Because of her role as Sue Ellen Ewing on the popular soap opera Dallas, Linda Gray became well-known.
Despite having a successful profession, Gray struggled with a lot of personal issues. She remained on the show for over 300 episodes.
This is the tale of 82-year-old Linda Gray, who is still going strong today.
We have witnessed numerous instances of actors and actresses giving outstanding performances throughout the history of film and television. It seems to me—I don’t know about you—that the actors themselves were essentially built for the roles, and that no one else could portray them to the same level.
For instance, is it possible that someone other than Michael Landon might portray Charles Ingalls, the lead singer of Little House on the Prairie? Or would Mary Poppins have been as good if Bert hadn’t been played by Dick Van Dyke?
Ewing, Sue Ellen, and Linda Gray
There are numerous instances of precisely these elements, but let’s discuss one more. For my part, I find it impossible to watch the beloved blockbuster television show Dallas without Linda Gray in the lead role of Sue Ellen Ewing. We are thankful that she received the part, and I speak for many when I say that.
It would be accurate to characterize Linda Gray’s life as a roller coaster because it has been so unique. In addition to battling addiction and a potentially fatal condition, Gray also endured an unhappy marriage.
She has undoubtedly had hardships, but she has always overcome them with a deeper will to live life to the fullest and pursue a long and prosperous career.
Gray costarred with Patrick Duffy and Larry Hagman on Dallas. She now shares her thoughts on working with Hagman and the factors that contribute to their strong on-set chemistry.
On September 12, 1940, Linda Gray was born in Santa Monica, California.
Linda Gray’s early years
When Gray was diagnosed with polio as a young child, it presented a significant difficulty.
Her parents were shocked to learn that her grandfather had already been diagnosed with the virus. However, Linda didn’t think much of it.
She recalled, “When he was seventeen, they had no idea what it was, and he was constantly in a wheelchair.” “Everyone in my family went crazy when I got the diagnosis, but I wasn’t.” I believed I could use a wheelchair like my grandfather.
Her father owned a watchmaking business in Culver City, California, where Gray was raised. She has a natural talent for acting from an early age. She conducted street performances in her neighborhood. Linda played Cinderella in the production of Cinderella while she was a student at Notre Dame Academy in Los Angeles.
She and her sister Betty needed stability, which her father gave them.
However, Linda Gray stated in her 2015 book The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction, “He didn’t offer emotional support.” “This was a different time, but he was just kind of there, like a piece of furniture.”
“You didn’t bring boyfriend issues to Dad. God forbid. However, he encouraged me to pursue my career.
The opposite was true of their mother, Marge, a former ballerina and artist.
Due to Marge’s heavy drinking, the two young sisters eventually forced to take over their home.
Linda wrote, “There was never any yelling, and she wasn’t falling down drunk.” She was simply lost in her own world and would forget to buy food, so I took over the cooking. She wasn’t cruel. She was disliked by my sister and me.
Marge eventually quit drinking and joined Alcoholics Anonymous later in life. Linda thinks that her mother’s drinking was a result of her repressed creativity and disillusionment. She became adamant about avoiding her mother’s destiny.
“I thought the same thing might happen to me if I didn’t pursue my career,” Linda Gray said.
However, she had encountered a number of difficulties along the way. And as early as her twenties, the obstacles began to appear.
Marriage that is a nightmare
Growing up in Culver City meant being close to Hollywood, the global center of show industry. After school, Linda Gray and her friends would visit the various studios to sign autographs from celebrities like Spencer Tracy and Tyrone Powers.
Gray had aspirations of being a doctor from an early age. She soon realized she wanted to be an actress, though, after shifting her focus while growing up near the movie studios. When she was in her teens, Gray modeled for a number of airlines and cosmetics brands.
When Linda Gray married photographer Edward Lee Thrasher, she was just 21 years old. But for Linda, the marriage became something of a nightmare.
She put her career and desire to work in show industry on hold. Rather, she became a wife and later a mother. Jeff Thrasher, the couple’s son, was born in 1960, and Kehly, their daughter, was born six years later.
Linda claims that Ed didn’t speak much. Although the family relocated to Santa Clarita, where she currently resides, Linda was adamant about pursuing her own profession.
Linda described their marriage as emotionally distant. She felt left behind.
“I just thought, ‘Well, I can make this work somehow,’ even though it tore me apart,” she said. “I left my marriage after 21 years.”
However, Ed, her spouse, preferred a lavish lifestyle at home and didn’t want her working part-time. Linda saw it as an opportunity to enter the entertainment industry, and soon she was making appearances in TV ads.
Many of them.
Linda Gray’s professional background
In 1963, she had two brief, uncredited cameos in the feature films Palm Springs Weekend and Under the Yum Yum Tree.
Linda Gray secured a job that is now essentially legendary a few years later. She received $25 at the age of 27 to play Anne Bancroft’s body double in the 1967 movie poster for The Graduate, which starred a young Dustin Hoffman. Funny enough, Gray ended up playing Mrs. Robinson in the 2001 West End State production of The Graduate, and her legs may be seen in the famous picture.
However, she wasn’t adored by everyone. Gray included a letter of rejection from Glamour Magazine in the early 1960s in her 2015 memoir. However, it didn’t depress her in the least.
“I kept that letter because it was so funny,” Gray remarked. Since it was her view when I was twenty years old, and because I understood that everyone experiences rejection, I preserved the letter. It had the potential to ruin my life. However, I didn’t. This fierce side surfaced – “Oh, yeah? I will demonstrate for you! I held onto that letter with a lot of humor and love. I was kicked in the back, which motivated me to take action.
Although Linda enjoyed being a mother, she was also annoyed that she couldn’t continue with her profession. Her husband wasn’t pleased when she ultimately made the decision to enroll in acting school.
Dallas’s Linda Gray
She remembered that when the kids were in college, he suggested that she pursue a career in acting.
But at 37, Linda Gray went it alone and enrolled in acting lessons with a lot of younger people. After spotting Gray’s potential, actor Dennis Weaver helped her land her first actual acting role, appearing as a guest star on the television series Marcus Welby, M.D., in 1974.
Nothing would be long before things started to improve.
Gray was cast as Sue Ellen Ewing in the brand-new television soap series Dallas in 1978.She was initially intended to appear as a recurring guest in the first season, which consisted of five episodes, but she quickly became a regular cast member. In actuality, she became a star due to her performances.
Dallas was a show about corruption, treachery, deception, affairs, and scandals that took place on the Southfork Ranch. Television critics liked Gray’s performance, and the series helped her achieve great success alongside co-stars Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy.
There was genuine connection between Gray and Larry Hagman, and she became something of a sex icon on Dallas.
Larry Hagman’s relationship
Everything was unfolding right in front of the CBS executives’ eyes, and it was just magical. But according to Gray, there was no sexual chemistry at the foundation of the reality.
Gray remarked, “He was the bad big brother I never had.” In my opinion, he was constantly doing something incorrectly—drinking too much, for example—and I would chastise him. He enjoyed doing things that would drive me insane. I’d advise against eating that. Stop drinking; you don’t need that much sugar.
She went on to say, “He loved it when I was a pain in the neck.” He would intentionally do things to energize me. The filmmakers were simply amazed. When they called “action,” we would turn into J.R. and Sue Ellen, even though they thought we were crazy teenagers. It went smoothly. We have no idea what took place. It was pure magic. We were fortunate, and we felt that way.
Not only did television critics and industry officials give Dallas high marks, but the audience also adored it.
The show became one of the most popular things on TV after breaking multiple watching records. It remains one of the longest-running programs in the history of American prime-time television.
Television records in Dallas
Viewers were eager to know the answer to the mystery of who shot Larry Hagman’s character, JR Ewing, when it was revealed on November 21, 1980.
According to BT, the episode drew in over 80 million viewers, which at the time was the biggest audience for a single television show in America. Up until 121 million people saw the final episode of the sitcom M*A*S*H*, it was the number one show.
For her role in Dallas, Gray received nominations for two Golden Globes for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Gray’s successful tenure on the show culminated in her eventual divorce from Ed Thrasher in 1983. Jeff, her son, became a director, much like his mother had.
Jeff was nominated for an Emmy in 2018 for Furze World Wonders’ Outstanding Directing in a Multiple Camera Lifestyle, Culinary, or Educational and Informational Program. For his 2015 Mission Asteroid, he also received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series.
Son tragedy Thrasher, Jeff
But in 2020, tragedy struck when Jeff died after reportedly battling leukemia.
Linda Gray paid homage to her late son on Instagram.
“A commemoration of the life of my son Jeff.” Everyone loved him, and he was the sweetest, funniest, and most loving person in the world! “May his journey be filled with magic,” she wrote.
At 82 now, Linda Gray
On Dallas, Linda Gray starred in an incredible 308 episodes. But after the show, what did she do?
She went on to star in a number of TV shows, and when Dallas was given a two-season renewal in 2012, she played Sue Ellen Ewing once more. Additionally, Gray received a Special Award at the 2014 USA Film Festival.
She is eighty-four years old today. yet still has the same gorgeous appearance!
From her early years to her first marriage and the untimely death of her son, Linda Gray has experienced a great deal in her life.
One thing is certain, though: she has mastered the ability to deal with unfavorable situations and transform them into the energy she needs to continue.
For that, we adore her, and we hope the best for her in the future! Please tell your friends and family about this story on Facebook.
