Charlene Tilton – Exclusive Interview

DallasTVshow.com: Hi Charlene. How are you doing? It’s been a while.

Charlene Tilton: It has. I’m doing very well thank you.

DallasTVshow.com: We got some questions in from the fans…

DallasTVshow.com: We have just seen the memorial episode and thought it was absolutely amazing. What was it like shooting that episode? It was obviously quite soon after Larry had passed.

Charlene Tilton: Well on a personal level, because from the time I was seventeen years old Larry became like a surrogate father to me and taught me about the business and taught me about acting and taught me about behaving on the set. He was an amazing man. Also his main advice to me always was “Have fun – you are going to work really hard but have a good time doing it”.

Charlene Tilton: He was a surrogate father to me, I never knew my own father, I never had a father figure in my life and so Larry came along at seventeen years of age when I started the show.

Charlene Tilton: So on a very personal level I will never forget I got the call right after he passed away and they said “Where are you?” and I said “I’m driving” and they said “Pull over” and I said “What’s going on?” and they said “Pull over”. I pulled the car over to the side and the person that called me, I’m not going to say who — obviously in Larry’s inner circle, said “We lost Larry” and I just screamed, I was so devastated.

Charlene Tilton: I got myself together, I was only three blocks away from home and I went back home and called my daughter, she was in a recording studio and came right over. On a personal level it was devastating and honestly quite a bit of a shock because I had spoken to Larry less than a week before on the phone, we had a long conversation and he sounded great.

Charlene Tilton: He was very supportive of Cherish’s, my daughters, music and he always loved listening to her music. I went to his memorial in Los Angeles and it was very nice, we laughed, we cried, it was perfectly fitting for Larry.

Charlene Tilton: On the show I was very grateful that Cynthia, the creator, did bring Lucy back for J.R.’s funeral. I go up and say one quick line but at least Lucy is there to pay respects to J.R. and I was grateful to have that opportunity. You could see Lucy’s growth where she understood J.R. a little bit better. That was nice.

DallasTVshow.com: You were also in the scene at the Petroleum Club with the other former cast members where you remembered a scene with J.R. talking about Mitch and plastic surgery.

Charlene Tilton: Of course Lucy had to go to the memorial and the funeral. As I said I was grateful that they did give my character a chance to at least let Lucy pay her respects to J.R. So that was good.

DallasTVshow.com: What was it like meeting up with some of the other cast members like Cathy Podewell (Cally)? I’m sure you have not seen her in years.

Charlene Tilton: That was great, it was wonderful. It was great to be asked back because I think the fans are under the impression that Lucy is back but Lucy is really not back. There is really no character development for Lucy.

Charlene Tilton: I really don’t know if Lucy lives in Dallas, I really don’t know if Lucy is married or if Lucy has children, if Lucy’s successful, if she’s a drunken loser — I have no idea. I am literally just back to say goodbye to J.R.

DallasTVshow.com: So there has been no talk of character development at all for Lucy?

Charlene Tilton: No no. Lucy really isn’t back. I was just there for a brief moment, which I was grateful for. In the next episode Valene comes and I was sorry I really didn’t get to have any moments with Valene or Gary.

Charlene Tilton: I just come in with Valene and Bobby says “I didn’t know Valene was here” and I say “I didn’t either” and that was kind of it. I’m basically there for a second; if you blink you miss me.

DallasTVshow.com: How was it seeing Ted and Joan again?

Charlene Tilton: Personally it was wonderful. Like I said I just wish on the show we got to do more. Personally it was great. I do see Joan from time to time and I get to talk to her from time to time. I adore her. I adore Ted.

Charlene Tilton: It was great to see them personally but on screen there really wasn’t any real scenes between us or anything like that.

DallasTVshow.com: The fans obviously love Lucy. At this point how would you see Lucy fitting in if she did end up back?

Charlene Tilton: I have to say Cynthia has done a great job bringing Dallas back with these characters. I think any ideas she would have for Lucy would be great. As of this point I don’t believe there are any plans to bring Lucy back unfortunately, which on a personal note I wish they would.

Charlene Tilton: I think that Lucy is a great age and perfect to be a bridge between the original cast and the younger cast. I think there is still enough life in Lucy to continue to be a little bit of a wild child — Lucy might be fifty but she’s still Lucy (laughs).

Charlene Tilton: I love the fact… I can’t even tell you how much it means to me to hear from the fans every day that they wish Lucy was back on the show more. It touches my heart but I honestly don’t know what to say. Unfortunately Lucy’s not back.

DallasTVshow.com: You were asked back before Larry passed away — do you know if Lucy’s story was changed following that?

Charlene Tilton: I don’t know because I wasn’t privy to any storylines that were written before or what changed. I know Cynthia had to quickly turn out a script for the memorial and my word she is a prolific, prolific writer. She turned out a beautiful script, I have to say, to pay tribute to J.R.

DallasTVshow.com: A lot of people will be in tears after seeing that.

Charlene Tilton: You know it really was a lovely script. The script was amazing, Cynthia did an incredible job. I think she is probably in the top three writers for television, I really do. She is amazing as a writer.

Charlene Tilton: I’m thrilled that at least I did get to take part, however brief, in the memorial and the funeral.

DallasTVshow.com: It’s great after all these years that Dallas has meant so much to the cast that so many are willing to come back.

Charlene Tilton: Absolutely. It’s just the fans always say “We’re so glad you’re back” but in reality Lucy isn’t back. There is no character story there for her. I know nothing about Lucy right now. At one point Lucy had shares of Ewing Oil.

DallasTVshow.com: It does seem a crowded landscape on the show with a lot of new characters coming in. Maybe down the road.

Charlene Tilton: Look, it is the new Dallas, I’m not under any delusion. It is the new Dallas and I’ve been fortunate to pop my head into a few of the episodes just to a quick hello (laughs). So that’s nice. I enjoy doing that.

DallasTVshow.com: There have been comparisons with Ann’s daughter Emma being kind of like a young Lucy.

Charlene Tilton: (laughs) Kind of? Honey I read the script, I didn’t even know what she looked like but I said “It’s Lucy”.

Charlene Tilton: When we were filming J.R.’s funeral Marlene who plays Carmen was sitting and the girl who plays Emma in between us and Marlene leaned over and said to me “She’s you”, I said “I know” (laughs). She goes “She’s Lucy”, I said “I know…”

Charlene Tilton: I think the new cast are wonderful… and I have to tell you on a personal note every one of them is professional and lovely as people as well.

Charlene Tilton: I think Josh Henderson, if the show continues without J.R., is the perfect actor to carry the torch, I really do. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with him as an actor. He is so good looking and such a nice young man… There are big boots to fill but he can do it.

DallasTVshow.com: We now have J.R.’s “masterpiece” that involves Christopher getting a dossier on Pam, and Victoria’s statement that she won’t return. What do you make of that?

Charlene Tilton: I have no idea. I have not talked to Victoria in a long time but I thought Pam was dead in a car crash.

DallasTVshow.com: I think she ran off from the hospital.

Charlene Tilton: If they tried bringing Pam back as another actress, I don’t know if that’s the plan or not, but that’s going to be a tough one because I know the fans want to see Pam [Victoria Principal]. All I can do is go on Victoria’s statement that she’s not coming back.

DallasTVshow.com: Maybe that was a smokescreen (laughs).

Charlene Tilton: You know I have to tell you that my mind went there too. Cynthia has it figured out… she is one of the top writers right now on television, she’s an amazing writer — she will make it work.

Charlene Tilton: Personally I adore Victoria and I know the fans would love to see Pam back, at least however briefly. And hopefully, god willing, they can come up with a storyline for little Lucy (laughs).

DallasTVshow.com: Do you watch your scenes back and are you critical?

Charlene Tilton: Yeah I do watch it. I am hard on myself but I’m also honest… I’m not like Sunset Boulevard; watching myself at seventeen on Dallas with a Martini and a cigarette going “Arrgh look at me in that bathing suit” (laughs).

DallasTVshow.com: You said your favourite place is being on the set of whatever you are working on.

Charlene Tilton: Absolutely. I love being on the set… I just love working, I love being on the set — whether it’s a theatre, location, a studio, anything, I just love working.

DallasTVshow.com: You just did the web series Devanity.

Charlene Tilton: Yeah (laughs)

DallasTVshow.com: That was brilliant. I watched it — hilarious.

Charlene Tilton: Truly truly an amoral character… she’s sleeping with her nephew for god’s sake. This character I played was absolutely fantastic, I had so much fun.

DallasTVshow.com: And finally, do you have any messages for the fans?

Charlene Tilton: I want to say to the fans that their kind and lovely words to me and about the character of Lucy, honestly I can’t tell you how much it means to me.

Charlene Tilton: You have known me over the years and when you see me at Southfork you know that I am not kidding… genuinely the fans of the show mean everything to me… Everybody that watches the show, who remembers the original Dallas, I’m so grateful for and they mean the world to me.

DallasTVshow.com: Interview by Josh Eilberg & Colin Hunter.