In 2006, during the holiday season, a new acquaintance invited me to his holiday party in West Hollywood. At that time, I had only lived in LA for about a year and was excited to be invited anywhere. Little did I know that I was about to meet one of my favorite actresses from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and we would eventually become good friends for decades.
I was around 13 years old when the TV show "Dallas" premiered. I was immediately hooked after watching the pilot episode. For the next 14 years, I became obsessed with the show and its characters. I knew everything about the lives of the affluent and feuding Ewing clan, their family's oil company Ewing Oil, the conflicts over the family ranch Southfork, and all the cheating, blackmailing, and stealing among the characters. And then there was the mystery of "who shot JR?" I was completely consumed by trying to figure it out!
I adored all the characters on the show, but I particularly identified with one character – the sly, vixenish, and often frustrated heiress Lucy Ewing, played by the fabulous and beautiful blonde actress Charlene Tilton. She was not only super rich and gorgeous, but also had the ability to seduce any hot guy she wanted, as well as manipulate, cheat, and lie like her ruthless uncle JR. Loved her!
I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into my friend's holiday party and saw Charlene wearing a red sweater across the room! I was so excited to meet her and she turned out to be incredibly sweet. We hit it off and became instant friends. After chatting with her for a while, I asked her to take a picture with me, and that's the photo above on the right. It was an unforgettable experience!
Since then, she and I have maintained an extraordinary friendship. Apart from our occasional phone conversations and lunch get-togethers, we've also collaborated on creating a reality show for her. I helped cast her and her lovely daughter, Cherish, on an episode of "You're Wearing That?!?" She made sure that I was invited to see her fantastic performance in the stage play "Tammy Faye Tweets" and we hosted a viewing party for her appearance on “RuPaul’s Drag U” in one of the fun gay nightclubs in West Hollywood. Even though we don't see each other in person anymore due to her living across the country, we still stay in touch. For example, every year for the holidays and my birthday, I receive a lovely call or text from her saying something inspiring and caring. I feel truly blessed to have this special lady in my life.
This is why when I started putting together a list of potential guests for my new podcast show "Hollywood Obsessed," she was at the top of my list. It took a year for her to agree, but when she finally did, I was beyond thrilled! During our candid conversation, she shared some fun behind-the-scenes stories of playing Lucy Ewing on the 1980s prime-time soap "Dallas," as well as details about the rest of her incredible career. Click the links below to listen to them. Enjoy!
Episode 85 - HERE
Episode 86 - HERE
