The Divas of ‘Dynasty’ 1981-89

'80s Ladies: 'Dynasty' stars Linda Evans, Pamela Bellwood, Heather Locklear, Pamela Martin, & Joan Collins.

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Part 2 of a 3 Part Series

Despite the ever-changing ensemble Dynasty cast, the women of Dynasty are what made the show must-see TV, specifically, the mature stars: Joan Collins, Linda Evans, Diahann Carroll, and Stephanie Beacham.

Clothes & character: Pristine white for pure Krystle, beige for good/bad Dominique, & pure black for evil Alexis.

Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knot’s Landing, and other soaps all gave female stars over 40 the chance to strut their stuff and sink their teeth into juicy roles. Still, I find it funny that Joan Collins, in recent interviews, claims that her signature role Alexis wasn’t just a bitch, but a strong, independent woman. Alexis, who deliberately caused Krystle to lose her baby, went along with a plan to poison Jeff, slept with Blake’s adversaries to one-up him, and was hell-bent on destroying her ex-husband for divorcing her, though she was repeatedly unfaithful to him. That’s just for starters. Strong? Sure. Role model? Hardly.

The windswept big hair looked lovely on Linda, a change from her faux Farrah do as Krystle, but it didn't last long!

Linda Evans, as Krystle Carrington, was perfect casting as the Denver Cinderella. Angie Dickinson was apparently first choice, but she was too street smart for too good to be true Krystle. Angie was also over a decade older than Linda, two years older than Joan Collins, and Krystle was supposed to be the second, younger wife. Blake wouldn’t have picked a 50+ secretary as his trophy bride. However, Angie might have made a great Alexis! Evans had no great range as an actress, but she was sincere, warm, spirited, and bright. At nearly 40, Linda Evans was also a striking beauty, with glowing blue eyes. When designer Nolan Miller was at his best, Linda wore simple, sleek, sporty outfits that showcased her athletic figure and character’s straightforward personality. In the more believable moments of Krystle’s character, like losing her baby, Evans is effortlessly believable and genuinely touching. Most of all, Linda’s rapport with co-star and TV husband John Forsythe grounded the show in its soap opera reality.

Nolan Miller with two of his favorite stars,
Linda Evans & Barbara Stanwyck.

Still, Linda’s limitations as an actress were apparent in Season 6 of Dynasty with the crazy Krystle kidnapping storyline. Aside from absurd George Hamilton inspiring hilarity instead of fear as the crazed kidnapper, there’s petulant Heather Locklear as Sammy Jo, still learning to act. Then there’s poor Linda, as Rita, the world’s oldest aspiring starlet. The huge red wig, brassy makeup, and tacky outfits make Linda look like a cross between Tootsie, Caitlyn Jenner, and Patrick Swayze in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, all rolled into one. The group attempt to groom Rita into Krystle is like watching an old Batman episode.

Mastermind Sammy Jo plants the idea to "Rita" about impersonating Krystle. Evans looks like a female impersonator!

'Rita' looks more like Kaitlyn than Krystle!

'Rita' on the Swayze train?!

Dynasty’s greatest feat was turning Joan Collins into a genuine star at nearly 50. As Alexis, Collins’ flair for bitchy comedy was a perfect contrast to Evans’ sincere Krystle. Collins’ broad dramatic acting was perfect as the soap became more camp, but she was also able to tone it down when needed. It was only when Joan had to express genuine emotion, like when daughter Fallon is thought dead that Collins is a bit flat. Empathy was never Joan’s strong suit as an actress.

The quest for the perfect Krystle includes a nose job, which makes Evans look even more bizarre!

I have a name, too. It's Krystle, capital K-R-Y-S-T-L-E!

Pictures of Joan as the early Alexis makes me think of Cher’s comments about her own early days on TV, when there was no budget for extra beads and sequins! Collins’ ex-Carrington makes due on $250 grand a year, so she wears filmy frocks and peasant blouses for her first season. Once Alexis becomes a bride and wealthy widow, then Dynasty’s ratings soared, and that is when Collins’ Mrs. Colby’s couture suddenly goes cuckoo.

Joan Collins in her prime as stylish siren Alexis.

Joan Collins became fur-ocious as Alex, flaunting a flurry of furs, hats, and even muffs.
At times, Alexis is so engulfed by fur, she looks like Denver's Catherine the Great!

Alexis, a big wig in jail!

Alexis out of her mind with grief, in her own hair!

Early Alexis, with more face, and less war paint!

I’m in the minority here, but I prefer Joan’s makeup as the early Alexis. For one, you can actually see Collins’ eyes! Most of all, though she’s not makeup-free, you can see that Joan Collins looks like as a beautiful, mature woman. As the seasons go by, Joan starts going the Joan Crawford route, painting on makeup outside the lines. Also, Joan’s own hair is seldom seen again, replaced by increasingly elaborate wigs.

Here, latter day Alexis looks like a cross between mid-life Mame or Fanny Skeffington!

Two moments that put Collins on the map as the female J.R. Ewing, from her first season. The first was the most chilling, when Alexis deliberately firing her skeet rifle to trigger pregnant Krystle’s bumpy horseback ride. And Alexis shows almost zero remorse! The other is Alexis’ hospital bedside wedding to Blake’s adversary, Cecil Colby, who has great wealth and a poor heart.

Diahann Carroll as Dominique Deveraux, fierce & fabulous as TV's first black soap diva!

Diahann Carroll, who approached the show to be cast, in her own words, as television’s “first black bitch,” was inspired casting as Dominique Deveraux. The singer/actress, who aged beautifully until her recent death, was in fine form in her 50s. Carroll looked like a million as the willful Dominique, and her fierce emoting at times reminded me of latter day Lena Horne’s performing style. Carroll got some juicy story lines and she gave it her all as yet another long-lost Carrington. Dominique wasn’t truly a bitch, like Alexis. But Carroll’s character was fiery, blunt, and determined. As for her style, Carroll had the face and figure to more than hold her own with Evans and Collins. With those huge brown eyes, cheekbones, and pouty mouth, Dominique was a diva to be reckoned with.

Diahann looking divine!

Stephanie Beacham as Sable isn’t one of my favorite characters, though I realize she won a lot of fans on Dynasty and The Colbys. Beacham certainly gave Sable brisk energy, embraced the show’s house style, and had the body and hair to go big. Beacham was certainly brittle as the often snarky Sable and snapped her lines like celery stalks!

Stephanie Beacham chic as Sable.

When I originally watched Dynasty, I thought Pamela Sue Martin was light weight as rebel daughter Fallon. Maybe that’s because I never saw Emma Samms’ take on Fallon, until recently. By today’s standards, Martin’s glamour and acting feels more natural than the rest of the female cast. She’s smart and up to the bitchy princess attitude. Still, I like her better when she accepts Krystle and acts like a normal person. Martin navigated her character from flippant to flirty to bitchy and bratty very well. Martin’s rapport with her TV family seemed genuine, which is key to this type of show. While I used to like Samms on General Hospital, the writers had made Samms’s Fallon weepy and whiny. Her inexplicable British accent didn’t help, either.

Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon, sorting her feelings in the family tree. See, rich people are just like us, underneath it all!

First Fallon and the replacement model. 

Emma Samms, who filled out the role
of Fallon only physically.

Who wore Fallon’s famed glittering red dress best? Well, Emma Samms definitely filled it out better, but didn’t play Fallon’s part better! Samms actually resembled a kewpie doll version of Elizabeth Taylor. Then there was Susan Scannell’s darling Nicki—the unfortunately named Nicole Simpson! With her red hair and kewpie doll makeup, Nicki “surprised” Jeff by trying on departed Fallon’s baubles and sequins. Even more hilarious is when Blake was gifted a portrait of Fallon wearing that glitzy red dress, only later to have Pamela Sue Martin’s head replaced with that of Emma Samms. Emma was left with Martin’s waifish body, and robbed of her bodacious bosom!

Nikki, aka Nicole Simpson!, has a 'Rebecca'
moment when she tries on the first wife's dress!

That dress made the rounds!

Sammy Jo arrives at the Carrington's Denver mansion, apparently from Hazzard County!

Krystle’s niece, Sammy Jo, was first depicted as a free-spirit with rough edges. She arrives at the Carrington manse for her introduction in hot pants (inappropriate to meet a millionaire, unless he’s Jeffery Epstein) and later slides down the banister in spandex pants. Sammy Ho, as we used call her, also has the appetite of a truck driver, and about the only one who ever really ate from the Carrington breakfast buffet. I rolled my eyes when she squeezes two big sausages into a single bun, and into her mouth, which about sums up Sammy’s appetites. Later, when she reveals her claws as sort of a countrified Alexis, Sammy Jo memorably barks out orders to bring her the financial paperwork AND a grilled ham and cheese—her fave!

Sammy Jo takes time out from scheming with a movie rag and grilled ham and cheese!

Heather Locklear as Sammy Jo was truly awful in her first seasons as the hillbilly hussy. Her early line readings were utterly amateurish and sounded dubbed, to boot. I recall reading that ABC bosses strongly urged Heather to take acting lessons. Whatever the case, Heather Locklear became a better bitch as the show went on, and Sammy Jo eventually became more sympathetic. Later, a much improved Locklear showed her comic chops on Spin City and then was a hit as head bitch Amanda on Melrose Place.

That's one way to clean a banister, with Spandex!

Pamela Bellwood was actually very good as Claudia Blaisdel, wife of oil wildcatter and one-time employee of Blake Carrington, Matthew Blaisdel. But frankly, the character of neurotic Claudia should have disappeared with Matthew and her daughter. Bellwood’s earnest emoting was more in keeping with the original show. Keeping Pamela and trying to remake her in the show’s later stylized image was like casting Sandy Dennis in a glamour role!

Pamela Bellwood played Claudia Blaisdel, the resident crazy lady of 'Dynasty.'

Ali MacGraw probably wasn’t the best fit for Dynasty, hence her character’s demise in the Moldavian massacre. I’ve never thought MacGraw was much of an actress. So, I was pleasantly surprised that her low-key, sophisticated, amused presence was refreshing, in contrast to Nolan Miller’s drag queen show. MacGraw, as Lady Ashley, was brought in the 5^th season, just as Rock Hudson joined in, both to tempt Blake and Krystle away from their wedding vows. Frankly, I didn’t think either new character was up to the task. But I did like Ali’s natural acting, not attempting to go over-the-top, which was now Dynasty’s house style. I also like that she remained simply dressed and coiffed. Also entertaining is Lady Ashley’s amused interactions with Alexis, which was also a change of pace. Sadly, MacGraw’s Lady Ashley was one of the few characters eliminated, when hers is one of the few that should have lived!

Ali MacGraw was classy but even more short-lived
on 'Dynasty' than she was in 'Love Story!'

Kate O’ Mara as Alexis’ sister Cassie, aka ‘Caress,’ certainly has a fine old campy time sparring with Collins. I find O’Mara rather creepy, her eyebrows aloft like a Star Trek femme fatale, eyes wider apart than even Collins, and that husky voice, all makes me think she would have made a great Vera Charles!

Kate O' Mara as Caress, who was Alexis' crass tell-all sister.

The less said about Kathleen Beller as Kirby, the better. It’s not totally Beller’s fault that Kirby is one of the most annoying characters written for Dynasty. Still, Beller doesn’t help matters. She goes from simpering and coy to whiny and annoying. Kirby, who’s supposed to have had a crush on Jeff since childhood, instantly wants to marry him upon arrival at the Carrington manse. Despite the fact Jeff is still in love with estranged Fallon, and they have a baby together, Kirby throws herself at him. Just thinking about how Kirby goes from Jeff to creepy rapist Adam Carrington is just too tiresome to think about, much less repeat. Let’s just say that Kirby’s departure was a welcome one.

If wide-eyed servant's daughter Kirby, returning to the employer's mansion was supposed to harken 'Sabrina,' 'Dynasty' writers were sadly mistaken!

Catherine Oxenberg plays Amanda—the secret Carrington daughter who becomes Princess of Moldavia for a hot minute—with two expressions, a pained pout or a sullen smirk. Oxenberg looked like the recently wed Princess Diana—that is, if she had been painted by Thomas Kinkade—who went on to play the real princess in a made-for-TV movie. Catherine was swiftly fired when she asked for a raise.

Catherine Oxenberg as Amanda, wondering if the title Princess is worth looking at a mullet!

As for the other Dynasty dolls, they were either misused, like Deborah Adair or Terri Garber, or just dull starlets like Karen Cellini or Traci Scoggins. The best of the Dynasty divas got to sport big hair and emotions, wear flashy clothes with attitude, and generally have a ball.

When Sammy Jo's super model career went south, she reunited with The Fabulous Carrington Boys!