Charlene Tilton

Charlene L. Tilton or Charlene Tilton (born December 1, 1958) is an American actress and singer. Tilton was best known for playing the saucy niece of John "J.R." Ewing Jr. (played by the late Larry Hagman) named Lucy Ewing from the formerly popular primetime soap opera Dallas.

Early Life
Tilton was born on December 1, 1958 in San Diego, California as the daughter of Katherine Thacker, a secretary. She grew up not knowing her father and with a few financial resources available to her mother of her. Tilton is approximately 4'11 (1.50 m)

Career
She had early roles on such television series such as Happy Days and Eight is Enough. Tilton made her first film appearance alongside Jodie Foster in Freaky Friday (1976). In 1978, Tilton made a cameo appearance in the John Milius film Big Wednesday. The following year, she made her big break by landing the role of Lucy Ewing, the sly, vixenish, frequently frustrated granddaughter of John "Jock" Ewing Sr. and the former Eleanor "Ewing" Southworth of the hit primetime soap opera Dallas alongside actors: Jim Davis, Barbara Bel Geddes and Larry Hagman from 1978-85 and from 1988-90. She also appeared in one episode of the series' spin-off Knots Landing in 1980. At the height of her Dallas fame, she received a $50,000 salary per episode, appearing in 500 magazine covers and drew 65 million viewers for her 1981 wedding.

On February 21, 1981; She was a guest host on an episode of Saturday Night Live which featured a parody of the famous "Who shot J.R.?" scene from Dallas. In the episode, former cast member Charles Rocket was shot in the chest by a sniper while doing a sketch about a sexy couple (with Gail Matthius as his partner) bathing a dog and spouting innuendo. At the end of the episode, during their "goodbyes", she asked Rocket about how he felt being shot. In character, Rocket improvised by saying "Oh man, it's the first time I've ever been shot in my life, I'd like to know who the f**k did it" the improvisation by Rocket which violated by FCC broadcast standards at the time led to his dismissal from the show's cast.

She was also a singer by lending her vocal talents to a 1978 episode of Dallas titled "Runaway" in which Greg Evigan guest-starred. In 1984, she released the dance-pop single called C'est La Vie which became a hit in several European countries but not in the United States. In 1979 and 1991 Tilton appeared on Circus of the Stars on one occasion acting as a knife thrower's target girl while dressed in a gold bikini. She also appeared on various game shows such as All-Star Family Feud Special, Battle of the Network Stars, Hollywood Squares, Pyramid, 1 vs. 100, Catch 21 and has appeared as a panelists on the 1979-82 syndicated version of Match Game. Tilton also hosted the unsold pilot called MG2 in 1996.

In the 1990, Tilton appeared in a number of commercials for the Abdominizer line of direct-market workout equipment (Similar to Suzanne Somers promoting Thighmaster) She also appeared as herself in an episode of the sitcom Married... with Children called "Tis Time to Smell the Roses" which set her involvement with the Abdominizer. In addition, she has appeared in several stand-up comedies such as: The Silence of the Hams (1994), Superhero Movie (2008) and Paranormal Calamity (2010). In 2005, she appeared on the British reality show The Farm.

In 2001, she was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her role as Lucy Ewing on the original Dallas series. In 2012, she was a contestant on the British reality series Dancing on Ice for its 7th series in which she was paired up with American figure skater Matthew Gonzalez. Tilton was eliminated from the competition in week five of a 12-week run. In the same year, she joined the cast of the TNT reboot of Dallas as the reprised role of Lucy Ewing in a number of episodes.

Friendship with Larry Hagman
When Tilton was in high school while her mother was mentally ill and was raised without a father, he young, unfamiliar actress met Hagman whom she regarded as a surrogate father. Then a few years later at age 17, she audition and won the role of Hagman's confused niece Lucy Ewing on Dallas. The two had a remarkable on and off screen chemistry for the show's eight season's and they also danced off camera. When Tilton left the show at the end of the eighth season, her contract expired as Hagman was very disappointed about letting her go. She said of Hagman in 1988 "He called me and said, 'You're certainly a good actress--we never realized'. I think Larry went to bat for me to come back on the show". That same year, she came back to the show and stayed on for two more seasons until her departure in 1990 a year before the series' finale. After Dallas, Tilton remained on good terms with Hagman nd cared about her TV uncle's failing health when in 1995, Hagman needed a liver transplant after being diagnosed with liver cancer and survived. Tilton did not appear in any of the Dallas TV reunion movies, but has appeared in the Dallas Reunion: The Return to Southfork special in order to reminisce the show's history in late 2004. Before this in September 2001, Tilton was the only Dallas cast member to attend her TV uncle's 70th birthday; then 11 years later, she was reunited with Hagman for the last time to star in the second incarnation of Dallas. This was prior to her acting mentor undergoing therapy for Hagman's cancer. When he passed away on November 23, 2012 due to complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, she was devastated, but did not attend his funeral. Upon his death, she released a statement "At seventeen years old, my life took a turn that one could only dream of. I was cast as Lucy Ewing in the iconic show Dallas. Dallas was much more than a television phenomenon to me. It was my family. I grew up with a mentally ill single mother raising me and no father figure in my life. I lived on my own in an apartment from the age of 15. I remember the day I met the force of nature that is Larry Hagman like it was yesterday. (It was actually 35 years ago) My Uncle Larry became the father figure that I so needed and longed for. He taught me how to be professional, work hard, but have fun at the same time, and how to respect the opportunities I was blessed to have been given. He was very protective because I was so young, but also expected the best from me on the set of Dallas. He was one of the best actors the world has ever known. To me, he will always be my Uncle Larry. I am so so very sad, but cherish the lifetime of memories I have with him."

Personal Life
Tilton was married to country singer Johnny Lee from 1982-84. She has one daughter named Cherish Lee born in 1982. In 2001, she began dating cinematographer Cheddy Hart. the couple enjoyed boating and lived together in a modest home in Oxnard, California. Hart died of a sudden heart failure at the age of 54 in December 2009.

Tilton is a very strong advocate for autism awareness in the media. She is currently the ambassador for Actors for Autism, an organization the leads improv and acting workshops for children and adults with Autism. Tilton approached AFA in 2010 with the desire to volunteer and has been affiliated with them ever since.

Goodson-Todman show hosted
MG2 [Unsold Pilot] (1996)

Goodson-Todman shows appeared
All-Star Family Feud Special (1979)

Match Game PM (1979-80)