Dynasty

Lucy was originally cast as Fallon but Gary talked her out of it.

I can't even imagine Jessica playing Alexis. And yes, I know she did Arrested development, but she would have been all kinds of wrong for Dynasty.

Elizabeth Taylor and Raquel Welch were also considered for Alexis. Aaron really wanted an iconic star. I could see Raquel doing it. But that part was really tailor made for Joan.

Angie and Joan would have been fantastic. Angie and George Peppard would have been something else. But does that mean we would have John Forsythe on The A team?

The gay not gay Stephen& Sammie Joe(Heather Locklear was perfect for that role)

BTW-Heather Locklear was 1 of the nicest Hollywood people I ever met.

R3 yeah nobody on Melrose seems to have anything bad to say about Heather. Seems she set a good atmosphere on the set.

I don't know about Sunday, but they originally wants Helen Lawson for the role of Constance on The Colbys.

Dynasty, not Sunday. Fucking autocorrect.

Well, one thing is none of them would have been Carringtons, because the original surname for the core family was "Parkhurst."

And John Forsythe actually was Aaron Spelling's first choice to play "Blake," but the network wanted a younger actor who had films in his background. Their choice of Peppard would affect the budget, because he would necessarily cost more, so the production would need to economize when it came to casting the other roles.

Also, John James originally auditioned to play "Steven." Of course, Al Corley was their Steven, but when they called John to say he didn't get the part, they offered him the role of "Jeff Colby" instead. John had no idea who the character of Jeff Colby was since he only had four lines in the script.

"Die Nasty"

Die Twist? Die Nasty!

Heather Locklear greatly improves over the course of a season.

After Liz Taylor and Raquel Welch turned the role of "Alexis" down, and they couldn't reach an agreement with Sophia Loren, it was Candy Spelling who told Aaron they should consider an actress whom she'd recently seen on an episode of "Fantasy Island" -- that actress being Joan Collins. Here's a scene from that episode:

Elizabeth Taylor an d Sophia Loren were considered for Alexis. They declined, and then came Joan Collins.

Now I couldn't imagine anyone other than Joan.

Well, hello!

Aaron wanted me to play “Alecksis” but THE BELLS intrafeared!

What if they had cast Diahann Carroll as Alexis and then later on, selected Joan Collins as Dominique? Diahann was probably the bigger star at that time.

[quote]BTW-Heather Locklear was 1 of the nicest Hollywood people I ever met.

Off topic, but you really wonder were it all went wrong. Was it really as simple as her turning down Desperate Houswives?

Diahann Carroll watched Dynasty and loved the look of it. She thought to herself, "They've got the white bitch, now they need the black bitch." She lobbied to get herself cast on the show by approaching Aaron Spelling at a party asking him, "When are you gonna put me on your damn show?"

Esther Shapiro said the network was very much against casting Joan Collins as Alexis. Shapiro said they referred to Joan as "an old, washed-up British actress." They didn't like her accent and wanted someone younger. Shapiro indicated it took all summer during he season break to convince them. Their attitude quickly changed, though, when they saw Joan take command in the courtroom scene in her first episode.

[quote] They referred to Joan as "an old, washed-up British actress."

They weren't wrong.

Deidre Hall was a contender for Krystal, but not as well known as Linda Evans. Dee Dee would have better as Krystina, playing someone closer to her true age.

Joey Heatherton as Sammy Jo.

Jm J Bullock IS Sammy Jo!

Joyce Dewitt IS Fallon!

Tootie Fields IS Blake Carrington!!!!

It would have been great to have Sophia Loren for a few guest appearances. Sophia vs. Joan vs. Dianne would have been interesting.

"Falcon Crest" had the same problem with Sophia Loren.

They wanted her to play "Francesca Gioberti" for a 13-episode arc, but negotiations ultimately fell through, and they ended up casting Gina Lollobrigida.

[quote] Deidre Hall was a contender for Krystal, but not as well known as Linda Evans.

Doubtful. The Shapiros said that even in the very earliest stage when they were writing the bible for "Oil," they imagined Linda Evans and Bo Hopkins playing "Krystle" and "Matthew." Spelling agreed with their choices and secured both of them.

Bonnie Franklin was *THIS* close to playing Kirby Anders...

[quote] They wanted her to play "Francesca Gioberti" for a 13-episode arc, but negotiations ultimately fell through, and they ended up casting Gina Lollobrigida.

The bargain basement Sophia

Janet Louise Johnson as Fallon!

Lassie as Coco, Alexis' dog.

Lisa Whelchel as Fallon

Nancy McKeon as Claudia Blaisdel

Molly Ringwald as Lindsay Blaisdel

George Peppard as Blake, and Audrey Hepburn as Lady Ashley whatever-her-name-was.

Paul Lynde as Joseph the Majordomo

Shirley Hemphill as Dominique. I can see it.

Wasnt Angie Dickinson considered for the role of Krystal?

Shirley Hemphill turned it down when they refused to hire Sweet Brown as her daughter.

R35 who is Sweet Brown?

R36.

It was rumored back then that ABC first wanted Liz Montgomery to play Krystle. She was the ratings queen in the 70s with her television movies, proving she was a great dramatic actress after BEWITCHED ended, and wanted her back on their network. At the time, Montgomery was not interested in returning to a weekly series - she enjoyed the freedom she had doing a 'movie of the week' once a season. I believe that's when they turned their attention to Angie Dickinson - who turned them down (but was later interested in the role of Sable Colby on 'The Colbys').

As for Carroll, she always thanked her friend Streisand for making her 'Dynasty' career happen. It was Streisand who asked Carroll to sing 'The Way He Makes Me Feel' at the Golden Globes, and ran into Aaron Spelling at the 'after party'. That's when she said he needed her on the show, and gave him her phone number - he called her the next day to set up a lunch meeting.