'Dallas' Star Gayle Hunnicutt Dead at 80
The Texas-born actress starred as Vanessa Beaumont in 'Dallas' between 1989 and 1991.
Gayle Hunnicutt, for playing Vanessa Beaumont on Dallas, has died. Hunnicutt died of an unspecified illness at a London hospital on Thursday, Aug. 31, her ex-husband, journalist Simon Jenkins, confirmed to The Washington Post. She was 80.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1943, Hunnicutt knew she wanted to be an actress by the age of five, though her parents focused on academic achievement. After winning a scholarship to the University of California in Los Angeles to study English Literature and Theatre, she was spotted by a Warner Brothers agent while taking part in a stage production, according to The Guardian.
Gayle Hunnicutt obituary https://t.co/STYvi3FwdW
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She made her television debut in 1966 at the age of 23 on the NBC sitcom Mister Roberts and went on to appear on a number of series that decade, including The Beverly Hillbillies, Hey Landlord, Love on a Rooftop, and Get Smart. Hunnicutt was perhaps best known for her portrayal of English aristocrat Vanessa Beaumont, the mother of J.R. Ewing's illegitimate son, in Dallas. Hunnicutt starred on the hit CBS primetime soap opera throughout the show's final three seasons from 1989 to 1991.
On the big screen, Hunnicutt appeared in more than 30 films and notably starred opposite James Garner as television star Mavis Wald in the 1969 neo-noir crime film Marlowe. She also starred in The Wild Angels, P.J., Freelance, and Running Scared, among others. Hunnicutt also had a stage presence, appearing in The Life and Loves of Edith Wharton and The Two Marys. Her other acting credits include The Love Boat, Taxi, Fantasy Island, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with her final performance coming in 1999 when she appeared on an episode of CI5: The New Professionals. In addition to acting, she also authored two books, Health and Beauty in Motherhood, which was published in 1984, and Dearest Virginia: Love Letters from a Cavalry Officer in the South Pacific, in 2004.
In the late '60s, Hunnicutt met her first husband David Hemmings at a party thrown by Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford. At the time, Hemmings was coming off the success of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up. The two sparked romance and later married, moving to England, where her career took off. The couple co-starred in two horror films, Fragment of Fear in 1970 and Voices in 1973, with Hunnicutt starring opposite Roddy McDowell in The Legend of Hell House that same year. Hunnicutt and Hemmings divorced in 1975, and Hunnicutt married Jenkins in 1978. The pair divorced in 2009.
Hunnicutt is survived by her two sons Edward and Band of Brothers actor Nolan, as well as five grandchildren; Poppy, Theo, Oscar, Dash and Nia.