Cast members from Knots Landing, the beloved primetime soap that ran from 1979 to 1993, are reuniting for a charitable endeavor. Series stars Joan Van Ark (Valene), Ted Shackelford (Gary), Michele Lee (Karen), and Donna Mills (Abby) are gathering for an episode of Stars in the House, which supports The Actors Fund.
Knots Landing Cast to Reunite
Watch for the gang from Seaview Circle to share backstage stories from their time on the long-running serial. The quartet of stars will pay tribute to their late co-star and friend Kevin Dobson (Mac), who died last month.
The episode of Stars in the House will stream live on both YouTube and StarsInTheHouse’s website. Fans will be able to ask burning questions and donate to The Actors Fund in order to have a chance to have their names read by the stars on the air. There will be singing, too!
Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley are the creators and executive producers of Stars in the House. They’ve hosted reunions with the casts of such TV series like Scandal, Melrose Place, Frasier, Fame, Glee, Desperate Housewives, White Collar, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Taxi, and Broadway cast reunions from the shows Rent, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia, and The Full Monty, among others.
Knots Landing was created David Jacobs, who also created the show from which Knots was spun off from — Dallas. After making a few appearances on Dallas, Gary and Val remarried, moved to California and into a house that was a gift from Gary’s mother Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes). Gary and Val hadn’t even settled into their new home yet when they became involved in the drama of neighbors Karen and Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), Richard and Laura Avery (John Pleshette and Constance McCashin), and Kenny and Ginger (James Houghton and Kim Lankford).
In the second season of Knots, Abby arrived and the cul-de-sac was never the same! Gary left Val for Abby. Sid died, and a few seasons later, Karen moved on with her life by marrying Mac. Later, Richard, Kenny, and Ginger were phased out. New characters were added including Lilimae Clements (Julie Harris), Greg Sumner (William Devane), Ben Gibson (Doug Sheehan), and Cathy Geary (Lisa Hartman), a dead ringer for poor, dead Ciji (also played by Hartman) were added to the cast.
Knots’ most memorable storyline was the kidnapping of Val’s babies. An ally of Abby’s thought he was doing her a favor by arranging for Val’s twins to be stolen at birth. Deep down, Val knew her babies were alive. Eventually, Karen, Mac, and Ben tracked down the location of the babies, but it was Abby who brought Val to the home where stolen twins Bobby and Betsy were living. That episode, titled The Long and Winding Road, earned Knots the top spot in the weekly ratings.
Another memorable cliffhanger was the Season 5 finale involving the evil Wolfbridge group. Mac prevented Gary from being shot, but Karen took the bullet by mistake. Gary pulled a pregnant Val from a jeep that was alleged to be rigged with a bomb but dumped her (ouch!) in order to try to rescue Abby who was being driven away in a limo by the bad guys. The Knots Landing edition of Stars in the House is set to air live on Friday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
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