Which Old Hollywood stars would you put into DYNASTY?

[Karin Schill]

Well I think a lot of the media hoopla was about that he had AIDS and he had kissed Linda Evans and they weren't sure how AIDS was transmitted back then so some people thought she might have caught it etc. etc.

Also Rock Hudson's guest stint on Dynasty actually made a lot of sense since his character was revealed as Sammy Jo's natural father and he was rich so it enabled them to revamp the Sammy Jo character completely!

 

[Willie Oleson]

How was she revamped?

 

[Daniel Avery]

She was able to quit that side-job catching crooks with William Shatner?

My timeline might be off, but I think RH had not announced his condition when he appeared on the show; his unhealthy physical appearance was enough to cause people to speculate, but it wasn't until after his time on the show that we found out he was in the midst of full-blown AIDS.

 

[Willie Oleson]

She was able to quit that side-job catching crooks with William Shatner?

But she could have followed in her daddy's footsteps and battle revolutions and stuff.

 

[Karin Schill]

How was she revamped?

She inherited a lot of money. Moved into her father's ranch house. Tried to run his business with horse breeding. Took responsibility for the son she had abandoned when he was a baby and had him move in with her. Lived in a relationship with Steven without having sex. She matured and became more respectable somehow. Sure she could still mud-wrestle with Fallon or such on occasion but I guess you can say that Sammy Jo grew up and found who she was or could be.

I think that's a far stretch from the model who was using sex to get what she wanted. She was greedy. Manipulative. Selfish. She was "trailer trash" when she came to town like Alexis called her. That's not who she was after she found out Daniel Reece was her father. She started caring about other people beside herself and became more sympathetic without losing the fun side to her personality.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

She inherited a lot of money. Moved into her father's ranch house. Tried to run his business with horse breeding. Took responsibility for the son she had abandoned when he was a baby and had him move in with her. Lived in a relationship with Steven without having sex. She matured and became more respectable somehow. Sure she could still mud-wrestle with Fallon or such on occasion but I guess you can say that Sammy Jo grew up and found who she was or could be.

I think that's a far stretch from the model who was using sex to get what she wanted. She was greedy. Manipulative. Selfish. She was "trailer trash" when she came to town like Alexis called her. That's not who she was after she found out Daniel Reece was her father. She started caring about other people beside herself and became more sympathetic without losing the fun side to her personality.

Totally spot on, Sammy Jo had the best character development in the series, she went from trampy teen to respectable, mature 20somethong businesswoman in a believable way.

 

[Willie Oleson]

She inherited a lot of money

But wasn't it the inheritance that triggered the scheme with Rita and Joel? I'd say that was Sammy Jo at her worst

 

[Ked]

But wasn't it the inheritance that triggered the scheme with Rita and Joel? I'd say that was Sammy Jo at her worst

Yes, but Sammy Jo realized that she had sunk to her lowest, and did what she could to make things better. I mean, she could have run off yet again, but by that time she had grown to care for Danny, and vice versa. And she obviously cared a lot about what happened to Krystle (she said right from the start Joel wasn't supposed to hurt her) and Blake (she certainly never wanted him to DIE).

 

[Willie Oleson]

but Sammy Jo realized that she had sunk to her lowest

I think she realized that things got out of hand, because of Joel, and she couldn't save Krystle without exposing her involvement.
There's a difference between not wanting to kill someone and to care deeply for someone.
But the thing that changed her (I think) is that the Carringtons were willing to give her second chance (or was it the third or fourth?) and perhaps this was THE moment to change her attitude, and let go of all the resentment towards the Carringtons and Krystle in particular.

I guess that's cool, but after that she didn't have any enemies at all - and that's not very soap-y.

 

[Ked]

I guess that's cool, but after that she didn't have any enemies at all - and that's not very soap-y.

Actually she still did: Amanda when they fought over Clay; Alexis (though it wasn't utilized); and Fallon when they fought over Jeff; but yeah, you're right, after all that, nobody was really against her.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I still crave the idea of bringing in Dame Judith Anderson as the grandest of all dames for DYNASTY, connecting her somehow to all the relevant families: the queen mother of Moldavia, Jason Colby's aunt, the grandmother of the Fallmonts, and the only woman in all of Dynastia who is more powerful and more cunning than Constance (who I still want to call "Rubenstein").

But what would Anderson's name be?

Anderson to Stanwyck in the '40s: "Contance, you're my niece but a whore... a dirty whore."

 

[Willie Oleson]

Shame Richard Burton was no longer alive, otherwise he and Liz could have played the Fallmonts.

 

[ClassyCo]

I'm bumping up an old thread because I've been skimming them during this slow day at work.

We've mentioned times in these DYNASTY threads about the possibility of Elizabeth Taylor joining the cast or being on THE COLBYS. There was a lot of speculation about Taylor joining DYNASTY back in the 1980s -- so much so, that she released statements denying the claims and asking the press to stop spreading the rumor.

So, this leads me to this question.

Was there a possible "beef" or friction between Taylor and Joan Collins? Collins was basically a B-movie alternative to Taylor (or that's how 20th Century-Fox allegedly viewed her in the mid-to-late-50s), and Collins says she was "on standby" to take over for Taylor if she were too ill to complete CLEOPATRA. You can see Collins' screen tests as the sultry Queen of the Nile online, but apparently the head-honchos at Fox didn't think Collins was a big enough box office draw to warrant her casting when producer Walter Wanger got the studio to increase the budget of CLEOPATRA and make it a much more opulent epic. Collins has said she brushed off Fox's intentions here, saying, "I can't do that. She's my friend."

Could there have been some rivalry between Taylor and Collins? Could Collins have held enough clout to keep Taylor off of DYNASTY? Was Taylor just flat not interested in the show, or possibly aware of the script issues?

What say you?

 

[Daniel Avery]

I can say in a general sense that stunt casting on shows like these could be....dicey. If you have a collection of stars already on the series, they likely feel a bit territorial about the show that provides them with the spotlight. If the producers bring in some big-name star who might threaten to eclipse their star power, to steal the spotlight, there might be trouble on set. In fact, one might expect those types of feelings from the established stars if this newcomer is hired for a more open-ended role.

When they sign such a 'name' star for a short, well-defined stint, the regulars might be less inclined to get upset, since everyone knew this "interloper" would be in and out. The stunt-cast would know just like everyone else that they're only there temporarily to complement the regulars and provide them with greater storyline potential, not to "take over" and push aside any regulars. Such "threatened" feelings can occur in any workplace, but they're likely much greater in a workplace full of inflated egos.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Taylor and Collins were friendly-ish.

As I mentioned above, after (or even before) Taylor did an episode of HOTEL out of perversity, the DYNASTY front office leaked a false story in the press that she was joining the cast; she released the point-blank statement that, "I am not joining the cast of DYNASTY and I want the rumor stopped."

Years later, Elizabeth was on one of those DONAHUE type chat shows where an audience member asked if she was going to do the nighttime soaps, DALLAS (which her son was on) or DYNASTY, and she responded chipperly, "no, no and no..."

Taylor was intelligent and conscious of 'story'. And while she undoubtedly watched those shows, she had to have been aware of the narrative issues with DYNASTY and likely wanted to steer clear of it. (Sure, HOTEL wasn't exactly Chekov, but it was a one-off through which she could show the viewer how thin she now was).

That said, @ClassyCo , she was the producers' first choice for Alexis and Lady Ashley. And that was just never going to happen. (If the show had been better-written or constructed, then maybe they might have reeled her in eventually for a brief story arc --- but only maybe).

@Rove ... I always thought this photo might've tapped into Joan's relationship to Elizabeth:

 

[Laurie Marr]

Didn’t Joan and Liz team up for Taylor’s last movie: ‘These Old Broads’’?

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Taylor and Collins were friendly-ish.

Agreed. They kind of moved in the same Beverly Hills / Bel Air circles. Joan is friends with George Hamilton, who dated Elizabeth in the 80’s (there’s a story in a book about either Elizabeth or Joan, that mentions Collins throwing a screening party for her miniseries Monte Carlo and Taylor showing up late for it). Joan is also friends with Elizabeth’s best mate Carole Bayer Sager, so while Collins and Taylor may not have been close, they definitely crossed over with each other socially.

If the producers bring in some big-name star who might threaten to eclipse their star power, to steal the spotlight, there might be trouble on set

Lana Turner joining Falcon Crest, much to the chagrin of Jane Wyman, being a prime example.

Didn’t Joan and Liz team up for Taylor’s last movie: ‘These Old Broads’’?

They both appeared in that film (although Joan wasn’t first choice for her role if I remember correctly).

 

[Willie Oleson]

there’s a story in a book about either Elizabeth or Joan, that mentions Collins throwing a screening party for her miniseries Monte Carlo

Cringe. It was such a vanity project.

 

[Julia's Gun]

Had she lived a few years longer, I could have imagined Gloria Swanson appearing in a few episodes playing Alexis Colby's long lost mysterious mother.
There would need to have been a balcony showdown scene, with 'Gloria Morell' ending up falling down the stairs...

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Had she lived a few years longer, I could have imagined Gloria Swanson appearing in a few episodes playing Alexis Colby's long lost mysterious mother.
There would need to have been a balcony showdown scene, with 'Gloria Morell' ending up falling down the stairs...

View attachment 55704

We've called her "Minx" Morell. And it could have happened: Swanson died following heart surgery 6 months after Alexis inherited Cecil's fortune on-screen! She had still been active and public up until then.