Dallas 30th Anniversary Reunion at Southfork
November 6-8, 2008, Parker, TX
The much anticipated reunion of the Dallas cast was planned for Noveber 8, 2011. It was to take place at Southfork, the site of the exterior scenes on the show, and now a museum and event center. A highlight is a Dallas museum exhibit, featuring photos and videos of the show and its stars. Tours of the site are available, which include a presentation about Dallas. After the tour, visitors are allowed to stay on site. The inside of the house is nothing like it was on the show, but viewing the exterior and property is a surreal experience for a Dallas fan, although everything, especially the pool, is surprisingly small!
What was to be the ultimate event for a Dallas fan, many having travelled long distances, turned into a string of broken promises. The first sign of trouble came before noon, when the tickets were supposed to be available for pickup. They were not ready! It took several hours before they were handed out.
In the ticketing area, there was J.R. Ewing impersonator, who does bear a resemblance to Larry Hagman. A woman came up to him, telling him how much she loves his shows! He had to break it to her that he is not really Larry Hagman!
There was supposed to be a cocktail hour at 3pm. Tickets which included this event, including meeting the cast and having photos taken with them, cost $1000. Security was in place, with metal detectors. They did not even start to screen people until 3pm, cutting into the Cocktail Hour time. The tickets included seating assignments based on the order in which they were purchased. Unfortunately, the overwhelmed orgainizers were changing the rules on the fly. As ticket holders searched for their assigned seats, volunteers were taking the table numbers down! It had turned into open seating, only the beginning of growing disorder. Over 350 cocktail hour tickets were sold, well over the promised 100, for an event that would not even occur!
There were no announcements and no one had any idea what was going on. Some of the cast appeared outside, including Linda Gray, with fans and the media quickly crowding around them. Larry was not there at that time. The actors were being interviewed from 3pm -4pm, taking up half of the time the fans with cocktail tickets were to have with them. The media was very intrusive throughout the evening, making it very difficult to get near the stars.
They started taking photos with the stars, without an announcement. No one was checking if people on line were entitled to a photograph or not, leading to some getting photos who shouldn't have. Approaching the area where the photos were taking place, it was obvious how bad the situation really was. They had placed two chairs in front of the cast, and were plopping people into them, taking a quick shot, and sending them on their way. During the photo shoot, with a long line still snaking around the house, they announced a five minute break, which turned out to be permanent! Some people paying up to $1000 to meet the cast of Dallas didn't even get a photo!
The red carpet was next, also unannounced. After a long wait, the actors started to arrive. Many turned and posed for photos. Once again, the press was in the way, grabbing them for interviews. Some lucky fans close to the ropes got autographs and more. All of the Dallas actors came down the red carpet accept the star of the show, Larry Hagman. Where was he? Giving people helicopter rides! Several helicopter rides were auctioned on eBay to benefit White Bridle Humane Society. These were supposed to have taken place earlier in the day, before the Barbeque was to start. Instead, it turned out to be one of many activities that took time away from fans, and was unfair to the winners of the helicopter ride auctions as well. They took place after dark! So the fans waited for Larry to walk down the red carpet. And waited, with the temperature dropping fast. Finally Larry Hagman arrived, but, unlike the other Dallas cast members, he was surrounded by security and forced down the red carpet at a brisk pace. He couldn't have stopped for fans if he wanted to!
Eventually, the cast appeared on the balcony overlooking the pool. Only a few of the actors, Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard among them, mingled at the tables as promised. It was a mob scene, making it unsafe for someone like Larry Hagman to go into the crowd.
The highlight of the evening was the Q&A on stage. This part of the evening was entertaining, but within the audience there was utter chaos. Many people from the lower priced sections of the event came into the VIP section to get a closer look at the stars, crowding people and getting in the way. The Q&A was followed by the presentation of keys to the city of Parker by Joe Cordina, Mayor, to each member of the cast of Dallas. An auction of Mario Della Casa's beautiful paintings of the Dallas cast followed. The paintings were being auctioned for charity, and a few sold for over $10,000! Some of the cast signed the paintings for the winners.
The evening ended for most of us with fireworks and a goodbye from the Dallas stars. They left for yet another press conference. There was supposed to be a concert, but the crowds dispersed. It did in fact occur, once again without an announcement. The poor singer, Billy Joe Shaver, apparently a replacement for the advertised "Asleep at the Wheel", didn't have much of an audience!
This was an incredibly badly bungled, out of control event! True Ewing Barbeque style, one guy even ended up in the pool!
While the Dallas 30th Anniversary Reunion took place at Southfork, they unfortunately did not organize or run the event. The Reunion was run by Austin Media Group. The staff of Southfork Ranch went above and beyond to smooth over problems at this event. They are professional event planners, and it saddens me that all of the negative feedback the Dallas Reunion has received may reflect negatively upon them. I was very impressed with Southfork, and would not hesitate to hold or attend an event there.