Patrick Duffy Says theDallasCast Would Start Every Morning with Champagne — and End with Tequila Shots

Mar. 15, 2025

Patrick Duffy and Larry Hagman on ‘Dallas’ in 1982.Photo:CBS Photo Archive/Getty

CBS Photo Archive/Getty

Once that show — which required the actor to perform challenging underwater stunts and learn how to dive — was canceled, he was immediately offered a host of roles, including parts onLassieandThe Young Pioneers.But it wasDallasthat stood out: “it was a five-episode miniseries pilot,” the 75-year-old recalled. “It was a no-brainer.”

The cast of ‘Dallas’ in 1980.CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection

CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection

Duffy remembered that the day the original cast met for the first time, they gathered at Warner Bros. studios. “And then Haggy came in, Larry Hagman,” Duffy shared. “He came in a full cowboy fringe leather outfit, big hat, leather saddlebags over his shoulder — and in the saddlebags were bottles of champagne. So we sat down and drank champagne before we ever started reading the pilots ofDallas,to get to know each other,” he continued. “That was the the beginning of the relationship. But I remember being introduced to everybody, and and I shook Hagman’s hand. And I went home that day after the whole process and I told my wife, I said, ‘I think I met my best friend today.’ "

Duffy said the two remained “best friends from that moment on, till the day he died.” (Hagman diedin 2012 at the age of 81.)

But as for the champagne, “when we started working, every morning that we would be working together on the set, we’d get a call time, usually, you know, 7, 6 o’clock call time. I would pull into MGM. We’d park the cars. We’d go to Hagman’s room. We’d open a bottle of champagne. We’d have a glass of champagne every morning to start the day.”

The cast of ‘Dallas’ in 2012.Warner Horizon Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock

Warner Horizon Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock

Though Duffy would “lay out” until lunch, “Haggy,” he said, “would continue. And in the course of the day, he’d get through three or four bottles of champagne. Work. And then, you know, they’d break for lunch and so we’d go across the street, instead of the commissary, because they don’t serve alcohol in the commissary. We went to the Backstage Tavern … and we’d have a couple of drinks and a hamburger, and then come back and and do the second half of the day.”

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The actor said that as the years went on the cast could “judge when the show [was] about to wrap for the day.” So then, they knew it “was the right time — we would catch the prop guy’s eye and would just do this,” he said, seemingly indicating a nod. “That was all, and then magically, a styrofoam cup would appear.”

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

“She referred to me as her second husband, and I referred to her as my second wife,” Duffy said of the late star. “And that was from day one. And Alan [Hamel, Somers' husband] was cool with it, so was Carlyn. It was a special relationship, you know. It was brilliant. And then after the show was canceled, it didn’t change. We didn’t see each other as often, but whenever we did, it was right back to day one.”

source: people.com