Charlene was the buxom blonde beauty who played wild child Lucy in the most popular prime time soap of its era.
Lucy was the estranged daughter of Gary and Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark), who stayed in Dallas and was raised at the Southfork Ranch by her grandparents when the Ewing family sent her parents to southern California, resulting in the spinoff “Knots Landing.”
“I did a couple of 'Knots' and then the show sort of changed,” Charlene said in an interview with the website www.ultimatedallas.com. “It took a life of its own, and very soon no mention was made of the life – or the child – Val and Gary shared in Dallas.”
“Dallas” was Charlene's first big break in acting. The four-foot-11 curvy actress was only 17 when she was cast as Lucy.
“Dallas,” of course, became a huge international sensation. It was the No. 1 or No. 2 rated TV show in the USA Seasons 4-8, and was a Top 12 show for nine straight seasons (1979-1987).
“I was so young and we were so busy working it was just a day to day [thing], staying busy,” Charlene said of not realizing the show's popularity at the time, in a 2007 interview with an Ireland TV station. “It certainly opened many doors for me. I was born and raised on the wrong side of the tracks in a horrible little neighborhood and I got to travel the world.”
As the youngest cast member, Charlene appreciated the experience of working with acting veterans such as Larry Hagman and Barbara Bel Geddes.
“('Dallas') was a great working experience,” she said. “Everyone looked out for me because I was so young. They also expected me to be a professional and do good work.
“It was a lot of fun. Patrick (Duffy) and Larry were always being really funny and cutting up. When we had the infamous mealtime scenes, food fights would inevitably develop.”
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Classic TV Beauties 1970s Countdown
CHARLENE TILTON as Lucy Ewing in "Dallas"
During the course of “Dallas,” Lucy skipped high school to canoodle with Ray Krebbs, whom she later learned was her uncle; she became engaged to a closet gay man; she developed a drug problem; she was kidnapped and rescued by her Uncle Bobby and Aunt Pam; and she moved to Italy.
“Lucy didn't have too many quiet moments, which was fun,” she told www.ultimatedallas.com. “Lucy needed a lot of attention and she needed acceptance which she would get through men.
“Look at all the things that happened to Lucy! She was abandoned by her parents, lived with this horrible uncle. She was raped, kidnapped, poor Lucy had a lot of things going on.”
Asked by www.ultimatedallas.com to name her favorite plot line, Charlene said it was the engagement to the gay man, Kit Mainwaring.
“He was trying not to be gay to please his family. His family were oil tycoons and J.R thought they were the perfect match,” she said. “So he tells Lucy that he is gay and that he's tried, so Lucy on her own says, 'No its my fault, I broke off the wedding,' I thought it was great, I loved it. It was before Ellen (DeGeneres), it was before a lot of the shows that handled the subject matter tastefully, wonderfully and it was way ahead of its time."
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Charlene never knew her father. She started working professionally while still attending Hollywood High School, appearing in TV episodes of “Happy Days” and :Eight is Enough.”
"Ever since I can remember thinking, my earliest thoughts are wanting to be an actress,” she said. “From a very young age I was always doing plays and local community theater and things like that and taking singing lessons and dancing lessons.”
She said that she read about the Lucy role in the casting magazine "Drama Log."
“I read the description of Lucy which was 'a manipulative little sexpot,' immediately I felt I wanted to do the part so I snuck into the studio everyday for two weeks until I got the part. There was a vulnerability to the character that I saw and I played that, as it was written she was just mean and nasty."
Charlene played Lucy from the series premiere in 1978 for eight season, until May 1985. She returned for the last two episodes of Season 11 and for Season 12. She left the show the second time because she felt the producers weren't utilizing her character.
Charlene said she was hurt and disappointed when Lucy wasn't included in the reunion shows.
During “Dallas” Charlene also remained busy with other projects; she appeared in episodes of “Laverne & Shirley,” “Fantasy Island,” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
After “Dallas,” Charlene recorded music as a singer, releasing a dance single, “C'est La Vie,” a No. 1 hit in Germany. And she appeared as herself in “Married... With Children,” spoofing herself as a spokesperson for the Abdominizer.
Charlene was offered the role of Rizzo in “Grease” during the 1990s, but she declined the role because her daughter Cherish was just starting high school.
Charlene has reprised her role as Lucy Ewing Cooper in the new “Dallas” series, airing in 2012 on TNT.
