Dallas
Register
Advertisement
Bobby Ewing 2012
Robert James "Bobby" Ewing
Occupation: Roadman for Ewing Oil;
Former Co-President Of Ewing Oil, alongside J.R.
Owner of Southfork Ranch 1991 - present (currently)
Marital status: Married
Spouse(s): Ann Ewing 2005 - present
April Stevens Ewing (1990) (deceased)
Pamela Barnes Ewing (1978-1983, 1986-1987) (divorced, deceased)
Other Relationships: Jenna Wade (on again off again)
Parent(s): Jock Ewing (father, deceased)
Miss Ellie Ewing (mother, deceased)
Clayton Farlow (stepfather, deceased)
Sibling(s): J.R. Ewing (brother, deceased)
Gary Ewing (brother)
Ray Krebbs (paternal half brother)
Children: Christopher Ewing (adopted with Pamela Barnes Ewing)
Lucas Krebbs (Bobby's son with Jenna Wade)
Other relatives: Sue Ellen Ewing Lockwood (former sister-in-law)
Cliff Barnes (ex-brother-in-law)
Lucy Ewing (niece)
John Ross Ewing III (nephew)
Bobby Ewing II (nephew)
Elizabeth Ewing (niece)
Molly Whittaker (niece)
Margaret Krebbs (half-niece)
Played by: Patrick Duffy (as adult)
Ryan Beadle (as child)
Appears on: Dallas (first series)
Dallas (second series)
Dallas:The Early Years (1986 TV movie)
Dallas:J.R. Returns (1996 TV movie)
Dallas:War of the Ewings (1998 TV movie)
Nobody has it all, you just have to play the hand you've been dealt.

–Bobby Ewing

Robert James "Bobby" Ewing [1][2] is the multi-talented, strong-willed son of Jock Ewing and Miss Ellie Ewing in the hit U.S. television series Dallas (1978–91) and its spin-offs, including the revived Dallas series (2012–13) and two films, J.R. Returns and War of the Ewings. He is also the brother of J.R. Ewing and Gary Ewing, and the husband of Pamela Barnes Ewing, April Stevens Ewing, and Ann Ewing.

Bobby was originally the roadman for Ewing Oil, but later became the co-president of the company along side his brother J.R., until Cliff Barnes took over their roles as company president. He currently owns Southfork Ranch, the home of the Ewing family.

Bobby is played by Patrick Duffy in both the CBS-TV series Dallas and the TNT network continuation series, as well as all the subsequent TV movies, with the exception of the 1986 CBS-TV movie Dallas: The Early Years, where he is depicted as a child in a cameo appearance by then child actor Ryan Beadle.

Personality[]

It stops right now. Pamela's my wife, and you're going to treat her with respect!

–Bobby to J.R. Ewing

Bobby's most defining character trait is his altruistic desire to do the right thing. This almost always put him in the cross-hairs of his older brother J.R., who was known as a conniving and ruthless oilman. Bobby has on many occasions used ruthless tactics in failed attempts to beat J.R.

Bobby vs J.R.

Bobby confronting J.R. Ewing.

Bobby was one of few people openly to take a stand against J.R. on numerous occasions (at times physically), yet the two never forgot they were brothers. In addition to the differences between their treatment of others, as well as their conflicting views on morality, another reason for J.R. and Bobby's rivalry was their father's preference for Bobby (their mother, Miss Ellie, favored second son Gary).

Growing up, and even into adulthood, Jock made no secret of the fact that Bobby was his favorite son and Bobby was very dependent on Jock's support in his fights with J.R. This caused a major rivalry with J.R., who was jealous of the unearned favoritism Bobby got from Jock. Bobby is known for his short temper and emotional reactions.

History[]

Early life[]

Bobby was said to be spoiled by his father Jock Ewing and was to be his father's favorite son. This caused rivalry between him and his mean-spirited older brother J.R.. His mother favored the middle son Gary Ewing. His father also had another son, Ray Krebbs, from an affair he had during World War II.

Bobby Ewing

Bobby in the late 70s.

Bobby met a girl named Jenna Wade, who became his on-off again girlfriend. They planned to get married, but Jenna ditched him at the altar to marry an Italian count, Renaldo Marchetta. Bobby found love again after meeting Pamela Barnes, and got married to her shortly before the start of the series.

Life in Dallas[]

Bobby brought Pam to meet his family, the Ewings, at Southfork Ranch. However, Bobby's family were dismayed to discover that Bobby's wife was Pamela Barnes, the daughter of Digger Barnes and the sister of Cliff Barnes, both of whom were arch-enemies of the Ewing family.

Dallas 1978 - episode 1x1 - Bobby and Pam Ewing

Bobby's first appearance, telling his wife not to worry about meeting the other Ewings.

In 1982, Bobby and Pam adopted a boy named Christopher, who was the biological son of J.R.'s deceased sister-in-law, Kristin Shepard. Pam had always wanted a child but was unlikely to be able to have one of her own, and sadly lost her first baby during an altercation with J.R. Then she went on to have a second miscarriage after falling from a horse.

After Pam's first husband, Ed Haynes, arrived in Dallas to get Pam back for financial gain, Bobby teamed up with Digger and Cliff and put a stop to his plans. After J.R. was shot, Bobby was one of many suspected of pulling the trigger, though it's eventually revealed the culprit was Kristin Shepard.

Pam 86 1

Bobby in the shower.

Bobby's sister-in-law, Katherine Wentworth, later had an unrequited crush on Bobby and began to become obsessed with him. Katherine broke up Bobby's marriage to Pam by writing a letter pretending to be Pam addressed to her lawyer. Bobby turned to childhood sweetheart Jenna Wade and they became engaged. Katherine ran Bobby down with her car, where he later died in a hospital from his injuries. However, a year later, the storylines of the preceding season, including the death of Bobby, were revealed to be nothing more than a lengthy dream of Pam's.

Bobby and Pam were reunited but Jenna discovered that she was pregnant with his child. Bobby wasn't interested in getting back with Jenna, and Jenna later gave birth to his son, Lucas Krebbs. When Pam was involved in a car crash which resulted in her suffering severe burns, she disappeared from the hospital and divorced Bobby and gave him sole custody of Christopher. Bobby became close to April Stevens and they began a relationship and eventually married. However, while on their honeymoon in Paris, April is kidnapped and later shot; she dies in Bobby's arms.

Knots Landing[]

Bobby accompanies his brother Gary and sister-in-law Valene to their new home in California. Some time later, Bobby visits Val in the hospital, where she is awaiting surgery. Bobby persuades Gary to support Val through her illness.

While Gary is at Southfork for the reading of Jock's will, Bobby reassures Gary about his upcoming inheritance and the strings that their father had tied to it.

J.R. Returns and War of the Ewings[]

In J.R. Returns, Bobby had a relationship with Julia Cunningham before taking over Ewing Oil.

In the follow-up film War of the Ewings, he is no longer with Julia and the reasons are not even explained. He eventually starts a relationship with European oil heiress Jennifer Jantzen, who was a business associate of his brother J.R. and whose father's company Jantzen Oil was saved from bankruptcy by J.R.

Between 1996 and 1998, Bobby is CEO of Ewing Oil. In 1998, Bobby retires from Ewing Oil and begins travelling with Jennifer Jantzen.

On the Dallas (2012 TV series)[]

Screen Shot 2020-02-19 at 12.10

"No drilling on my ranch!"

By 2012, Bobby has remarried again, this time to a woman named Ann Smith, and is the owner of Southfork Ranch, according to the terms of Miss Ellie Ewing's will (in the final season of the original Dallas series (ep. 353), Miss Ellie had deeded Southfork to Bobby while she was still alive, thereby suggesting a continuity error). Bobby has retired from the oil business, believing that alternative energy is "the future", a belief he shares with his now grown, adopted son Christopher, and is content to raise cattle on the ranch. He has decided to sell Southfork, due to his contracting a Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST); resulting fears that he will not be around to keep the ranch safe, and that Christopher is not yet mature enough to take it over from him.

Once again, this brings him into conflict with his older brother J.R. Ewing and his nephew, John Ross Ewing III (who has discovered oil on the ranch). Bobby is shocked and saddened when he finds out his brother J.R. is dead. When J.R.'s will is read Bobby receives J.R.'s entire boot collection on the condition that he keeps them cleaner than he keeps his own. Also, an old letter from Miss Ellie reveals that John Ross gets half of Southfork. Bobby doesn't agree but goes along with it for now, although it later leads to some disputes between Bobby and John Ross.



Quotes[]

"We'll always be brothers, J.R., but if you ever try and force me to choose... there's not a chance in a million I'd choose you or any family above my wife!"


"J.R., we've got enough problems without turning this into a Barnes-Ewing feud, now leave it alone!"


"Nobody has it all, you just have to play the hand you've been dealt."


"[Our enemies] in this world make up their own rules. If we play their game, if we become like them, we lose, we lose big."


"Good morning!"

Trivia[]

  • Bobby was killed off in the final episode of Season 8, and Patrick Duffy left the show for a year. Bobby returned to the show in the famous "shower scene" right at the end of Season 9. The subsequent "dream revelation" at the start of Season 10, wrote off Bobby's accident, his death and all but the final scene of Season 9 as a dream of Pamela.
  • As many storylines on Knots Landing depended on the actions of several characters following the death of Bobby Ewing in 1985, the subsequent dream revelation from Dallas in 1986 did not get applied to the continuity of Knots Landing. Bobby's return was never addressed or even mentioned and, following this, no further crossover storylines were featured on Knots Landing.
  • In the original series, the character's name was simply "Bobby" (his birth certificate is even shown stating "BOBBY JAMES EWING." The continuation series changed this, having his name read aloud at court as "Robert James Ewing."

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Chris B. (2012-060-08). Extra: TNT’s ‘Dallas,’ a Good Show Poised for Greatness. Dallas Decoder. Retrieved on 2012 July 20.
  2. "Truth and Consequences" (Dallas Episode), Dallas (2012 TV series)|, Randy Zisk (director), Robert Rovner (writer), aired on July 4, 2012 (US) Season 1, #5.

External links[]

Advertisement