Joan Van Ark Didn’t Want Ted Shackelford to Play Her Husband on Knots Landing

They look too much alike and could be brother and sister. That should have gone with a man with darker looks for contrast.

He was so hot

R1 plenty of people who marry look like each other.

Ah, now we understand all of that plastic surgery. Riddle solved.

How’s she doin’ lately? Any updates??

She’s 81 and doing well.

I always thought he was such a 'bland' actor...a bit like John James on Dynasty...pretty enough but very limited

He had a great ass.

Hence why he was stuck in soaps

I wonder if they're too much alike is code for they had a fling while doing Wonder Women and she was spurned. Also "High Energy" in the '70s in Hollywood= coke fiends.

The first actor to play Gary (David Ackroyd) had dark hair and eyes. He was on Another World at the same time as Shackelford in the 70s.

R11 yes, we know. He couldn’t come back to play Gary because he was doing another project at the time which is why Ted was cast, after the showrunner watched that episode of Wonder Woman.

R10 it means they get on as friends or siblings, not lovers. They always were open about getting along amazingly and having that buddy type energy. They were never into each other like that.

I'm glad that Joan didn't get her way. Teen me jacked off many times to shirtless Ted

She feared their buddy vibe in real life would seep through while filming and them as a couple wouldn’t be believable. She wanted to make sure they really felt like a couple so it’s believable since the show could go on for years (which it did, 14 at that).

That’s why actors act and producers produce and make the casting decisions

That’s what Joan Van Ark used to look like?!

I agree with Joan. I always thought David Ackroyd was a much better actor and in his episodes on [italic]Dallas[/italic] you really could see him as a tortured, black-sheep alcoholic. Yet sexy.

Ted is terminally snore inducing.

I think the blond hair suited Gary-in Val’s mind, he was this breathtaking, All American prince, and the hair/coloring reinforces it.

You really see this when Gary shows up at Val and Ben’s wedding, and wishes Val happiness. Gary is wearing a white sweater and pants, and kisses Val’s hand.

That said, Ackroyd was a much stronger actor.

R19 none of what you said had anything to do with his hair color… which isn’t his choice as he’s an actual blonde. Unlike you, he didn’t need to use dye.

Every other man Val gets with is brunette.

This isn’t about Joan and Ted, but another Knots Landing couple—Laura and Richard in the early years. She was far too good looking to be with that petulant little man. I did enjoy their dynamic as a couple. To me, the Averys were always the most interesting couple on the show. This was before Knots went off the rails and became a soap.

A lot of couples are mismatched physically. Especially back then. The internet has warped r21 brain.

Sweetpea, just shut up and cash the checks.

Studios will never cast a love triangle like Abby/Gary/Val again where all 3 principals are blonde and blue eyed. Ted had incredible chemistry with both leading ladies- Joan was his soul mate and Donna was danger and excitement. Gary and Valene’s tortured love story really fueled so much of Knots’s best storylines and moments. So glad Ted was cast. He was hot AF.

I think r20 got into Karen’s stash of Escandine. That shit will make you a very bitter bitch.

They barely allow a love triangle to happen where everyone is white. Which is laughable as over 80% of white men are with white women

Speaking of that, wasn't one of the reasons Lynne Moody supposedly left/was written off KL was because they chickened out on the idea of Pat Williams and Gary?

They hinted at having Pat and Gary have an affair on the show which was the direction the writers were going in but that was put to a stop to avoid backlash from viewers. The ratings were already on the decline and they didn’t wanna alienate even more of their viewers.

They ended up having teenagers Julie and Jason be an interracial couple briefly.

I honestly doing Richard hot in a sleazy way. He looked like he had a nice 8 incher.

He honestly looked like the men you see in 1970s straight porn flicks.

Found*

They look like siblings.

R31 that was her point

I disagree that Richard was not attractive. I found him hot in a very unconventional way.

People used to break big news. Now, it sources actors’ podcasts.

They ran out of stuff for Pat to do

The whole witness relocation story was a mess

Poor Larry Riley died in real life. Watching him waste away was painful

They write Julie off to go visit an aunt. Then, I guess Frank joined her.

Yes. But Frank and Julie left two seasons after Pat died.

Lynne should have hung around

Nah. I liked it more after she left

We won’t pass this way again.

[quote]That’s what Joan Van Ark used to look like?!

They don't look alike anymore.

^ She now looks like a Canadian on South Park.

I think Joan was also concerned that most people would think Ted looked like her father, as she was so youthful looking.

Ted's Gary being fair-haired set him apart from JR and Bobby, and was more illustrative of his characterized sensitivity that made him Miss Ellie's favorite, and Jock's least.

R40 What in God's name happened to her face?!

Why didn't she slip in her dentures before that photo was taken?

Oh no! I loved her on KL. RIP.

Which one in OP’s pic is Ted?

She clearly got over her negativity about him.

He wasn't shy back in the day. I remember how the sight of him shirtless used to set my young loins aflame.

R3 Especially gay ones.

As much as I love Knots I would have loved to have seen what Val and Gary could have offered to Dallas over the long haul.

Richard Avery definitely looked like the dirty daddy you'd see at the adult bookstore, hauling out a huge slab.

Van Ark has always seemed like a very insecure woman, not comfortable with her looks, her acting talent or out of the spotlight. The comment strikes me as another attempt by Van Ark to keep her name in the news. She spent 45 years portraying that she and Shackleford were bosom buddies and suddenly reveals that she didn't really want him in the role of Gary?

Joan Van Ark should stick to licking Julie Harris’ pussy, and leave casting decisions to the professionals.

I think Joan said a while ago she didn't want Ted as Gary based off their Wonder Woman; they DID look like siblings sometimes.

I think she should have been nominated and even won the Emmy for the baby stealing storyline. When Dr. Ackerman told her that the babies were gone? Her reaction was amazing.

The transformation of Val to Verna in the mirror was powerful too. She said in an interview it was her favorite moment.

If I could only watch one PT soap, it'd be Dallas.

Hagman, Gray, Principal, Kercheval (where was his EMMY??), Duffy, Bel Geddes...all top notch.

Great story.

That said, I'm not sure I wouldn't be KNOTS in my favorite spot on a given day. Stephanie Beacham was a joy to watch on The Colbys and Dynasty.

Ditto: Ana Alicia on FC.

What a great era.

Now, we wait two years for the next White Lotus and, thanks to this season, we're gun shy about the next one being as good.

She was such a beauty when she was younger. Really top notch. Too bad she couldn't let herself age gracefully.

R52 how slow are you?