Linda Gray became a household name through her portrayal of Sue Ellen Ewing on the hit soap Dallas.
She stayed on the show for more than 300 episodes, but as much as she enjoyed a successful career, Gray also struggled with many things on a personal level.
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This is the story of Linda Gray, who’s still going strong today, at 82 years of age.
Throughout the history of television and film, we’ve seen actors and actresses deliver amazing performances any number of times. I don’t know about you, but in those truly stellar performances, it feels like the actors themselves were pretty much made for the parts, and that no one else could play them to the same degree.
For example, could you even imagine Little House on the Prairie‘s frontman Charles Ingalls being played by anyone other than Michael Landon? Or would Mary Poppins have been as good if someone other than Dick Van Dyke starred as Bert?
Linda Gray – career
She had two uncredited brief appearances in feature films Under the Yum Yum Tree and Palm Springs Weekend in 1963.
A couple of years later, Linda Gray got a gig that today is pretty much legendary. Age 27, she was paid $25 to be Anne Bancroft’s body double in the poster for the film The Graduate (1967), starring a young Dustin Hoffman. Gray’s legs appear in the iconic image, and funnily enough, she actually ended up playing Mrs Robinson in the 2001 West End State production of The Graduate.
But not everyone loved her. In her 2015 memoir, Gray added a rejection letter which she received from Glamour Magazine in the early 1960s. But it certainly didn’t bring her down.
“It was so funny that I kept that letter,” Gray said. “I kept the letter because I realized that we all have rejections, and it was her opinion when I was 20 years old. I could have had it devastate my life. But, I didn’t. This feisty streak came out – ‘Oh, yeah? I’m gonna show you!’ With great love and a lot of humor, I kept that letter. It kicked me from behind, and made me want to go and do something.”
Linda loved being a mother, but at the same time was frustrated at not being able to pursue her career. When she finally decided to take acting classes, her husband wasn’t happy.
Relation with Larry Hagman
Executives at CBS saw everything happening in front of their eyes, and it was pure magic. However, Gray states that the reality wasn’t build around any sexual chemistry.
“He was the bad big brother that I never had,” Gray said. “He was always doing something in my mind wrong – he was drinking too much, or whatever, and I would reprimand him, he loved that, he loved to do something just to make me crazy. I’d say ‘Don’t eat that. You don’t need that much sugar, and stop drinking.’”
“I was a pain in the neck – and he loved it,” she continued. “He would do things purposely to get me fired up. The directors were just in awe. They thought we were crazy teenagers, but when they said action, we would become J.R. and Sue Ellen. It was seamless. We don’t know what happened. It was absolute magic. We felt blessed, and we were.”
Dallas wasn’t only praised by television critics and executives in the business; the audience absolutely loved it too.
The show broke several viewing records, becoming one of the hottest things on television. Still to this day, it’s one of the longest-running shows in American prime-time television history.
Linda Gray today at 82
Linda Gray starred in a whopping total of 308 episodes on Dallas. But what did she do following the show?
Well, she continued starring in several television series, and in 2012, she returned to the role of Sue Ellen Ewing when Dallas was renewed for two seasons. Gray was also presented with a Special Award in the 2014 USA Film Festival Award.
Today, she’s 82 years of age. But still looks as stunning as ever!
Linda Gray has been through a lot in life, all the way back to her childhood, through her first marriage, and the tragic passing of her son.
But one thing is for sure: she’s learned how to cope with negative things and turn them into the energy she needs to carrying on.
We love her for it, and wish her all the best in the future! Please share this article on Facebook with family and friends.