Linda Gray
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| Linda Gray | |
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| Born | Linda Ann Gray September 12, 1940 Santa Monica, California, USA |
Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940 in Santa Monica, California) is an American actress, best known for her Emmy-nominated role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of oil tycoon J.R. Larry Hagman, on the television prime-time soap opera Dallas, first as a recurring character in the show's first season in the spring of 1978 and then as cast member until 1989. She was also a director of the popular show.
Gray returned for the series finale in 1991 and again in the reunion films "J.R. Returns" in 1996 and "The War of the Ewings" in 1998. She later starred in the short-lived FOX soap opera, Models, Inc., which was a spin-off of Melrose Place. Gray also had a recurring role in The Bold and the Beautiful (playing Priscilla Kelly in 2004 and 2005).
In 2001, Gray portrayed Mrs. Robinson in the West End production of Charles Webb's The Graduate. Coincidentally, Gray had been the model whose stockinged leg appeared in the promotional poster for the film version of The Graduate 34 years earlier.
Gray's legs made another appearance in a BVD underwear commercial in the 1980s. Her Dallas co-star Hagman had earned an endorsement contract for the garment maker, having him dressed in J.R. Ewing attire (while not actually posing as J.R. due to contractual obligations with CBS). In one commercial, the actor leers at an unseen woman's legs exiting from a luxury car, then looks into the camera and says, "You know, there's just some things I can't get enough of!" The legs belonged to Gray.
In 2006, Gray co-starred in the short film "Reflections of a Life", written, directed by and starring Kathi Carey. She portrayed the best friend of a woman undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She is currently touring the United Kingdom in a stage version of Terms of Endearment which moves into the West End in 2008.
[edit] Personal life
Gray was married to Ed Thrasher for 21 years. The marriage resulted in two children: Jeff Thrasher and Kehly Sloane. Gray has two grandsons, Ryder and Jack Sloane. Her younger sister, Betty, died in 1989 from breast cancer.
According to her Web site, Gray recently traveled to Nicaragua to film a documentary on the health issues of women and children as part of her work as a United Nations goodwill ambassador.
Gray is said to be related by marriage to fellow actress Lindsay Wagner[citation needed].
She has also agreed to be a featured Star for the 2008 Women's Festivals in California and Arizona[citation needed].
