Joan Van Ark: Remembering Val Ewing

Joan Van ark, at left, with longtime co-star Ted Shackelford in "Knots Landing".

Source: https://people.com/joan-van-ark-didnt-want-ted-schakelford-knots-landing-11712100

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She was the loyal wife to the black sheep of a rich family. She stuck with him as he battled alcohol addiction, only to have him not only cheat on her, but marry his mistress.

Still, she soldiered on through other trials and tribulations for more than a decade. Through it all, Valene Ewing was always a character to watch.

It was Joan Van Ark’s birthday yesterday. She played Val Ewing for years on “Knot’s Landing”, and it was a wild ride, but not the only thing she did.

My three sons
We picked up watching “Dallas” in its second season, every Friday night at 9 p.m. on CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial.

It focused on the Ewing family, led by Jock Ewing who made his money in oil, and his wife Miss Ellie. At the outset of the show, he had two sons – J.R., the villain of the piece, doing whatever he had to, to get what he wanted, and Bobby, the good son who always was on the side of right. They were both married, and would have children. The other member of the Ewing family living at their massive Southfork Ranch, was Lucy Ewing. She was Jock and Miss Ellie’s granddaughter, and the niece of Bobby and J.R.

One thing we missed by not seeing the first season was that, in fact, there was a third Ewing son. Gary Ewing had been played by David Ackroyd, and his wife Val, was played by Joan Van Ark. They were Lucy’s mythical parents. I did eventually see that, in reruns that Channel 9 aired a few years later.

Gary reappeared on “Dallas” in the third season, this time played by Ted Shackleford. He was essentially the black sheep, loved by Bobby, loathed by J.R. and Miss Ellie’s favourite son. Ted Shackleford, who was fair haired and fair skinned, actually looked like he could be Miss Ellie’s son, unlike Ackroyd who looked more like his brothers.

In their first appearance, Gary and Val left because they could not be around the Ewing family. In their second appearance, when they left, it wasn’t to parts unknown.

It was to California and a cul-de-sac called Knot’s Landing.

Spin-off success
“Knot’s Landing”, a true spin-off of “Dallas”, debuted as a mid-season replacement in December of 1979, in the 1979-1980 season.

Early on “Knot’s Landing” was on channel 7 on the peasant vision dial, and I tried to watch every episode. Back then, things were not always as easy to find, especially with shows on Channel 7. Still, Gary and Val moved into that cul-de-sac and quickly made friends with their neighbours the Fairgates, played by Don Murray, and Michele Lee. She was best known at the time for appearing in a string of Disney movies. Gary also worked at a car dealership with Sid Fairgate.

I discovered I had missed an episode or two when I was staying over night at my Uncle Ed and Aunt Johanna’s place. Through a little recap at the start of the show, I learned the episode we were watching was a two-parter. I discovered Gary Ewing had relapsed into alcohol and Val put him in detox. In a heartbreaking scene, Val watches through a two-way mirror as the counselors asked him to choose between a bottle and a dime to call Val. He chose the bottle, took a gulp and cried out, “It’s tea.” That’s when Val committed him.

Again, I lost track of the show after that.

The trials and tribulations of Val Ewing
When I re-connected with “Knot’s Landing”, it was no longer on Channel 7 but moved to Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial. I would watch it consistently after that until I went off to university in the Fall of 1987.

Through it, Val would be put through the ringer many times. Gary would stray in the cul-de-sac, cheating on Val with Sid’s divorced sister Abby Cunningham. She was played by the seductive Donna Mills, in all her thick make-up and shoulder pad glory. Gary and Val would ultimately divorce, and Gary would marry Abby. Gary and Val would get back together, long enough to produce twins, and Val too would re-marry a couple times. Her mother would come live with her, and a crazed brother, played by a very young Alec Baldwin. Val would also have an emotional breakdown at one point, losing her memory, wandering away from home, and becoming a vixen like Abby.

Through all these plot twists, I always remember Val riding an emotional roller coaster. One minute she would be frothing at the mouth mad, the next crying uncontrollably, then distant and depressed, then just hang-dog, then jumping for joy.

Joan Van Ark did a fantastic job bring depth and richness to Val Ewing.

She played Val Ewing for 13 of the 14 seasons “Knot’s Landing” was on the air, from 1979 to 1992. She appeared in the final two episodes of the series in 1993, and reprised her role in the miniseries “Knot’s Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac” in 1997. She was also in an episode of the reboot of “Dallas” in 2013.

For her efforts, she won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Actress in 1986 and 1989, and was nominated six other times.

The years before
Joan Van Ark built up quite a resumé by the time she landed the role of Val Ewing.

She appeared in “Peyton Place”; “The Mod Squad”; “Bonanza”; “Gun Smoke”; “Hawaii Five-O”; “Days Of Our Lives”; two separate episodes of “The F.B.I.”; “Dan August”; “The Bold Ones: The New Doctors”; “Love, American Style”; “Night Gallery”; “Temperatures Rising”, for 26 episodes; “Mannix”; “Barnaby Jones”; “The Six Million Dollar Man”; “Petrocelli”; two separate episodes of “The Rockford Files”; “Cannon”; “Great Performances”; “Rhoda”; “Kojak”; “McMillan”, which had been “McMillan and Wife”; “We’ve Got Each Other”, for 13 episodes; “Quincy”; “Wonder Woman”; a special episode of “M*A*S*H”, where she played a nurse Hawkeye wanted to marry; four separate episodes of “The Love Boat”; and much more.

The years after
She also kept working after “Knot’s Landing”, appearing in a number of television movies, as well as episodes of “Touched by an Angel”; “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”; “The Nanny”; “Twice in a Lifetime”; 54 episodes of “The Young and the Restless”; “My Name is Earl”; “Nip/Tuck”; and more.

Her last appearance was in an episode of “Doom Patrol” in 2019.

Parting thoughts
Joan Van Ark’s signature role was Val Ewing in “Knot’s Landing”. It is one of those rare cases where a character, and a show spanned the entire decade of the ‘80s, and beyond.

In that time, Joan Van Ark not only brought Val Ewing to life, but explored every corner of her character and personality. There was one particular plot that showcased her talents. Her twins are abducted, and Val has an emotional break. She wrote novels and, after the loss of her twins, she evolves into the character of one of those novels. I recall one particular moment where she dressed to kill, went to a bar, and was flirting with the local men. It reminded me of Abby Cunningham. Ultimately, in that episode, Val runs afoul of the girlfriends of those men and gets in a cat fight. However, at season’s end, her twins are found and she returns to being herself.

Wikipedia reveals the climax of that plot was the only time “Knot’s Landing” hit number one in the weekly Nielsen’s ratings.

That demonstrates the talent of Joan Van Ark.