Digger Barnes
| Willard "Digger" Barnes | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Dallas character | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
David Wayne (1978) Keenan Wynn (1979-80) David Marshall Grant (1986) |
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| Duration | 1978-80, 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | April 2, 1978 Digger's Daughter |
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| Last appearance | February 29, 1980 Jock's Trial: Part II March 23, 1986 Dallas: The Early Years |
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| Created by | David Jacobs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances |
Dallas: The Early Years | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Family | Barnes |
|---|---|
| Father | Henry Barnes |
| Sisters | Maggie Barnes Monahan |
| Spouse | Rebecca Barnes (1946-54) |
| Sons |
Cliff Barnes Tyler Barnes |
| Daughters |
Pamela Barnes (legal) Catherine Barnes |
| Grandchildren |
Christopher Ewing (adoptive) Pamela Rebecca Barnes |
| Nieces and nephews | Jimmy Monahan |
| First cousins | Rose |
Willard "Digger" Barnes is a fictional character in the popular American television series, Dallas, played by David Wayne (1978), Keenan Wynn (1979-1980), and David Marshall Grant in Dallas: The Early Years. As the patriarch of the Barnes family, Digger Barnes was the father of Cliff Barnes and Pamela Barnes Ewing. Digger shocked Pamela on his deathbed by revealing that Hutch McKinney was her biological father but, that he had always loved her as though she were his own.
Willard Barnes' father, Henry Barnes, was best friends with Aaron Southworth, the father of Ellie Southworth. In fact, Henry saved Aaron's life so Aaron took care of young Willard throughout much of his adolescence. Willard first started dating Ellie in 1930, when Ellie was 15. However, after being caught with Ellie by her brother, Garrison, Willard decided to try his fortune at wildcatting. As a result, he met Jock Ewing while riding in a train boxcar on the way to the oil fields, and the two became friends. Willard, Jock and Jock's brother Jason all became wildcatters and began drilling their own fields. Willard had a unique ability to smell oil underground, earning him the nickname "Digger", which over time became the name that people used more and more (even his children would sometimes call him "Digger", in addition to "Daddy"), eventually getting to the point where virtually nobody called him "Willard" anymore.
Digger's brilliant ability to sniff oil, combined with Jock's brilliant business skills, enabled them to start making a fortune. Digger and Jason had a lot of disagreements and didn't get on, but Jock would always stand up for Digger at this time. Jason soon left Texas to wildcat in Alaska, where he married a woman named Nancy Shaw, and fathered two children, a son named Jack and a daughter named Jamie. Digger and Jock returned to Dallas where they started, and they soon became rivals over Digger's girlfriend, Ellie Southworth. Digger's love for Miss Ellie had only grown since their initial brief romance in 1930, but Digger's drinking, gambling and undependability eventually made Miss Ellie see that Digger would never change and that he was not the type of man to marry. Jock and Ellie became a couple in the fall of 1935, and Jock married a pregnant Miss Ellie in 1936, putting the first serious dent in Digger's and Jock's friendship.
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