Linda Gray, who played Sue Ellen in the hit US soap Dallas, has revealed behind-the-scenes secrets as she auctions off memorabilia from the show.
Larry Hagman's peanut butter kisses
Gray, now 85, said co-star Larry Hagman, who played her on-screen husband J.R. Ewing, put peanut butter in his mouth while filming kisses because he hated kissing on-screen. "I had to kiss Larry with peanut butter, onions - whatever he could find in a jar [in his mouth]," she said.
Gray explained that Hagman, who was devoted to his real-life wife Maj Axelsson, didn't like kissing other women. She was close friends with him until his death in 2012 at age 81 from leukaemia.
Cast memories and Tennessee Williams
Gray also recalled Broadway star Barbara Bel Geddes, who played Miss Ellie, swearing when she forgot her lines. "Barbara was such a professional, but she did not like it when she messed up her words. She would say 'oh s***' and she kept going down her list of bad words," Gray said.
She remembered a phone call from playwright Tennessee Williams on set. "Once we were in Culver City and the phone rang and I said to her 'there is a man called Ten who wants to speak to you'. It turned out to be the playwright Tennessee Williams," she said.
Who shot J.R.?
The auction includes two of Gray's original Dallas scripts from the 'who shot J.R.?' saga. Gray recalled being asked if she knew who shot J.R., saying she told people she did, and worried her children might reveal it. "My heart was racing because it all could have been ruined. But nobody called, thank God," she said.
The famous episode, screened in 1980, was watched by 83 million viewers, making it one of the most watched television broadcasts in history.
Life after Dallas
Gray reprised her role in the 2012 Dallas reboot for two years. She has since appeared in Cinderella at the New Wimbledon Theatre in 2014, Hollyoaks in 2016, and the Amazon Studios drama Hand of God.
She said of the original cast: "When you put them together there was a wonderful assortment of actors and there was this bonding."
The auction, part of the Ladies of the 80s sale at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles, gives fans a final chance to own her costumes and props.
