONT, JAMES and another baby with CALLY, born after they separated in 1990. He had uncountable extramarital affairs with all types of women, from his secretaries to his own sister-in-law KRISTIN, who shot him in 1980 after being rejected and accused of prostitution by him.
He ran the family oil company until 1982, when his father´s testament put him against his brother in a battle for the control of EWING OIL. Although he lost, BOBBY (see) agreed to let him co-run the company with him until the government shut it down in 1986 for illegal activities. One year later, regained his properties and was accepted back in EWING OIL. In 1990 left to Paris and joined forces with ANITA SMITHFIELD to get his power back. Became the WESTSTAR president in 1996 but had to let EWING OIL in hands of BOBBY and SUE ELLEN. In 2011 left his retirement to stop BOBBY from selling the family ranch.

BOBBY EWING (born BOBBY JAMES EWING, played by PATRICK DUFFY):

Born in Braddock, Texas, in 1950. He was 28 when “Dallas” began. Third and last son of JOCK and ELLIE. Married to PAMELA BARNES (see) from 1978 through 1983 and again from 1985 to 1986. They adopted the son of late KRISTIN SHEPARD and JEFF FARRADAY, CHRISTOPHER (see) in 1981. He had an illegitimate son with JENNA WADE, LUCAS (see). In 2004 he married ANN RYLAND.
He worked mainly in the family oil company EWING OIL and the SOUTHFORK ranch, as well as in construction and politics. In 1990 he became the only owner of the ranch, and devoted himself to it. In 1996 he got EWING OIL back with the help of SUE ELLEN. In 2011 he sided with son CHRIS to help him in his alternative energy business.

PAM EWING (aka PAMELA, born PAMELA JEAN BARNES, played by VICTORIA PRINCIPAL and MARGARET MICHAELS):

Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1952. She was 26 when “Dallas” began. Illegitimate daughter of REBECCA BARNES and then Southfork foreman HUTCHINSON McKINNEY, who was killed by her presumed father DIGGER. Half-sister of CLIFF BARNES (see) and KATHERINE WENTWORTH. Married twice to BOBBY EWING, from whom she divorced in 1985, after a violent car accident that disfigured her face. Adoptive mother of CHRISTOPHER.
She worked at The Store as a fashion executive, running her own aerobics gym and co-directing BARNES-WENTWORTH OIL.

SUE ELLEN EWING (aka SUE ELLEN LOCKWOOD, played by LINDA GRAY):

Born in Corpus Christie, Texas, in 1948. She was 30 when “Dallas” began. First-born of PATRICIA SHEPARD. Sister of KRISTIN. Married to late J.R. EWING from 1970 through 1981, and again from 1982 through 1987. She also married DON LOCKWOOD in 1988. She had a son with J.R. called JOHN ROSS EWING III (see).
She won the Miss Texas contest in 1967, and, after her wedding, worked as a fund-raiser at D.O.A., ran her own company VALENTINE LINGERIE, and also became a film producer, a constructor, and years later co-run EWING OIL with her ex brother-in-law BOBBY.

CLIFF BARNES (born CLIFFORD BARNES, KEN KERCHEVAL):

Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1947. He was 31 when “Dallas” began. First-born of DIGGER BARNES and REBECCA BURKE. Stepbrother of PAMELA BARNES and KATHERINE WENTWORTH. Married to JAMIE EWING for a few months, before they separated and she accidentally died. Had a daughter called PAMELA REBECCA (see) with his longtime companion AFTON COOPER (see).
He is a lawyer employed in different public services like the Texas Oil Land Management, the Dallas District Attorney Office and ran for Senate and Congress. Worked with Senator DAVE CULVER, with BOBBY EWING when he also occupied a seat in the Texas Senate, and, eventually, at his mother´s WENTWORTH TOOL AND DYE. In 1982 began to run his own oil company BARNES-WENTWORTH OIL successfully. Sold out his company to WESTSTAR OIL in 1996, when he met his daughter again. He entered the lives of the EWINGS again in 2011.

RAY KREBBS (born RAYMOND KREBBS, played by STEVE KANALY):

Born in Emporia, Kansas, in October 19, 1945. He was 33 when “Dallas”. Illegitimate son of JOCK EWING and MARGARET HUNTER KREBBS, and presumed son of AMOS KREBBS. Accepted as a EWING in 1980. Therefore half-brother of BOBBY and GARY EWING (see). Married to DONNA CULVER (see) from 1981 through 1986. Married JENNA WADE in 1986 and became the stepfather of BOBBÝ´s son LUCAS. He had a daughter with DONNA called MARGARET (see).
He arrived at Southfork Ranch in 1960, and became its foreman later. Also tried luck in the land and horse breed businesses. Moved to Switzerland with JENNA and her children and, finally, he sold out his oil-rich lands. He returned to Southfork in 2011 to attend CHRIS´s wedding.

DONNA KREBBS (aka DONNA CULVER and DONNA DOWLING, born as DONNA McCULLUM, played by SUSAN HOWARD):

Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1951. She was 27 when “Dallas” began. Orphan since childhood, married SAM CULVER and then RAY KREBBS in 1981 and Senator ANDREW DOWLING in 1986. Also dated CLIFF BARNES before her second wedding. Mother of MARGARET, who was born she had already divorced from RAY in 1986, and stepmother of DAVE CULVER.
She led a political career under SAM´s wings, then wrote two biographies about her, continued her activist works at the Texas Energy Commission and founded her own oil company. Resumed her career when returned to Washington.

GARY EWING (born GARRISON ARTHUR EWING, played by TED SHACKELFORD and DAVID ACKROYD):

Born in Braddock, Texas, in December 1943. He was 34 when “Dallas” began and 36 when “Knots Landing” began. Middle son of JOCK and ELLIE. Married to VALENE CLEMMENS (see) three times: in 1961, 1979 and 1992. They have 3 sons: LUCY (see), born in 1961, and twins BOBBY (see) and BETSY (see) in 1983. Also married to ABBY CUNNINGHAM from 1983 through 1987. Has two stepchildren, OLIVIA and BRIAN, and another daughter, MOLLY, from his relationship with KATE WHITTAKER.
He worked as a barman, a car salesman at KNOTS LANDING MOTORS, co-ran a recording studio, his Californian WESTFORK Ranch, and several other companies, in Tidal energy and construction.

VALENE EWING (aka VAL, born VALENE CLEMMENS, played by JOAN VAN ARK):

Born in a small town in Tennessee in 1945. She was 33 when “Dallas” began and 34 when “Knots Landing” began. Only child of LILIMAE and late JEREMIAH CLEMMENS. Besides GARY, she was married to BEN GIBSON (presumably dead) from 1985 through 1987, then to DANNY WALESKA from 1989 until his death the next year. Mother to LUCY, BOBBY and BETSY.
She worked as a waitress until her second wedding. In Knots Landing she got her graduate certificate and began to take writing lessons. She published several best-sellers like “Capricorn Crude”, “Nashville Junction” or “Hostage”, partly based on her own life experiences.

LUCY EWING (born LUCY ANN EWING, played by CHARLENE TILTON):

Born in Braddock, Texas, in 1961. She was 16 when “Dallas” began. First-born of GARY and VALENE EWING. Married to MITCH COOPER from 1980 through 1982, and from 1985 through 1987.
After quitting college, she worked as a model from 1980 until 1984. Also employed as a waitress, invested on construction, helped SUE ELLEN to write a movie script about J.R. and then became an owner of an art gallery. Left to Italy in 1989 where stayed until 2011.

JAMES BEAUMONT (aka JAMES RICHARD BEAUMONT, played by SASHA MITCHELL):

Born in Paris, France, in 1964. He was 24 when arrived at Dallas. Illegitimate son of J.R. EWING and VANESSA BEAUMONT, and adopted son of SERGEI BEAUMONT. Found out the truth about his real father in 1988. Briefly married to DEBRA LYNN in 1987, with whom she had little JIMMY after they separated, not legally though.
He studied Business Management at Wharton and also was in a military academy. In 1988 joined J.R. at EWING OIL and thereafter lost his fortune on gambling and got a job at a bike repair shop. After his brief marriage to MICHELLE STEVENS, became co-owner of EWING OIL but ended up leaving it all for being with her wife and baby.

AFTON COOPER (played by AUDREY LANDERS):

Born in Biloxi, Mississipi, in 1963. She was 18 when arrived at Dallas. Only daughter of ARLISS COOPER and younger sister to MITCH. Lived with CLIFF BARNES from 1982 through 1984. Gave birth to their daughter PAMELA REBECCA (see) in 1985, after leaving her then husband HARRISON VAN BUREN III. She divorced him not long after, and returned to Dallas in 1988 with her daughter. But she and her ex husband made CLIFF believe that he wasn´t his father. J.R. committed her in a sanitarium later to keep BARNES out of his way. CLIFF and AFTON finally became friends again in 1996.
She is a melodic singer in clubs and hotels, and began her career thanks to JR EWING first, and then to CLIFF BARNES.

JOHN ROSS EWING III (played by OMRI KATZ and JOSH HENDERSON):

Born in Dallas in 1979. He was 10 when “Dallas” ended. Only son of J.R. EWING and SUE ELLEN SHEPARD. Has two stepbrothers, JAMES BEAUMONT and CALLY´s kid. When he was born, their parents thought that his real father was CLIFF BARNES, who had been involved with SUE ELLEN for months. A paternity test proved in 1980 that his real father was J.R.
He works in oil business as his father used. In 2011 planned to drill on the SOUTHFORK protected lands. His girlfriend is called ELENA RAMOS.

CHRISTOPHER EWING (born CHRISTOPHER MARK SHEPARD, aka CHRIS, played by JOSHUA HARRIS, CHRISTOPHER DEMETRAL and JESSE METCALFE):

Born in L.A. in 1981. He was 8 when “Dallas” ended. Natural son of JEFF FARRADAY and KRISTIN SHEPARD. Has one brother, LUCAS KREBBS. Was taken for J.R.´s out-of-wedlock son for a few months while his mother blackmailed the tycoon. In 1982 BOBBY and PAM found out the truth and some time later they became CHRIS´s legal parents. She gained his custody when the couple made apart in 1983. Right before PAM had a car accident, he learnt that he was adoptive. Both things traumatized the boy for years. His natural aunt LISA ALDEN tried to get his custody in 1987.
He also works in the family company EWING ENERGIES but prefers alternative sources to oil. He married REBECCA SUTTER in 2011 after having an affair with ELENA.

BOBBY EWING (played by JOSEPH & CHRISTIAN COUSINS):

Born in Knots Landing, California, in 1985. He was 8 when “KL” ended and 13 when the events told in “Back to the cul-de-sac” happened. Named after his “dead” uncle BOBBY. Has a twin sister, BETSY, and both were stolen from her mother by a corrupt doctor who sold them to a married couple. Later VAL got them back thanks to the help of her friend KAREN. Outcome of a night of love between divorced VAL and GARY, who immediately married ABBY CUNNINGHAM. Afterwards the twins had several substitute fathers, mainly BEN GIBSON and DANNY WALESKA. By then GARY had already realized that the children were his, and so did they.

BETSY EWING (aka BETH, played by KATHRYN & TIFFANY LUBRAN, AND EMILY ANN LLOYD)

Born in Knots Landing, California, in 1985. She was 8 when “KL” ended and 13 when the events told in “Back to the cul-de-sac” happened.

MARGARET KREBBS

Born in Washington D.C. in 1986. She was 4 when “Dallas” ended. Only daughter of RAY and DONNA. Named after her father´s late mother.

PAMELA REBECCA COOPER (played by JENNA PANGBURN and DEBORAH KELLNER)

Born, presumably, in Louisiana in 1985. She was 5 when “Dallas” ended. Daughter of CLIFF and AFTON. Her mother AFTON named her after PAMELA EWING and her mother REBECCA WENTWORTH. Met the EWINGS and her father in 1996, while living with JULIA CUNNINGHAM, and dated CHRISTOPHER EWING too.

LUCAS WADE

Born in Braddock, Dallas in May 1986. He was 4 when “Dallas” ended. Extramarital son of BOBBY EWING and JENNA WADE. Has one half-brother and one half-sister, CHRISTOPHER EWING and CHARLIE WADE.

CHARLIE WADE KREBBS (born CHARLOTTE WADE, aka CHARLIE, played by SHALANE McCALL and LAURIE LYNN MYERS)

Born in Rome, Italy in November 1970. She was 8 when “Dallas” began. Only daughter of JENNA WADE and RENALDO MARCHETTA. When she was born, her mother wrote BOBBY´s name on her birth certificate to prevent NALDO from taking the baby away from her. CHARLIE found it and believed that BOBBY was his father until 1984, when JENNA told her the truth and let her meet his real father. She was kidnapped by him not long after that to stop JENNA´s wedding to BOBBY, but NALDO showed up mysteriously dead. In 1987 CHARLIE was sent to a Swiss private school after becoming a rebel teenager.

JIMMY BEAUMONT (born JAMES RICHARD BEAUMONT II, played by KENNY & CHUCKY GRAVINO):

Born in Eastern US in 1988. He was 2 when “Dallas” ended. Only son of JAMES and DEBRA LYNN. His parents separated before she knew about her pregnancy.

CALLY HARPER EWING (born CALPURNIA ELIZABETH HARPER, played by CATHY PODEWELL):

Born in Haleyville, at the Texas-Louisiana border, in 1965. She was 25 when “Dallas” ended. Sister of Japhet and Boaz. Met and was romanced by J.R. in 1988 while she was waitressing at the town´s bar. After rescuing him from a chain gang and prison, her brothers forced him to marry CALLY, J.R. escaped and CALLY followed him. With SUE ELLEN´s complicity, she made him believe she was pregnant and married him again in Southfork. Two years later, J.R. divorced her ignoring that now she was really carrying his baby. CALLY lied to him and said it was JAMES´, but J.R. found out the truth and tracked her down: she was living happily with her baby and a new man in Palm Beach, Florida.
Apart from working in the bar, CALLY used to paint with watercolors and LUCY helped her to improve her technique and become well-known. She eventually ran her own art gallery in Florida.

DALLAS TIMELINE:

SEASON 1: 1978-9
SEASON 2: 1979-80
SEASON 3: 1980-1
SEASON 4: 1981-2
SEASON 5: 1982-3
SEASON 6: 1983-4
SEASON 7: 1984-5
SEASON 9: 1985-6
SEASON 10: 1986-7
SEASON 11: 1987-8
SEASON 12: 1988-9
SEASON 13: 1989-90
SEASON 14: 2011