JANE WYMAN (Angela Channing)

SUSAN SULLIVAN (Maggie Gioberti Channing)

DAVID SELBY (Richard Channing)

ANA-ALICIA (Melissa Agretti)

LORENZO LAMAS (Lance Cumson)

WILLIAM R. MOSES (Cole Gioberti)

ABBY DALTON (Julia Cumson)

LAURA JOHNSON (Terry Ranson)

BRETT CULLEN (Dan Fixx)

ROBERT FOXWORTH (Chase Gioberti)

JANE WYMAN
Angela Channing

Falcon Crest may have closed down, but not without Jane Wyman having the last word.  She wrote Angela's wistful soliloquy to her beloved Tuscany Valley.  "I wanted to tie up the show, mention everyone who was gone - the grandfather, Melissa, Cole and Maggie," she says "so that the loyal audience we had wouldn't feel cheated that they had been taken in a different direction by the producers that they didn't understand (and frankly I didn't either).  It was a wonderful experience but I wasn't' sorry to see it end [because of] the way it was going.  The first six years of the show were marvelous, then they started tampering with it.  I get so much mail from people saying they can't understand what happened."

Wyman sees cast members on an infrequent basis and keeps a watchful eye on their careers. "Everybody checks in.  David [Selby, Richard Channing] and I had lunch not too long ago.  And I saw Rod Taylor [Frank Agretti].  Abby [Dalton, Julia Cumson] and I have lunch when she's not on the ski slopes.  We all just had a good time on the show."

Wyman continues to work with the Arthritis telethon in Los Angeles as well as paint. Wyman's last appearance was as Jane Seymore's mother in 'Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman'. She has no plans to act again, or go on a nostalgia binge, reviewing her long career in Hollywood.  "Nope.  That's not for me.  I'm a today lady."  Her health problems, which had her sitting out part of FC's final season, have cleared up.  "I'm fine," says Wyman.  "Nobody has to worry about me."

SUSAN SULLIVAN
Maggie Gioberti Channing

Susan Sullivan is currently a very busy woman.  After finishing her role in J.B. Priestly's 'Dangerous Corner' at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles this past summer, Sullivan got to work on her new series, 'Dharma & Greg', ABC's new hit sitcom in which she plays Kitty Montgomery.  Sullivan also had a role as Isabelle Wallace in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' and has an independent film due for release, titled 'Show and Tell'.  She also starred in the tv-movie 'Two Came Back'.

The diverse roles she has played in her latest roles all have one thing in common: "they're all very strong, very wealthy women - and I've just loved playing them," Sullivan says.  "I've always played these sympathetic women who are strong and have a seriousness about them.  But the women I'm playing now have another kind of strength, which is delightful.  I think I'm staring a whole new career here."

Sullivan has starred in a number of TV-movies, but 'My Best Friend's Wedding' is her motion-picture debut.  She plays the mother of the bride (Cameron Diaz).  "When I originally read the screenplay, Isabelle had only two little scenes, but the author described her in such fascinating detail - in fact, the description was longer than the part," she explains.  "She was described as a woman of money, privilege and power, who walks into a room and just takes it over.  It sounded fabulous, I had to play her."

In the end, director P.J. Hogan used Sullivan in five or six scenes, she says.  "He works very free-form - a bit of improv, but he also films the script."  Sullivan hadn't seen the finished product at the time of the interview.  "We shot it last year during the heat of summer in Chicago.  My biggest fear is that my hair is going to look flat, flat, flat.  I'm trying to prepare myself for the worst," the actor jokes.

Sullivan is cool as a cucumber in the play 'Dangerous Corner', in which she plays Freda, the wealthy wife of Granville Van Dusen's character.  Sullivan says, "Freda has a light touch, which I like.  I love working with Granville and David Dukes, who alternate the role.

On 'Dharma & Greg', Sullivan is Kitty, the mother of Greg, who marries flower child Dharma in haste.  "I find it fascinating that I'm playing another wealthy woman," she says with a laugh, "but Kitty is a more scattered, a bit of a flibbertigibbet, so that's fun too."

Sullivan's latest roles add to an impressive resume since she left 'Falcon Crest' in 1989.  Sullivan left because she thought "Maggie was repeating herself," she says.  "I had missed seeing several shows because I was out of the country.  When I came home, I watched them back-to-back and I saw myself playing the same scene in every show.  I just felt, this is not good for me, this is not good for the show - what are we doing here?"

In a letter to readers of Soap Opera Digest in 1990, Sullivan said "Maggie died a rather bizarre death in the final year of 'Falcon Crest'.  I felt, as did the producers, the character was boxed in by a story line that had a no-win premise built into it.  I felt stifled by playing the same scene over and over and am now trying to do comedy.  I appeared in a very different kind of role in 'Doctor Doctor'.  I needed a change, that's why I cut my hair!"

"What I miss about the show is the structure it provided - it gave my life shape.  Now I'm in the fortunate (and unsettling) place of shaping it myself.  I just returned from Malaysia, where I found myself warmly embraced by friends of Maggie.  'FC' is playing all over Europe and Asia, so I never feel like a stranger and I am traveling more."

Sullivan went onto to tape a pilot for CBS, 'Ruth Harper', a soap spoof, but it wasn't picked up by the network.  Following that, Sullivan starred in another unsuccessful pilot, 'Satellite News', for Fox.  Sullivan played a nasty reporter who nonetheless knows when to put on a happy face, when the camera's pointing at her.  "I'm nice on camera, but off camera, it's 'f--k you, fix my hair,'" Sullivan laughs.

A recurring role as George Carlin's love interest, Kathleen Ragkowski, on Carlin's self titled comedy followed.  Simultaneously, Sullivan played Robert Urich's ex-wife in 'Danielle Steel's A Perfect Stranger' for NBC.  "It's a functional character in terms of what the script is about, but therein lies the challenge.  It's fun to do romance, particularly after doing 'The George Carlin Show', which is not very romantic."

Sullivan's next role was critically acclaimed but ultimately short lived.  In ABC's prime-time drama, 'The Monroes', Sullivan headlined alongside William Devane, in the role of Kathryn Monroe.  Sullivan had an "absolutely fabulous time" portraying the character.  "It [was] really a cross between the dark, sinister machinations of a major power group like the Corleone family and then it has the funny, quick-paced and very stylish light side of 'The Philadelphia Story'".  Sullivan later said "Kathryn's a lot more interesting than Maggie.  Maggie was more behind the scenes, whereas Kathryn is a mover and a shaker."

Sullivan says of her days on 'Falcon Crest': "Those were really nice years.  The thing that stands out in my mind about 'Falcon Crest', of course, was we shot a lot of the shows, particularly in the earlier years, up in the Napa Valley of California.  That is such a beautiful place, and to be among the vineyards and really get a sense of that lifestyle and nature - it was great.  Ultimately, it always comes down to the people and I'm still friendly with people on that show."

Susan has kept in touch with David Selby, amongst other co-stars, but shares her private life with author Connell Cowan, author of  'Smart Women, Foolish Choices'.  "He wrote it, I lived it," commented the actress, who was introduced to Cowan by former FC cast member Dana Sparks (Vicki Gioberti). Recently, she received the Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award from the Arthritis Foundation for her efforts in the charity.

DAVID SELBY
Richard Channing

At the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York for the 'Dark Shadows' festival, David Selby was also in town to read his play 'Lincoln and James' in which he plays Abraham Lincoln.  Selby explains that this reading for the DS fans is his way of saying "hello and thank-you for following me over the years."  Selby has been busy lately, with a feature film, 'Alone', due for release, with "a wonderful ensemble headed by Hume Cronyn.  Horton Foote is in it; he wrote it.  It's about relationships and the transitional time that many American workers found themselves in during the last five to ten years."

Selby also stars in 'Soldiers of Fortune', a syndicated series which began last year and has undergone a name change to 'S.O.F. Special Ops Force.'.  "I play Xavier Trout, who is an enigmatic character," he explains.  "He shows up at the beginning and the end [of each episode], and enlists soldiers of fortune to go out on a series of adventures that are in the interest of this country or the CIA."

Following the demise of 'Falcon Crest', Selby returned to his first love, the stage, in a smashing revival of Arthur Miller's classic drama about the Salem witch trials, 'The Crucible' a the Los Angeles Theatre Centre.  Selby says it was fate that he should play John Proctor because 'The Crucible' was the first play he studied in drama school.  "I felt very fortunate to do it," he says.  "It went very well.  I felt so strong about it.  It was good, damn hard, satisfying work, but I hadn't had so much fun in the theatre since I don't know when."

David starred in 'Dying Young', starring Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott.  "Colleen Dewhurst, Ellen Burstyn and myself support the leads.  The subject matter was tough - it's about leukemia - it's a small role but ti was fun."  Selby also continues with his play-reading series for radio station KCRW.  He has been reunited with Robert Foxworth (chase) in this venue, and worked with Ed Asner and Stacy Keach.

"It was a good time some of the time," he says of his days on 'Falcon Crest'.  IN his estimation, the show suffered from "a revolving door of writers and producers" who made too many changes.  "When a show's successful, you have to be very careful.  The writers wanted to create something new because that's what they were hired to do.  What happened to the show wasn't their fault.  No one comes in to make a bad show, no one wants to be a bad President," he says.  "We had a good run."

What he misses is having a routine.  "You get more protective of your time.  We spend our whole lives searching for whatever, that inner peace or something.  Some people like gardening.  I like to work a lot.  'Falcon Crest' was like having an office, or an extended family.  It was a little harder than I thought it would be when the show was over."  He's kept in touch with few people from the show, like Jane Wyman.  Selby later caught up with Susan Sullivan.  "you really have to keep in touch," Selby reminds everyone who moved on.

ANA-ALICIA
Melissa Agretti

The capricious yet private actress has been busy since leaving Falcon Crest, co-hosting a special for Fox television called 'The Greatest Stunts'. "They heard that I had done some racing so they asked me to go," she says.  "They did it in France.  It was pretty spectacular.  I'm still working on producing and writing the screenplay for a movie to be called 'Flamenco'.  It's a love story with a lot of music and dancing and sensuality.  I would shoot it in Spain."  Ana-Alicia is also the co-host of 'The Zoo Life', a series of specials.  She hosts these with Jack Hanna, the head of the zoo in Columbus Ohio.

The actress has also devoted much of her time to various environmental and political causes.  She is the national spokesperson for the Humane Society, whose purpose it is to "inform the consumer about cruelty to animals and to develop a market for non-animal tested cosmetics.  I've always been a member of the animal associations.  I started a campaign in my neighbourhood to have animals neutered.  I have six stray cats to which I learned I was allergic [after being confined to bed with flu symptoms for six days].  I have a bumper sticker on my car that says 'Neuter Your Animals.  There aren't Enough Homes For All of Them'."

A recent television appearance was as the heroic stewardess in 'Miracle Landing', a movie that costarred Wayne Rogers and Connie Sellecca.  That assignment was hazardous to her health.  "I had a broken rib and a lung infection from the smoke," she says.  "The doctor thought I was an abused wife."  She hasn't been shopping  for a series or doing much auditioning.  Instead, she's been studying acting and running her own life: "I've taken over all of my business affairs and become a real person again." Alicia also took time to reteam with Lorenzo Lamas for a guest role in Lamas' series, 'Renegade', and also made an appearance on 'Acapulco Heat'.

Alicia is very proud of her role in the feature film, 'Romero', which starred Raoul Julia as Archbishop Oscar Romero, whose outspoken defense of leftists and the rights of peasants against military repression in El Salvador cost him his life.  He was assassinated in 1980, while saying mass one morning for a group of nuns..  "You have to let them see that you can do quality work on a quality production," says Ana-Alicia.  "then they will stop thinking of you as some bimbo; 'Just put some earrings on her and send her out there and she'll scream at someone'."

Ana-Alicia irregularly keeps in touch with her buddies from Falcon Crest.  She was reunited with Lorenzo Lamas at a celebrity ski tournament in Banff, Alberta, and the two later co-hosted the 'Golden Eagle' awards, which promote Hispanic achievements in  he media.  "We're like an old ex-married couple," says Ana-Alicia.  "We're connected in life."  She also keeps in touch with Billy Moses (Cole) and Susan Sullivan.  "A lot of good people were involved in this show," she says.

In 1993, Lamas divorced 'Renegade' co-star Kathleen Kinmont (daughter of former FC cast member, Abby Dalton), and three years later married actress and model, Shauna Sand.

WILLIAM R. MOSES
Cole Gioberti

Moses has an excellent memory of his tenure on the popular prime-time soap.  "I did 139 episodes," he says.  "that brought me up to five and a half years."  After leaving the show, he demonstrated his versatility as a performer appearing in the hit movie 'Mystic Pizza' and as Rock Hudson's lover Marc Christian in the TV movie based on Hudson's life.  He has a big fan in his neighbour and former cast mate, Jane Wyman.  "Jane's been following my career," he says.  "she saw 'Mystic Pizza', watches me in 'Perry Mason' and went out of her way to tell me how proud she was of the work I'd done in the Rock Hudson story because the part was so difficult.  It meant so much to me to hear it from someone of that caliber."

The actor had been playing Ken Malansky on Viacom's recurring 'Perry Mason' series for several years until the death of star Raymond Burr.  The series shot in Denver, and Moses worked there for months at a time on each two hour movie.  Why Denver?  "Raymond [liked] it there and the city has a look all its own," he explains.

One of the guest stars on PM was his former television mother, Susan Sullivan.  It had been three or four years since they'd seen each other and Moses says it was a wonderful reunion.  Sullivan starred as one of the suspects in the movie, a television presenter named Twilight Cooper.

The health of Moses's wife, actress Tracy Nelson of the 'Father Dowling' series, has been in jeopardy in recent years, but he reports that she has beaten off Hodgkins Disease.  The 'Perry Mason' gig has certainly helped with her astronomical medical bills.  In the future, Moses wants to look for more projects like 'Mystic Pizza'; his performance received favourable reviews.  "I am really hungry to do another film," he says.

Moses starred on 'Melrose Place' as Allison's obsessed boyfriend, a role that was followed by his wife's appearance later in the series as Allison's sister. He also appeared in the series, 'Fame LA', which premiered last year.

Today he regards his time on Falcon Crest as his "youth.  I was twenty years old when I got that pilot.  I hadn't worked a lot on television, but Jane and Robert [Foxworth, Chase Gioberti] and Susan taught it to me.  They were my original professional family.  I had some of the most wonderful times I've had and it was a good time to move on when I did."

ABBY DALTON
Julia Cumson

 "I did 'Steel Magnolias' in Los Angeles and 'California Suite' in Saskatchewan.  My mother passed away last year and I wanted to get back to work, so it was fun to play three different roles.  Unfortunately I was working with people who were unpleasant.  It was not a happy time.  Actually I've been doing a lot of snow skiing.  We live the majority of the time in Mammoth Lake, California, area.  My husband and I do volunteer work ont he mountain.  We don't come to Los Angeles very often except to do business, but our three children still live there," Dalton says.  Her daughter Kathleen Kinmont was married to Lorenzo Lamas (Lance), who played Dalton's sun on FC.  What was it like having Lamas as a son-in-law? "Lorenzo is mostly angel," says Dalton.  "By far, he's one of the most wonderful people I've met."

Dalton came back briefly in FC's seventh season as a blind Julia Cumson, an affliction that the actress found far-fetched.  "It was supposed to be some sort of psychological blindness," she says, laughing.  She is best remembered for her earlier work, when Julia went to jail and then to a nunnery for killing Jacqueline Perrault (Lana Turner).  "the scenes in jail were the most demand, satisfying stuff for me to do.  Playing an insane person is wonderful because you don't have to qualify any of the writers' writing.  You get to chew the scenery.  I enjoyed doing the nun in the gun.  That's what Jane used to call me.  I used to zip over on lunch hour to our country club in the habit, sweeping past the members.  I remember one man who glanced up at me and I winked at him.  I thought he was going to have a cardiac arrest on the spot."

"I keep in touch with Jane and Father Bob [the real-life priest who played Angela Channing's confidante]," Dalton says.  What was it like working with Wyman? "Jane likes things done cleanly.  She makes it kind of hard on all other actresses because she's so darned good at what she does and in her relation to the public.  Even if she was tired or bores, she was always gracious with people.  I tried to emulate her.  When someone has been world-class at whatever profession they're in, it shows that they're made of really good stuff."

LAURA JOHNSON
Terry Ranson

Johnson went on to appear in numerous tv and movie projects, including 'Paper Hearts', 'Deadly Exposure', 'Der Blaue Diamant', 'Dario Argento's Trauma', 'Marked for Murder', 'Awake to Murder', 'Judge and Jury', and 'Mr Atlas'. The accomplished equestrienne is still riding horses. 

BRETT CULLEN
Dan Fixx

After 'Leaving Normal', Cullen went on to star in a plethora of movies and television, including 'A Kiss Goodnight', Wyatt Earp', 'Gambler V: Playing for Keeps', 'Danielle Steele's Family Album', 'The Omen', 'Apollo 13', 'The Killing Jar', 'Orleans', 'Something Borrowed, Something Blue', 'Perfect Body', and 'The Hired Heart'. Cullen's success has continued with a supporting role as Julia Robert's love interest in 'Something to Talk About'.

ROBERT FOXWORTH
Chase Gioberti

Robert Foxworth's career after he left 'Falcon Crest' at the end of the 1986-87 season brought good and bad. His career continued to prosper, with roles in 'Double Standard', 'Beyond The Stars', 'Price of the Bride', 'With Murder In Mind', and 'For Love and Glory'. Further to this, Foxworth appeared in the short lived prime-time soap, '2000 Malibu Road', and in 'Star Trek Deep Space Nine'. In October of 1996, Foxworth appeared with his son, Bo, in 'Galileo', at Center Stage, Baltimore, directed by Irene Lewis. Foxworth most recently appeared in the mid-season replacement 'Lateline' on NBC, where he starred as Pearce McKenzie.

While Foxworth's career continued, his 20 year relationship with 'Bewitched' star Elizabeth Montgomery ended tragically when her struggle with colon cancer came to an end in May 1995.

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