Falcon Crest was located in the fictitious Tuscany Valley, which was the Napa Valley in Northern California. The series was filmed at the Spring Mountain Winery in St. Helena.
The show premiered on Friday, December 4, 1981, on CBS at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM PST, and remained in the time slot, for almost the entire run, after “Dallas,” except midway through the final season on Thursday, 9:00 PM EST/8:00 PM EST, which aired before “Knots Landing.”
The only Lorimar-produced serial not to be created by David Jacobs.
Jane Wyman and Lorenzo Lamas were the only actors were part of the main cast through out the entire series. Lamas was the only actor who appeared in all 227 episodes. Jane Wyman appeared in almost every episode, bar three, prior to the final season (due to temporary health conditions), and then sixteen more episodes during the ninth and final season (also due to health conditions and for producers/writers who wanted to use her show into a completely different direction). That gave Wyman a total of 208 episodes, which in turn means that David Selby beat Wyman by one episode, even though Selby didn't appear until the start of the second season, as he was present in all 209 from Season Two through Nine.
The pilot filmed for this show was titled "The Vintage Years." In it, Angela (Jane Wyman in a gray wig) has two children: the alcoholic Dorcas (Abby Dalton) and Richard Channing (Michael Swan). Richard is a Vietnam vet who fights for a place in his mother's good favor. Although there is no Emma, there was a subplot of a mysterious woman locked in the attic crying for her mother. In this version, Clu Gulager and Samantha Eggar played the roles of Chase and Maggie.
Clu Gulager and Samantha Eggar, who played Chase and Maggie in the pilot, "The Vintage Years", weren't rehired, so Robert Foxworth and Susan Sullivan took over their roles.
The producers considered killing off Chase at the end of season two, as Robert Foxworth was not happy with his role (he had complained about the series drifting away from the original vineyard concept). He was convinced to stay after he was offered the chance to direct some of the show's episodes.
Long before the show started, Jane Wyman had known Lorenzo Lamas since he was a baby, as she was friends with his family and with his parents, Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl. His father worked with her on “Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre.”
William R. Moses was the first choice for Lance Cumson, who lost the role to Lorenzo Lamas. Moses instead got the role of Cole Gioberti.
Ana Alicia wished the writers would create for the character of Melissa to have an affair with Chase. Unfortunately, her wish didn't come true.
By the second season, the show became more serialized and abandoned the self-contained episode format of the first season. When the show first premiered, creator Earl Hamner, Jr. stated that he did not want the show to become another soap opera like “Dallas,” however, by its second season, that is exactly what the show became.
Many of Jane Wyman's friends appear on the show: Cesar Romero, Eve Arden, Eddie Albert, Anne Jeffreys, Rod Taylor and Chao Li Chi.
When “Flamingo Road” was cancelled, David Selby got the role of Richard Channing, at the beginning of the second season, mainly because of his friendship with Earl Hamner, Jr., and he was also under contract with Lorimar.
At the end of Season 5, Jane Wyman was reportedly earning $3 million a year, 10x Ronald Reagan's salary, when he was President.
Kim Novak's dual role character in the sixth season was a tribute to her famous dual role in “Vertigo.” The scene her character has with Richard Channing at Fort Point near the Golden Gate Bridge was deliberately set there as an inside nod to a famous scene she had with James Stewart decades earlier on the same spot.
The role of Francesca Gioberti was initially offered to Sophia Loren. The producers of the show tried to lure her with promises of a fantastic wardrobe and a dynamic character that would rival Alexis Colby from "Dynasty," but contract negotiations with Loren broke down and the part was then offered to Gina Lollobrigida
Jane Wyman's son Michael Reagan had a recurring role as the concierge in a hotel.
Lorenzo Lamas' character is arrested and falsely accused of murder on four different occasions on Falcon Crest. Similarly, the premise of his future TV series "Renegade" is a fugitive running from the law after being falsely accused of murder.
After the series' cancellation, both Lorenzo Lamas and Ana Alicia remained very close friends. Alicia guest-starred on both episodes of “Renegade,” which also starred Lamas.
They were originally planned to have a tenth season, when CBS had already canceled the show, combined with both low ratings and of Jane Wyman's health problems, from which she had suffered for years.
Trivia items from IMDB
Listen to my fascinating conversation with “Falcon Crest” star Lorenzo Lamas by clicking on the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 27 - HERE
Episode 28 - HERE
