Joan Van Ark made her name playing Valene Ewing in Dallas, but especially in the series Knots Landing. The actress reprised her role in 2012 for one episode, and is now happily married to her high school sweetheart, with whom she has a daughter.
Van Ark has aged, but at 78, she’s still in great shape. Here’s everything you need to know about Joan Van Ark’s life and why she claims the fall of Knots Landing was her fault. In 1971, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in The School for Wives.
Around this time, Joan Van Ark began working in front of a screen rather than on stage. She appeared in TV series such as Temperature’s Rising, Spider-Woman and Days of Our Lives, and even in an episode of Bonanza.
Knots Landing became the story of Gary Ewing and his wife Valene – played by Van Ark – and their decision to start a new life in Knots Landing.
However, Van Ark almost didn’t get the role of Valene Ewing. She explained that she had a “three-way conflict” during which she appeared on both The Love Boat and a commercial in New York.
In the end, it was her husband – John Marshall, to whom we’ll return in a moment – who convinced her to choose Dallas. And it was an important decision.
Joan Van Ark: From “Dallas” and “Knots Landing” star to loving mother and wife