Pamela Barnes Ewing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Victoria Principal as Pamela Barnes Ewing
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Dallas character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portrayed by |
Victoria Principal (1978–87) Margaret Michaels (1988) |
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Duration | 1978–88 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
First appearance | April 2, 1978 Digger's Daughter |
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Last appearance | October 28, 1988 Carousel |
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Created by | David Jacobs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spin-off appearances |
Dallas: The Early Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Senior Executive at Barnes-Wentworth Oil (1983–1987) 1/3 Owner of Wentworth Tool & Die Owner of Pam's Aerobics Unlimited (1982–83) The Store worker (1978–1981) |
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Residence | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (1989–her death, July 14, 1989) Houston, Texas (1987–89) Southfork Ranch, Braddock Rd, Texas (1978–1983, 1986–1987) Fairview Hotel, Dallas, Texas (1983) 227 Antioch Drive, Dallas, Texas (1983–1986) |
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Family | Barnes |
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Father | Hutch McKinney |
Mother | Rebecca Barnes Wentworth |
Stepfather | Digger Barnes |
Half-brothers | Tyler Barnes Cliff Barnes |
Half-sisters | Catherine Barnes Katherine Wentworth |
Husband | Ed Haynes (1968) Bobby Ewing (1978–83, 1986–87) |
Adoptive sons | Christopher Ewing |
Grandfathers | Henry Barnes |
Aunts | Maggie Barnes Monahan |
Nieces | Pamela Rebecca Barnes |
First cousins | Jimmy Monahan |
Pamela Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera, Dallas. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, entitled "Digger's Daughter", which was first broadcast on April 2, 1978. Dallas follows the trials of the wealthy Ewing oil family in the city of Dallas, Texas, which Pam has married into. Principal played Pam until the end of the tenth season of Dallas in 1987, when the character crashes into a truck carrying butane and propane and her body is severely burned. After this, she is briefly played by actress Margaret Michaels in an attempt to write the character out. Pamela's storylines in season 1 focus on her relationship with her new husband, Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), and her fight against the considerable suspicion and hostility from within the Ewing family, due to Pamela being a member of the Barnes family. Pamela's love for Bobby remains a strong character trait throughout her tenure on the show, noted for its similarities to Romeo and Juliet, with two people from hostile families falling in love.
In the early years of Dallas, Principal took certain measures in her personal life in order to add depth to her character. She initially was very distant from the cast and they assumed she didn't like them. Series producer Leonard Katzman confronted her about the issue and she said, "I like everybody. It's just that I want to feel like an outsider, like Pam Barnes does, being married to a Ewing." Principal also took to other ways of improving her character, such as taking voice lessons to perfect a Texas accent. Her relationship with Patrick Duffy's character, Bobby, was a central component to the show, and when Duffy returned to Dallas in 1986, after being killed off a year earlier, the entire previous year had been written off as Pam's dream.