Why Donna avoids ‘Dallas’ scandals

Press, 28 May 1984, Page 18

Why Donna avoids ‘Dallas’ scandals

By

JOHN ROGERS,

Features International Amid the slinky sirens and the double-dealing dudes of “Dallas,” one char- . acter remains radiant, and unscathed, without a stain on her character. She is Donna, faithful wife of the craggy rancher, Ray Krebbs . . . and that, according to actress, Susan Howard, is how she is going to stay. “I have always insisted that Donna keeps out of the scandals that seem to involve nearly every other member of the cast,” she said. *Tm just not interested in playing bad girls. I also know how Texas wives behave — and it’s nothing like the way they are portrayed in *Dallas.’ “I should know. I’m the only genuine, homespun Texan in the show.” Born in Marshall, a small town about 160 km from Dallas, Miss Howard now owns a Texas ranch. “The Lone Star State is the only place I’m ever really happy,” she said. T intend to stay here for the rest of my life. “I only went to Hollywood, in fact, to get my career off the ground, butnow I really feel that I’ve had my fill of the place,” she said. Like many Texans, Susan Howard was raised in the “Bible-punching belt” and is still a devout Christian who believes in the power of prayer. “My husband, Calvin, and I pray every single night together,” she said. “It’s the most important thing in our lives, because so many good things have happened to me since I began to take the word of God seriously. “They’ve mainly happened because I never try to manipulate people into doing things my way. “I leave everything in God’s hands and my life happens according to His plan — not mine.”

Yet, although Susan Howard does not worry about all the sex and sinning in “Dallas,” she has always insisted that Donna Krebbs’s character remains free from any scandal. “Let’s face it,” said Miss Howard, “sinning goes on all the time in real life. You can’t ignore it and hope it will go away. “The beautiful thing about ‘Dallas’ is that those — like J.R. — who commit adultery, sin and cheat always get what they deserve in the

end. “That’s not at all a bad message to get across to the millions of people who watch us each week.” Miss Howard’s first television break was as the long-suffering wife in “Petrocelli” a detective series starring Barry Newman. “It was an excellent series,” she said, “but, for some reason, the network backers didn’t like it — so it was killed off. “I was so disappointed

that I vowed never again to appear in a long-running series. „ “In fact, I planned to make only a few guest appearances in ‘Dallas’,” she said, “but Pm still here — and Fm loving every second to iL “There are always gossipmongers who like stirring up sensation. As far as Fm concerned, Hl play Donna Krebbs for as long — or as short — a time as the studio fit “Naturally, we all want to act as much as possible,” she said, “but nobody in a cast as large as ours can appear in very episode. “Steve Kanaly — who plays my husband — and I have already worked out our own spin-off series from *Dallas.’ “I’ve prepared a script which has the Krebbs leaving Southfork — and we’ve got a lot of ideas for several subsequent series. “That would save us having to say goodbye to everybody else in the cast — they could always appear in guest spots in the spin-off. “I’m pretty sure,” she said, “that old J.R. wouldn’t like to stop interfering in the lives of the Krebbs family.” Recently, Susan Howard decided to give Donna a new and more glamorous image — which has caught on with “Dallas” fans. “Donna was , always rather dowdy, compared with all the other ‘Dallas’ women,” she said. “So, during a break in the' series, I went along to the* most exclusive and expensive beautician I could find and got her to give me a completely new look. “When I walked into the studio a few days later the producer almost had a fit. ' “Every so often, I still catch him glancing sideways at me, but eventually he took my point — especially after the reaction we’ve had from the viewers.”