While performing in Denver, Van Ark met actress Julie Harris while interviewing her for a local newspaper, and the actress persuaded her to study acting and drama at the Yale Drama School.
As a result, Van Ark became the youngest student ever to receive a scholarship to the well-respected school and the second woman ever to enroll. The first woman was Julie Harris, who helped Van Ark into the school.
“She wrote to the dean and asked him to meet me. Long story short, my parents drove me to New Haven, Connecticut, to meet the dean, who gave me a scholarship,” she recalled.” It was meant to be.”
Valene Ewing on ‘Dallas’ and ‘Knots Landing’
Van Ark began her professional career at the Minneapolis Guthrie Theater, where she starred in The Miser by Moliere. After working about a year at the Arena Stage in Washington DC, she moved down to work with the national touring company Barefoot in the Park in 1963, which led to her Broadway debut. In 1971, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play after starring in The School for Wives.
At that point, Joan Van Ark had begun working in front of a screen rather than on stage. She appeared on television series including Temperature’s Rising, Spider-Woman, and Days of Our Lives and even in one episode of Bonanza.
Even though Joan Van Ark wasn’t short of jobs, she was still looking for her significant breakthrough role as the 1980s approached. In 1978, she made several appearances as Valene Ewing on Dallas – which led her to the role of a lifetime.
Knots Landing – a spinoff of Dallas – premiered in 1979, and Joan Van Ark reprised her role as Valene Ewing. She starred in 327 episodes – acting alongside Michele Lee as Karen and Ted Schakleford as Gary – and became a massive star.
Even though it was a spinoff of Dallas – about the rotten but wealthy Ewing Clan – it was initially brought to CBS years before.
However, the network wanted a “big rich family” show, and Dallas got picked as the one. But later on, Knots Landing became a massive success as the studio realized how big of a show Dallas had grown into, and after only one season, it rose into the top 20 in TV ratings.
How Joan Van Ark almost missed out on her biggest role
Knots Landing became the story of Gary Ewing and his wife Valene – played by Van Ark – and how they decided to start a new life in Knots Landing.
However, Van Ark almost missed out on the part of Valene Ewing. She explained that she had a “three-way clash” where she did The Love Boat simultaneously, as well as a commercial in New York.
In the end, it was her husband – John Marshall, who we will come back to in a minute – that persuaded her into choosing Dallas. And it was a significant – and important – decision.
“I got the call asking me to do a guest appearance in this show called Dallas, which was attracting a lot of buzz, but I said to my husband, ‘John, why should I even read this script? I can’t be in three places at once,’” she told Express. “Then he read it and said, ‘No, you’ve got to do it. It looks wonderful.’”
“So basically, he talked me into a schedule that had me in LA one day, then flying to Dallas for two days, followed by two days in New York and then back to Texas. But looking at this old cast photo from Knots Landing – the spinoff from Dallas – I’m so glad I listened to him,” she added.
Dallas and Knots Landing became a 15-year commitment for Van Ark, who became identified by her role. As earlier mentioned, she and Julie Harris had quite a history – and in 1980, they met again
“I could stay forever on the show and be safe”
Harris was cast in Knots Landing as the mother of Van Arks’ character, and for the actress, it was almost too good to be true.
“When the producers told me they had finally last someone to play my mother, I held my breath,” she recalled in a 1984 interview with Florida Today.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, are they going to say Phyllis Diller or Zsa Zsa Gabor, or who?’ Then they said it was Julie Harris, and I went right through the roof. I couldn’t believe they had picked her to be my mother. They didn’t even know we were friends.”
Joan Van Ark stayed for 13 seasons and 327 episodes on the show. Then in 1993, just one season after she left, Knots Landing was canceled. But the reason for Joan leaving wasn’t that she didn’t like it. Instead, it was all about her trying on new challenges.“I could stay forever on the show and be safe,” Van Ark told the Los Angeles Times in 1992.
“But three years ago, I did Night of the Iguana in Williamstown (Mass.), and I had a quote from Tennessee Williams taped on my mirror, taken from an essay he’d written on success. It said, and I’m paraphrasing here: ‘Security is in the shape of a kidney-shaped pool in Los Angeles, where you sit waiting for your residual checks.’ I was in a comfortable spot on Knots, and an artist should not be comfortable.”
At the same time, the television series became a huge part of Van Ark’s life. So even though she felt comfortable leaving, it was a tough blow since she thought it would be easier.
Blamed herself for ‘Knots Landing’ cancelation
“I have loved more than life the 13 years I’ve had on that show,” she said. “[Knots Landing creator] David Jacobs is a great influence on my life, has taught me so much about so many things. Ted [Shackelford] is the other half of every breath I take on the show, and personally, he’s a large part of my heart. The people are my family–we have shared marriages, deaths, divorces. It’s far more difficult to leave than I thought.”
The show didn’t quite work without the great chemistry between characters Valen and Gary. In fact, Joan took the blame for the show being shut down.
“Well, it was my fault. I jumped over to NBC to do a pilot which did not sell,” she said. “I was so ready to go, after fourteen years with the one lady, so I auditioned for the pilot, and they cast me. It wasn’t as cleanly negotiated as it should have been. When the pilot didn’t sell, they asked me back, and I did do the four-hour finale of the show.”
Joan Van Ark left the soap opera business behind but continued to star in many television series. She had minor parts in television series, including Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and starred in some television movies. Between 2004 and 2005, Joan appeared as Gloria Fisher in 55 episodes of the hugely successful television drama The Young and The Restless.Joan Van Ark – marriage, husband, children
It’s common for celebrities in Hollywood to marry other celebrities, and show-biz marriages don’t always last very long.
But that wasn’t the case for Joan Van Ark, who met the love of her life back in high school. She met her husband, John Marshall, while the two were students in Boulder. In 1966, the couple married on a military base in Germany.
“Believe me, it was nothing like the marriages [Valene Ewing] has gone through,” she told UPI.
In 1969, they welcomed daughter Vanessa Marshall, who also chose a career in entertainment. She became a well-known voice-over artist and actually gave up on her on-camera acting career. Instead, Vanessa Marshall has lent her voice to animated films, television series, and several video games.
John Marshall went on to become an Emmy newsman, working on KNBC-TV and NBC. He’s had a flourishing career just as his wife Joan, and while the couple was working hard to make it in their respective fields, Vanessa was growing up.
For Van Ark, becoming a mother while trying to navigate through the business was tough. And she gives credit to her husband, John, for keeping the family together during those stressful years.
“He is the reason we have the most wonderful daughter in the world and that the marriage has stayed strong,” Van Ark told The Leader-Post in 1988. “I feel I am the committed person who can’t give up time for this or that.”
“He did not want to miss watching Venessa grow up, and he did not want to miss me,” she added. “He knows correspondents live out of suitcases. John made career choices I didn’t agree with because if it had been me, I would have packed my bags, and I would have been waiving at the airport.”Joan Van Ark – net worth
Besides her acting job, Joan Van Ark has a great interest in running. The 78-year-old has completed several marathons and explained she’s running instead of going to a psychologist. However, when it comes to her husband, she stated that she would never go on a run with him.
Why? Because “it’s the quickest way to a divorce that I know of. You’re always criticizing the other’s style,” Joan said.
In the last decade, Joan Van Ark has continued to work on stage in several productions for theater and starring in television series and movies such as Watercolor Postcards and Psycho Wedding Crasher. But she will always be most remembered for her magnificent spell on Dallas and Knots Landing.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Joan Van Ark has a net worth of around $10 million.
After A Successful Surgery, This Black Lab Born With A Cleft Lip And Cleft Palate Can Finally Enjoy Playing In Water
After a successful surgery, this black lab born with a cleft lip and cleft palate can finally enjoy playing in water: If you’re a frequent lurker on Imgur, you’ll have meet the adorable face of Felix. Probably the most-loved dog on the social media platform, Felix sure has captured thousands of hearts with his delightfully charming face.
Born with a harelip and a birth defect, Felix has had his justifiable share of struggles. Fortunately, this January, he had surgery to repair his mouth and it had been successful! Now, Felix is as happy and healthy as the other good boy out there, and he even had his first splash in the river recently, which wouldn’t are possible a year ago! “I got Felix as an 11-day old puppy. I used to be the rescue worker who was called in by the breeder after they noticed that one among the puppies from their litter wasn’t thriving, and was, in fact, dying because he had a severe birth defect and harelip, and wasn’t ready to nurse off of his mother properly,” Jamie, Felix’s rescuer and then the owner shared with Bored Panda. “He had developed bronchopneumonia at now and wasn’t getting to live another 24 hours. I took him home with me and tube-fed him for subsequent 7 weeks. I treated his pneumonia also . he’s now a 14-month-old adult Black Lab!”
“
the explanation for a harelip and palate is unknown,” Jamie told Bored Panda. “It may be a birth defect found in animals and humans, and is assumed to flow from to improper nutrition within the mother, or exposure to chemicals during gestation.” Sadly, the hare lip and palate aren’t the sole medical conditions that this adorable boy has. But he doesn’t let catch on in the way of his happiness! “Felix also has some digestive issues because his colon formed on the precise opposite side of his body that it had been supposed to! Weird but it works. He only has one functioning eyeball, his jaws don’t match up, and therefore the right side of his face seems like a melted candle, but aside from that he’s ok I suppose,” Felix’s owner told us. “None of his teeth match up either, so he has got to mostly eat canned foods. Sometimes I give him hard food so he can desire “one of the gang” but it’s quite hard for him to scoop it up. Keeps him busy though.”
Image credits: thevaiobandit101
“Felix had corrective surgery on January 31st to correct his clefts,” Jamie, Felix’s owner shared with Bored Panda. “He features a unilateral birth defect that involved both hard and soft palates. His Doctor was ready to reconstruct the roof of his mouth using his own tissue, and even rebuilt his taste bud, because it was nonexistent. Ever since his surgery, probably thanks to his skull shifting, he suffers from a neurological tic now that causes him to spin and bark at the air occasionally. We try new medications to assist him out thereupon .”
Felix’s owner told Bored Panda that the bomber was unable to eat and drink normally before his surgery. “I had to use a specialized tool that I made to wash the food out of his cleft whenever he ate,” she explained. “He also had to be regularly sedated so it might be cleaned and flushed at the vet. Just one occasion there was a whole salmon skin up there (we sleep in Alaska), and once more there was a plastic dental floss stuck up in there. He was quite a multitude .”
Fortunately, for Felix, he lives during a big and loving family. “Felix has 4 siblings!” Jamie told Bored Panda. “I have another dog with a cleft (not as severe and didn’t require surgery). His name is Sammy and he’s an Australian Cattle Dog. I even have a miniature dachshund named PB who is 12 years old. I even have daughter, a terrier from Bethel Alaska. And eventually , there’s Meera, who seems like a 20-pound brindle whippet. they’re an odd bunch, and everyone from the rescue. I work for a veterinarian who does exclusively rescue work. He’s an excellent man. Felix gets along great with all of his brothers and sisters, also as his cat friend, and any and every one fosters that I bring home. I even have fostered overflow 400 dogs since 2013.”
Apparently, Felix is feeling happy and safe living with his loving owner and siblings. “Felix is that the happiest dog I’ve ever had,” Jamie shared. “He is blissfully unaware of his health problems, and he has more energy than he or I do know what to try to to with. i used to be ready to take him swimming for the primary time in his life this past weekend, and he did great. I hope to be ready to train him to be a “real retriever” this summer. If I might have tried to need him swimming before his surgery, he would have drowned in seconds.”
Image credits: thevaiobandit101
If there’s one thing that this happy and energetic goofball likes to do, it’s certainly playing! “Felix likes to play ball – he will roll in the hay allllll day if you’ll throw it,” his owner told Bored Panda. “He is in a position to eat and drink normally now, and he’s the strongest dog I’ve ever known. After his surgery, he had a feeding tube beginning of his neck and that i had to push liquid petfood through it for a couple of weeks. He never complained and stood so still while I did it. He couldn’t have anything in his mouth, which was difficult, because he likes to have something in his mouth in the least times! He has been a true trooper, and that i hope that the remainder of his life are going to be great!” Obviously, Felix is extremely loved in his house. There, he gets to play with other dogs, cats, and his favorite stuffed animals. In fact, he loves the stuffed toys such a lot , he recently ate two of them and had to possess surgery! So, this adorable lab is not any different from other good Labrador boys
“Seeing him like this after his surgeries is that the best reward. What a man ,” Felix’s owner gushes. “He may be a happy boy.” Jamie is quite glad that Felix is a part of her life. “I have had people say that I should have put him down, but I’m glad I didn’t,” she told Bored Panda. “He may be a great advocate for overcoming challenges, looking a touch bit different than your friends, and for having your pets spayed or neutered!” Make sure to see out the Imgur account where Felix’s owner posts his photos and videos! Promise, you won’t be disappointed but rather rewarded with daily heartwarming content!
Leave a Reply