 | |
| Valene Ewing | |
| Occupation: | waitress/author |
| Marital status: | Married to Gary Ewing from 1961-present with off-on relationship |
| Spouse(s): | Gary Ewing Ben Gibson † Danny Waleska † |
| Other Relationships: | None |
| Parent(s): | Jeremiah Clements (father)
Lilimae Clements, née Patrick (mother) |
| Sibling(s): | Joshua Rush (half-brother) |
| Children: | Lucy Ewing (born 1962) Bobby Ewing Betsy Ewing |
| Other relatives: | Joshua Patrick + (great grandfather) Aura Belle Patrick, geb. Wylie + (great grandmother) |
| Played by: | Joan Van Ark |
Valene "Val" Ewing (maiden name Clements, formerly Gibson, Waleska), portrayed by Joan Van Ark, is a fictional character in the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing, a spin-off from the long-running series Dallas, in which she also appeared. The character originated in 1978 on Dallas as the mother of Lucy Ewing and ex-wife of Gary Ewing (the second son of oil baron Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing). Van Ark made several guest appearances on Dallas before becoming one of the main stars of the spin-off Knots Landing in December 1979, though she continued to make small appearances in Dallas for the next couple of years. Van Ark played Valene in Knots Landing for thirteen of its fourteen seasons, which made her one of the show's longest running stars. The character made her last television appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. In 2013, Van Ark reprised her character for the new, updated version of Dallas.[1]
Valene's storyline in her first two episodes on Dallas focuses on the rebuilding of her relationship with estranged ex-husband Gary Ewing. When Valene arrives in Texas to find her daughter, Lucy Ewing, she is brought back into the drama of the Ewing family. Upon arrival, she is reunited with Gary with whom she slowly falls back in love. Once Dallas became a hit, series creator David Jacobs proceeded to launch a spin-off series titled Knots Landing, which would feature Valene and Gary prominently. The actress had strong input on how they would create her character outline. She recalled, "I remember going to wardrobe and getting a peachy pink waitress uniform, and the shoes. And then I was trying to get that Texas sound, her all important accent. And so we created her layer by layer."[2]
Van Ark received positive reviews for her portrayal of Valene, and received two Soap Opera Digest award nominations in the category "Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial". Greg Hernandez said, "Her character of Valene was a best-selling author, but her personal life was always a mess. She had her husband, Gary, stolen by another woman, then got pregnant by him, her twin babies were kidnapped by a crooked doctor, she was given a drug overdose at gunpoint by her ex-husband's fiancee, and she racked up enough marriages to give Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money. But she and Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) made for one of television's most beloved couples and the audience never stopped rooting for them to get back together."[3]
On October 17, 2012, TV Guide reported that Joan Van Ark and Ted Shackelford are set to return to Dallas, reprising their characters Valene and Gary Ewing for three episodes in the show's second season, which is set to air in 2013.[1] According to Joan Van Ark, she will appear as Valene in one episode only.[4]
About Val
Val is the wife of Gary Ewing and the mother of Lucy Ewing. Most of her actions on the show happened either off-screen or before the show began, such as her first marriage to Gary Ewing or the birth of her daughter Lucy. She is seen as a waitress and is introduced as Gary's estranged wife.
After remarring Gary, he and Val moved to a California home bought by Miss Ellie at a Cul-de-Sac there. Gary came up with the name, and called it Knots Landing.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Keck, William (October 17, 2012). Keck's Exclusives: Dallas Stages a Knots LandingReunion. TV Guide. Gemstar Media. Retrieved on 2012 October 18.
- ↑ Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Prime-Time Soap, pp. 28
- ↑ Hernandez, Greg (February 3, 2008). Chatting up Joan Van Ark.... Out in Hollywood.com. Retrieved on 2012 April 16.
- ↑ http://www.ultimatedallas.com/dallasnews/2013/02/06/joan-van-ark-talks-about-her-return-to-dallas-tnt/
External links
- Valene Ewing article at Wikipedia
