From Dallas to Knots Landing: A Journey Through TV Drama!

Joan Van Ark, an actress famous for⁤ her part as ⁣Valene Ewing on the iconic 1980s TV show Dallas,⁢ became well-known. ⁤Her ⁣role in the spinoff Knots Landing really made ‍her a household name. Now at 80 years old, Van​ Ark is⁣ still living and happily married to​ her high‍ school sweetheart, with whom‌ she has one daughter.

In‍ a later interview, Van Ark took some blame for Knots Landing’s eventual​ end. She said that even⁣ though she appeared in just one‌ episode during the show’s ‍2012 revival,⁣ her biggest successes‍ happened during its original ​airing.

Van Ark’s family⁢ moved to Boulder, Colorado when​ she was young ⁣and this change had a big impact on her future career.

From early on, Van Ark wanted to be ⁤an actress. Her determination grew stronger after not ⁣being asked to the high school prom by the quarterback of the football team.⁢ Even though her parents⁣ didn’t know much about acting or movies themselves they supported her dreams and helped guide her along the way.⁢ Over more than 50⁣ years in showbiz, Van ⁣Ark has had a successful acting career across both film and television.

Her acting journey ⁤started when‌ she got cast as ‌a flower ‍girl ⁢in a ‌play after missing out on another part. She ‍loved it so much that she decided to take acting seriously! Soon enough it⁢ became super important in her ‍life.

After performing in Denver, Van Ark ​met famous actress Julie Harris‍ who pushed⁣ her to keep ‍studying acting more⁤ seriously. She ​was only the second woman ever admitted ‌into Yale Theatre School and also its youngest scholarship recipient!

Looking back⁢ at those early times, Van Ark recalled: “My parents ⁤took me to ⁤meet with the dean in New Haven after I wrote him a letter! He offered‍ me a scholarship which felt like fate.”

Van Ark made her first ⁢appearance on ⁣stage back in 1963 playing The Miser at Minneapolis’ ⁣Guthrie Theater. After ‌spending time at Arena Stage in Washington⁣ D.C., she headed south with Barefoot in the Park’s national tour group! In 1971 she made ⁤it ‍onto Broadway earning herself a Tony Award nomination⁣ for The School for Wives performance; plus she’s popped up on popular shows like Temperature’s Rising and Days of Our ‌Lives too!

As we entered into the ’80s Joan was still looking​ for that big break!⁤ In ’78 ⁢many guest spots as ‌Valene Ewing led directly into ‌getting casted onto Knots Landing.

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