Exclusive: Joan Van Ark Reveals The ‘Knots Landing’ Scene That is Closest to Her Heart
The only thing Knots Landing fans had to wait longer for than Valene getting her twins back was the show coming to streaming. While the beloved CBS series, which told the lives and loves of families living in a cul-de-sac on Seaview Circle from 1979 to 1993, had its first two seasons released on DVD and appeared in syndication years ago, the series wasn’t being streamed. That all changed recently with Knots Landing’s entire run being shown on Plex.
Now, the individual episodes of Knots can be viewed on the streaming app. In honor of this overdue moment, ReMIND sat down with Joan Van Ark, who played Valene Ewing, the role she originated on Dallas.
People were longing for Knots to come to streaming. Watching the show is like reliving favorite memories with beloved family members.
Joan Van Ark: The show had been airing around the world. I think it’s rerun in London more than anywhere else. I’ve gotten mail from viewers saying watching the show was like being with your best friends. Viewers had a ritual watching us at 10pm on Thursdays on CBS.
I was especially looking forward to seeing again the story with Val’s twins being stolen and her getting them back.
I almost get chills. I’m going to toot my own horn.
You do it or I will.
The only time Knots ever went to No. 1 was when Val got her twins back. I will never forget that. We had Michele [Lee, Karen] there. Julie [Harris, Lilimae Clements], too. She was the love of my life. It was a blessing from heaven to bring that woman into our [Knots Landing] family and be my mother. Knots will never leave me. It’s in my DNA. It’s that much of an experience. It was something so special.
Gene Trindl/CBS/Everett Collection
As compelling as the baby story was, I found myself enjoying the “small” moments between Karen and Val in Karen’s kitchen. They’d share confidences. You knew they were also always there for each other. Karen worked behind the scenes to find out the truth about Val’s babies. Everyone wants a friend like that.
You’re so right. I’m getting verklempt. It was so relatable — for Joan and Michele as much as it was Val and Karen. It was the same with Julie Harris. It was deep for all of us. I interviewed Julie when I was a teenager. She asked me what I wanted to do after high school. I told her I wanted to be an actress.
She wrote to the dean of the Yale School of Drama and said she’d like to send me to meet with him and talk about getting into the graduate school. Long story short, my parents went with me to New Haven. We met with the dean, and he said he’d like to offer me a scholarship. I was there for a year and then auditioned for Mike Nichols for a national tour of Barefoot in the Park.
Richard Cartwright/CBS/Everett Collection
Knots had the best finale, which tied up so many loose ends and showed us that Val and Gary (Ted Shackelford) and Mack (Kevin Dobson) and Karen were living happily ever after in the cul-de-sac. Abby came back. How did your return for the finale come about as Val was presumed dead?
I don’t remember how that exactly came about, but I was with the William Morris Agency at the time, and they called me in the middle of whatever I was working on, and they said they want you to come back for an episode. I knew that I had to come back because of Ted and Michele. Ted and I still exchange birthday gifts. He sends me Casa Blanca white flowers that I put on the bar. They’re like a forest. I send him something special for his birthday.
I knew I had to be part of the ending somehow. I was so grateful to Michael Filerman [producer] and David Jacobs [creator/producer]. They were a great team. I knew I had to be there at the end because Val and Gary were the core that started the whole thing when they moved from Dallas to the cul-de-sac. That had to come full circle. On one hand, it was strange to be back but not entirely because I had come back to direct a couple of episodes. But that was right to have happen.
CBS/Everett Collection
The closure is so important. Not all shows get that. We said goodbye to Knots knowing that our friends were where we wanted them to be.
Yeah. That’s gorgeous. I should interview you! You have a connection with the purest heart and soul of the show. You’re picking the long grace notes. That’s the strongest thing. We were a family. We were a cast, yes, but we became something else, too. There was a double depth in terms of the connections. We brought that onto the set. There was the real-life person and the character.
I remember a quote from TV Guide Magazine from 1985 that read, “In Dallas and Dynasty, the writers are writing the story for the characters. On Knots Landing, the writers are letting the characters write their own stories.” They let [the actors] come into the office and let them know how we felt.
Donna, I believe, did not want Abby to be responsible for Val’s twins being taken from her. Abby’s role was inadvertent.
Yes. I believe Donna went to the producers and said, “You know, Abby has her own way of dealing with things but when it comes to kids and their mom — it can’t be this way.” They had her taking the twins [originally]. But she said that cannot be. She spoke up and they changed that.
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
One of your Dallas episodes had J.R. (Larry Hagman) trying to run Valene out of town after she’d reconnected with Lucy (Charlene Tilton). Bobby (Patrick Duffy), fortunately, showed up and put a stop to J.R.’s threat.
I remember that so well because we were shooting in 120-degree heat! It was like an oven [in that motel room] and they had to turn off the air [conditioning] when we were filming. I must have dropped 10 pounds! Right after I wrapped, I flew to New York to do an Estée Lauder commercial.
You’ve got some events coming up. On Friday, Sept. 13, you, Donna and Michele are going to be in Anaheim at Disneyland for a Q&A. Then, in October, you’ll be at a Dallas reunion in Texas. What do fans want you to know when they meet you?
The biggest thing about a Knots fan is their loyalty. The Southfork Experience event in October will be with the core cast, and there will be all kinds of events, panels, photo ops and Q&As. You name it! There’s a whole day of mixing with the cast of Dallas.
CBS/Everett Collection
Val had a mental break after being told the twins were dead. She went to Shula, Tennessee, and took on the persona of Verna Ellers, a waitress. At one point, I wasn’t sure whether or not Val would ever come back. She went out to a bar one night and went after a married man. That didn’t go well. The next day, she woke up and washed her face. We saw her become Verna before our eyes. Where was your Emmy?
I loved those scenes. The face-washing scene was an example of when I felt [a scene] couldn’t have gone better. It was everything we were all after. It became a monologue where I felt Valene should change and the audience should go with her on that journey.
Of all the things I’ve ever done, I feel that that scene where Val washed her face was the deepest one. It was so rich. There was a combination of the cameraman, the writers, the producers, the director — they all allowed me that monologue in the mirror. We saw Valene become Verna right in front of our eyes.
After the director called “cut,” right after Verna smiled into the mirror, everybody came together — the cameraman, people on set, and we all did that group hug like they did in the last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. We hugged in a circle, spontaneously. It’s my strongest and most special memory of all. I knew every breath of it.
Where to meet Joan Van Ark, Donna Mills, Michele Lee and cast members from ‘Dallas
The actress is reuniting with costars Donna Mills (Abby Cunningham Ewing Sumner) and Michele Lee (Karen Fairgate MacKenzie) this Friday, Sept. 13, at Disneyland. Click here for details.
Also, Van Ark will join fellow Dallas actors at the fan gathering Southfork Experience on Oct. 25-27, which will be held at Southfork Ranch in Dallas. Click here for details.
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June 2017
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