Tune in to see Linda Gray, aka Sue Ellen on the new Dallas Series—June 13, 2012 on TNT
Linda Gray was best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, J.R.’s long-suffering alcoholic wife, in the CBS drama series Dallas. Initially a recurring guest role for the five-episode first series, Gray became a series regular and remained with the show until 1989. Her character was well received by television critics. “Who could ever forget Dallas with the gin-swilling Sue Ellen Ewing, complete with shoulder pads long before Dynasty, staggering around Southfork Ranch with a permanently tearful expression as she suffered the brunt of J.R. Ewing’s evil ways?” ~The Biography Channel
“It may be 2009 and seventeen years since the primetime drama Dallas went off the air, but memories of the Ewing family still linger. Corruption and betrayal, lies, greed, affairs and scandal — all were just part of another day at the Southfork Ranch. At the center of it all was one of our favorite Ewings, the person we couldn’t help but root for each week as she drank and slept her way through one ordeal after another. This of course, was the tortured and (sometimes) villainous Sue Ellen Shepard Ewing, former Texas beauty queen and trophy wife of the womanizing rouge J.R. Ewing, played to perfection by actress Linda Gray.” ~ The Boulevard Magazine
Gray was nominated for two Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on Dallas. She also received numerous international awards including Germany’s Bambi Award, Italy’s Il Gato and she was named Woman of the Year by the Hollywood Radio & Television Society in 1982.
Charities have long been a big part of Linda Gray’s Life….
Gray was the United States Goodwill Ambassador from 1997 to 2007. She was involved in women and children’s health issues and traveled globally to speak to women about how the U.N could assist in their issues as mother’s. Sitting face to face with them in their villages.
Best Buddies programs for people with intellectual challenges is one of Linda’s favorite charities. Linda and her son took part in a bike ride from the JFK Library to the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port as part of the Hyannis Port Challenge Ride, which benefits The Rosemary Fund that gives grants to Best Buddies.
Ford Motor Company donated ground up tires for the riding arena at RIDE ON … a program that gives horseback rides to those who are physically challenged. The rubber in the arenas gave a smoother ride for the individuals and the horses.
The Gift of Gratitude:
Linda Gray tells A Distinctive Style what moves her and keeps her moving…
Interview with Linda Gray From A Distinctive Style Magazine Spring 2012 Edition
By Karen Soltero
Many people have asked actress Linda Gray, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing on the iconic show, Dallas, what her secret is. That secret keeps a woman beautiful. The one that makes a woman gracious, humble and giving, and helps to ensure a long career and a healthy dose of success. And though she doesn’t claim to have a secret, after a little time listening to her speak from the heart, it all seems to come down to one word – gratitude. Something this talented and gracious woman has in spades. Almost every day, Gray’s morning begins with what she calls a “gratitude walk.” An hour to spend thinking about the things most of us forget in our daily lives that we should be grateful for. For Gray, gratitude begins with those little things, the ability to walk, the hot water in her shower, and it stretches to reach well beyond, into career, personal life and her experiences in the world. If it is indeed the secret to success, happiness and beauty, well then, it’s working.
This summer, TNT will introduce a new crop of television viewers to the Ewing family, as they take us back to Southfork Ranch to see what our favorite characters from the original Dallas series have been up to over the intervening two decades since the show went off the air, and to meet the next generation. The new cast includes 71 year-old Gray, back to reprise the role of Sue Ellen Ewing. “It was very surreal to be invited back after being off the air for twenty years, and then come back and be the same character. I don’t know many actors that get that job,” Gray explains, going on to talk about how she relishes the opportunity to work with fellow actors Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy, still great friends after so many years. She notes that if it weren’t for a rebirth of the show, “We would never ever in our careers ever work together again, because nobody would hire us, the three of us.” Too recognizable as Sue Ellen, J.R. and Bobby, they’ve been given a rare opportunity. “How much fun it is to be together and how blessed we are. This is a gift. Honestly, it’s a gift.”