Thursday, April 21, 2011

VIDEO: Linda Evans on Regis & Kathie Lee (1989)



Now here's a rare find - post-"Dynasty" Linda Evans chatting (in early 1989) to Regis and Kathie Lee Gifford on their ABC daytime talker about leaving the show that made her an international TV superstar.

As all of you probably know, Linda Evans asked Aaron Spelling to allow her to leave "Dynasty" while the show was still on air and she was granted that wish.

Evans was for the first time in a position to negotiate her exit during the 7th season (7 seasons is normally the extent of actors' original contracts in television business).

The producers who were trying to save "Dynasty" as it continued its slide in the ratings in the fall of 1986, managed to persuade her (as well as Forsythe and Collins) to stay another year.

A year later, however, Evans was exhausted and ready to move on. Meanwhile, "Dynasty" creators Richard and Esther Shapiro brought in their friend, "Dallas" producer David Paulsen in a last-ditch effort to salvage the dying soap.

Paulsen, who had to work around a smaller budget and saw little potential in future stories about Krystle, happily relieved Evans of her duties - after appearing in only 6 episodes during the 9th season, Krystle exited the series comatose.

At the time this interview aired, "Dynasty" had not been canceled yet, so there is talk of the producers leaving it open for "Krystle" to return. Within weeks, however, the series limped to a low-rated finale and bit the dust.

Evans, of course, did return to "Dynasty" one last time in the fall of 1991, when ABC aired that infamous (meaning horrid) 4-hour mini-series "The Reunion."

3 comments:

  1. LB,THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS GREAT INTERVIEW WITH US! I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO YOU AND REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR WORK AND TIME THAT YOU INVEST INTO THIS! YOU ARE THE BEST!GREETINGS TO YOU FROM SERBIA! MARIA

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're very welcome, greetings to Serbia!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gosh, how relaxed and confident is Linda on this video. I have never seen her so laid back in interview before, wonder if it was th euphoria of a change of life. I think too the hosts always set the tone and this is a relaxed environment - or so it seems. Thanks for posting this LB and greeting from England - on a very wet summers day!

    ReplyDelete