LINDA GRAY

NACIDA EN LOS ANGELES el 12 de septiembre de 1940, LINDA ANN GRAY fue al colegio justo frente a los Estudios de la MGM, donde se rodaba DALLAS. Modelo profesional y actriz desde los 17 años, intervino en más de cuatrocientos anuncios comerciales para la TV (haciendo de todo, desde ocupada ama de casa hasta reina de la belleza) y en uno de los más importantes seriales radiofónicos de EEUU. A los 32 años, empezó a tomar clases de arte dramático en la Nôtre Dame East L.A. Academy. “Pero solamente con DALLAS, dijo ella, sentí que por primera vez estaba haciendo lo que deseaba realmente.”

Born in LOS ANGELES on September 12, 1941, SUE ELLEN´s performer went to school just in front of the MGM Studios, where DALLAS would be shot. Professional model and actress since she was 17, participated in over 400 TV commercials (playing any part, from a busy housewife to a beauty queen) and one of the most important radio soaps in USA. At 32 she began to take Drama lessons at Nôtre-Dame East L.A. Academy. "But only with DALLAS - she said - I felt I was doing what I really wanted to for the first time."

Casada con ED TRASHER desde 1963, comenzó a ver cómo sus veinte años de felicidad conyugal se desmoronaban, precisamente cuando alcanzó la fama como SUE ELLEN EWING, la infeliz esposa de J.R. Antes del divorcio, en 1981, había sido nombrada MUJER DEL AÑO por la Sociedad de la Radio y TV de Hollywood. Por esas fechas, declararía: “DALLAS me ha dado, por encima de todo, la oportunidad de saber apreciar mejor el tiempo que paso con mi marido.”

A pesar de esas palabras, fue DALLAS lo que llevó a TRASHER a darle un ultimátum: o la familia o su carrera. La decisión de LINDA es de todos conocida. Su trabajo y sus dos hijos, JEFF y KEHLY, le proporcionaron las fuerzas suficientes para salir adelante.

Married to ED TRASHER since 1963, she saw how her 20 years of happy marriage fell apart just when became famous as SUE ELLEN EWING, J.R.´s unhappy wife. Before divorce, in 1981, she had been named WOMAN OF THE YEAR by the Hollywood Radio and TV Society. She stated then: "DALLAS has given me, above all, the chance to know better how to value the time I spend with my husband".

In spite of these words, it was DALLAS what led TRASHER to give her a ultimatum: her family or her career. LINDA´s choice is known by all of us. Her job and her two kids JEFF and KEHLY gave her enough strength to go ahead.

En la actualidad, a LINDA ya no le importa que la recuerden como la mujer de J.R.: “SUE ELLEN había cerrado ya su propio círculo. Era dueña de sí misma, se enfrentaba a J.R., poseía su empresa, un hombre encantador de Londres, todo le salía bien. ¿Cómo habríamos continuado con ella? Prefería acabar en una nota alta que intentar reciclar algo y hacer que empezara a beber otra vez o cualquier cosa que pudieran hacerme. Pensé que era hora de conseguir la libertad.”

SUE ELLEN la hizo rica y famosa, le dio la oportunidad de dirigir varios episodios e incluso su gran sueño de actuar en el teatro, tanto en EEUU como en EUROPA. Ahora compagina esto con el papel de Embajadora de Buena Voluntad de las Naciones Unidas, siguiendo los pasos de la añorada AUDREY HEPBURN. Continuó interpretando pequeños papeles en series y películas independientes, destacando el de Darnella en EXPECTING MARY.

En 2012, LINDA retomó su papel de SUE ELLEN EWING, ahora convertida en una poderosa mujer, candidata a gobernadora, en la continuación emitida por el canal TNT. “Al ir cumpliendo años - ha reflexionado LINDA - he acabado descubriendo que la felicidad es lo más valioso.”

Currently, LINDA does not mind being recognized as SUE ELLEN: "She had come more than full circle. She was her own person, she was standing J.R., she had her own company, a wonderful man from London, she had all the right things going for her. I thought I´d rather end on a high upbeat note than try to rehash something and have Sue Ellen start drinking again or whatever they might do to me. I thought it was just time to bail out of here."

SUE ELLEN made her rich and famous, allowed her to direct several episodes and even her big dream of playing on stage, both in USA and EUROPE. Now she alternates this with the charge of U.N.´s Good Will Ambassador, following the steps of late AUDREY HEPBURN. She continued playing small roles in series and independent movies, one of them especially remarkable: Darnella in EXPECTING MARY.

In 2012, LINDA reprised her SUE ELLEN EWING part, now as a powerhouse woman running for governor, in the continuation aired by TNT. "As I´ve been getting older - she reflected - I´ve eventually found out that happiness is the most valuable thing".

lo mejor de Sue Ellen / best of Sue Ellen

sus 10 mejores episodios de "dallas" / her 10 best "dallas" episodes:

14: SURVIVAL

29: JOHN EWING III (II)

42: MOTHER OF THE YEAR

54: A HOUSE DIVIDED (see video above)

70: LOVER COME BACK

87: STARTING OVER

129: THINGS AIN´T GOIN´ TOO GOOD AT SOUTHFORK

132: THE ROAD BACK

191: SWAN SONG (see video below)

193: ROCK BOTTOM (see video below)

203: EN PASSANT

and last but not least, J.R.´s MASTERPIECE.

Sue Ellen and J.R.:

- "JR, has llegado a tiempo, me estoy preparando para quitarme la ropa y hacer de Lady Godiva. ¿Eso te excitaría, cariño?"

"Quizás."

"JR you're just in time, I'm fixing to take off my clothes and play Lady Godiva. Would that turn you on, my darlin'?"

"It might." (Sue Ellen to J.R., in BARBECUE, written by David Jacobs)

- "Tu padre debió darte una buena reprimenda anoche, J.R., porque yo soy lo que tú has hecho de mí, y estás obligado a aguantarme. Hasta que la muerte nos separe, J.R. Así es como va a ser, ¿verdad?"

"You're daddy must've given you a tongue lashin' last night, J.R., cos what I am you made me, and you're stuck with me. Till death do us part, J.R. That's the way it's gonna be, isn't it?" (from JOHN ROSS EWING III (I), written by Camille Marchetta)

- "Dime, J.R., ¿con qué mujerzuela vas a pasar esta noche?"

"Eso no importa. Sea quien sea, seguro que es más interesante que la que estoy viendo..."

"Tell me JR: Which slut are you going to spend the night with?"

"What difference does it make? Whoever it is has got to be more interesting than the slut I'm looking at." (from A HOUSE DIVIDED, written by Rena Down)

- "¡Desgraciado! Por fin has vuelto a casa."

"Estaba muy preocupado por ti, Sue Ellen."

"¿Cuándo, estabas más preocupado: antes o después de hacer el amor con Holly Harwood?"

"You bastard! You finally came home."

"I was so worried about you, Sue Ellen."

"When were you the most worried? Before or after you made love to Holly Harwood?" (from THINGS AIN´T GOIN´ TOO GOOD AT SOUTHFORK, written by Leonard Katzman)

- "Abre el mueble-bar y podré beber hasta perder el sentido..."

"Unlock the liquor cabinet I am gonna drink myself into oblivion" (to J.R., from EWING INFERNO, written by A.B. Lewis)

- "Bueno, que me cuelguen si puedes venir aquí cuando quieras y usarme como una especie de servicio de semental...""¿Para qué otra cosa podrías servirme?"

"Well I'll be damned if you can come in here any time you want and use me like some stud-service!" "What other use do I have of you?" (J.R. and Sue Ellen, in THE OIL BARONS´ BALL, written by L. Katzman)

Sue Ellen and her friends:

- "Me sorprende que tengas la cara de aparecer por aquí. Eres una vergüenza para esta familia."

"I'm surprised you have the nerve to show your face around here. You are a disgrace to this family." (to Pam in CALL-GIRL, written by R. Down)

- "¿Por qué debe ser que la amante siempre cree que sabe más que la esposa? Si así es, entonces, ¿por qué es la amante?"

"Why is it that the mistress always thinks she knows more than the wife? If that's true, then why is she the mistress? (to Mandy in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, written by Hollace White & Stephanie Garman)

- "Pam, no me des la lata. ¿Qué más tengo si no es el dinero de J.R.? Y voy a sentarme aquí y ver cuánto puedo gastarme. Humm, Madame Claude, me gustaría ver la colección completa...Hasta podría comprarle toda la boutique..."

"Pam don´t be a nag, what else have I got but J.R.'s money? And I'm going to sit right here and see how much I can spend. Erm, Madame Claude..I'd like to see the whole line...I might even buy out the whole shop." (from THE ROAD BACK, written by A.B. Lewis)

Sue Ellen´s confessions:

- "Duermo sola a menudo. J.R. ha estado por ahí con sus amiguitas, vuelve a casa oliendo a perfume y finjo que estoy dormida, y lo elimino todo de mi mente."

"I sleep alone a lot. JR's been out with his sluts, comes home smelling like their perfume and I just pretend I'm asleep, just blot the whole thing out." (to Bobby, in JOHN EWING III (II), written by A.B. Lewis)

- "Quiero decirle algo, Dr. Elby: usted siempre ha tenido razón, no puedo dejar que otra persona haga lo que yo tengo que hacer..."

"I want to tell you Dr. Elby that you were right all along, I cant rely on no one else to do what I have too do..." (just before the infamous Who Shot J.R. scene, from A HOUSE DIVIDED, written by R. Down)

- "Estás mirando a la mayor masoquista de Dallas. No estaba contenta con arruinar mi vida casándome con él una vez, oh, no, tenía que casarme con él de nuevo."

"You are looking at the biggest masochist in Dallas. I wasn't content with ruining my life by marrying him once I had to marry him twice." (to Pam, both quotes from EWING INFERNO, written by A.B. Lewis)

- "Estar casada con J.R. es como una película de Alfred Hitchcock: empiezas riendo y luego te encuentras gritando de terror..."

"Being married to JR is like an Alfred Hitchcock movie....you start off laughing and then find yourself screming in terror!" (to Don Lockwood, from WEDDING BELL BLUES, written by Howard Lakin)

Sue Ellen´s social life:

- "Antes me acostaría con J.R. que contigo, y antes me acostaría con un monstruo de feria que con J.R."

"I´d rather sleep with JR than to sleep with you, I´d rather sleep with a carnival geek than to sleep with JR!" (to Jeremy Wendell in THE STING, written by Mitch Wayne Katzman)

- "Vendo sexo. Para eso ella está ahí, para lo que mejor sabe hacer..."

"I´m selling sex!! That´s what she´s there for, that´s what she´s good for!" (from ONCE AND FUTURE KING, written by Calvin Clements, Jr.)

- Ellie: "Sue Ellen, esta es Cally. La nueva esposa de JR".

Sue Ellen: "¿Su nueva qué?"

Cally: "Sue Ellen, no eres como dijo J.R. Dijo que eras una borracha y que no cuidabas a tu hijo..."

Sue Ellen: "Y justo después, apuesto que te fuiste a la cama con él."

Cally (sonrojada): "¿Cómo lo sabes...?"

Miss Ellie: "Sue Ellen, this is Cally. JR's new wife."

Sue Ellen: "His new what?"

Cally: "Sue Ellen, you're not like JR said...he said you were a drunk and that you neglected your child..."

Sue Ellen: "And after he told you, that I bet you went to bed with him!"

Cally (blushing): "How do you know that?...?" (from THE TWO MRS. EWINGS, written by A.B. Lewis)

her Spanish voices / sus voces en España

DELIA LUNA, PILAR GENTIL, ROSER CAVALLÉ, MARI PE CASTRO, ISABEL FIDALGO, DOLORES DÍAZ DE MENDIBIL, MERCÈ SAMPIETRO y MARTA ANGELAT (Dallas), Mª JULIA DÍAZ, Mª JESÚS NIETO, Mª LUISA SOLÁ, ÁNGELES NEIRA, MARÍA DEL PUY, GLORIA CÁMARA, AMPARO BRAVO y ANA WAGENER.

You can find Linda Gray´s complete filmography here.

Linda on social media:

official site

twitter

Videos courtesy of the YouTube users (limited time).