They were rocketed to stardom by the success of Dallas spin off Knots Landing. But the cast have gone on to have dramatically different careers.
Some have continued to ascend in Hollywood, starring in box-office hits throughout the 30 years since the show was canned.
But others have struggled, with them failing to land huge roles – with one even prematurely killed off one of their TV gigs.
Knots Landing went off air in May 1993, 14 years after it debuted in December 1979 and captured audiences across the country.
It followed the residents of a cul-de-sac in Knots Landing, a suburb of LA, where the characters engaged in scandalous lives including infidelity, rape, murder and more.
The show saw now household names such as Julie Harris and Alec Baldwin cut their teeth in the world of acting, with them going on to make millions in the industry.
Here, DailyMail.com takes a look at how the whole cast has faired over the last three decades:
CBS show Knots Landing went off air in May 1993 after 14 years. It was one of the longest TV series
Lee played the upbeat Karen Fairgate MacKenzie, who was the only character to appear in every episode. She went on to do guest appearances on Something Wilder, Will & Grace, and Family Guy (pictured on the show and in 2020)
Michele Lee
Lee played the upbeat Karen Fairgate MacKenzie, who was the only character to appear in every episode.
She, along with costars Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills, were a trio of divas on the show, but eventually, Lee was claimed to be the First Lady of Knots Landings by Joan Rivers.
Lee won five Soap Opera Digest Awards for her work on the show. She and Julie Harris were also the only ones that were nominated for Emmy Awards for their work.
She went on to do guest appearances on Something Wilder, Will & Grace, and Family Guy, according to NickiSwift.com.
Devane played the villain on the show, but the bad guy fans loved to hate on. He played politician Greg Sumner, who ran for Senate in Season 5. After the show, he went to play parts in The Dark Knight Rises and 24 and 24: Live Another Day (pictured on the show and in 2014)
William Devane
Devane played the villain on the show, but the bad guy fans loved to hate on. He played politician Greg Sumner, who ran for Senate in Season 5.
On the show, Devane’s character lost his second wife to a brain tumor, which left him a single dad. He later gave his daughter Meg to Mack and Karen (Kevin Dobson and Michele Lee) to raise.
His character would eventually remarry and have an affair, as well.
Devane had his big break as John F. Kennedy in 1974 film The Missiles of October, which earned him an Emmy nomination for the role. He also starred in Marathon Man and Family Plot.
After the show, he went to play parts in The Dark Knight Rises and 24 and 24: Live Another Day.
Dobson joined the show in its fourth season to play a federal prosecutor named Mack Mackenzie. He died on September 6, 2020 (pictured on the show and in 2005)
Kevin Dobson
Dobson joined the show in its fourth season to play a federal prosecutor named Mack Mackenzie, who was Lee’s on-screen husband. Their characters fall in love when he arrives to investigate her husband’s death.
Dobson and Lee were named the favorite super couple by Soap Opera Digest Awards. He also won three solo awards through them for his role on the show.
Prior to his acting career, he worked for the Long Island Rail Road as a conductor and also waited tables and bartended.
Dobson has a small uncredited role in Klute (1971), starring Jane Fonda, and his most notable role was in All Night Long (1981), where he starred alongside Barbra Streisand.
He died on September 6, 2020.
Baldwin joined the cast in its sixth season in 1984. After he left the show in 1988, Baldwin’s career began to take off, as he costarred on She’s Having a Baby, Beetlejuice, and Married to the Mob, among others. In more recent years, he is known for portraying Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live and won an Emmy for the performance in 2017 (pictured on the show and in 2023)
Alec Baldwin
Baldwin has had a vast career since his days on Knots Landing.
The now Hollywood A-lister recently had his charges dropped for shooting Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, which has resumed filming in Montana.
But prior to his days of being followed by photographers, Baldwin joined the cast in its sixth season in 1984. He played a doomed evangelist named Joshua Rush, who was abandoned by his mother Lilimae Clements (Julie Harris).
After he left the show in 1988, Baldwin’s career began to take off, as he costarred on She’s Having a Baby, Beetlejuice, and Married to the Mob, among others.
In more recent years, he is known for portraying Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live and won an Emmy for the performance in 2017.
Harris was a well-known Broadway actress before starring as Lilimae Clements. Harris died on August 24, 2013 when she was 87 from congestive heart failure. Her costars Lee and Joan Van Ark flew in for the service (pictured on the show and in 2005)
Julie Harris
Harris was a well-known Broadway actress before starring as Lilimae Clements. She is one of the most honored stage actors, with five Tony Awards and a lifetime achievement Tony Award.
She was one of the two actors that was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the show.
Harris died on August 24, 2013 when she was 87 from congestive heart failure. Her costars Lee and Joan Van Ark flew in for the service.
A scholarship was made at the Yale School of Drama, which Baldwin contributed the first $25,000.
Shackelford originally appeared on Dallas before starring in the spin-off Knots Landing. He played Gary Ewing. After the show, he became a regular on The Young & The Restless from 2006 to 2015 and also did a three-episode reboot of Dallas in 2013 (pictured on the show and in 2005)
Ted Shackelford
Shackelford originally appeared on Dallas before starring in the spin-off Knots Landing. He played Gary Ewing.
His character had loads of fun on the show, including marrying and divorcing his wife twice, having an affair that he marries and then divorces, and developing a drinking problem, before getting back with his first wife.
After the show, he became a regular on The Young & The Restless from 2006 to 2015 and also did a three-episode reboot of Dallas in 2013.
He recently guest starred on NCIS in 2017.
Mills played Abby on the show. Her character was often married and divorced and was also a victim of a kidnapping plot on the show. In 2014, she joined the cast of General Hospital and won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role as an outstanding guest performer in a drama series (pictured on the show and in 2020)
Donna Mills
Mills played Abby on the show. Her character was often married and divorced and was also a victim of a kidnapping plot on the show.
After the show, Mills took a break from acting and raised her adopted daughter Chloe, according to NickiSwift.com.
In 2014, she joined the cast of General Hospital and won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role as an outstanding guest performer in a drama series.
Hartman joined Knots Landing in 1982 as Ciji Dunne, a rock singer, who has an affair with Shackelford’s character. She recently appeared on The Masked Singer in 2020 (pictured on the show and in 2009)
Lisa Hartman
Hartman joined Knots Landing in 1982 as Ciji Dunne, a rock singer, who has an affair with Shackelford’s character.
She appeared in almost every episode of Season Four, but her character ultimately ended in 1983. She later came back as a different character due to her popularity among fans.
She received two Soap Opera Award nominations for her work on the show.
She also had a singing career during the show, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000.
She recently appeared on The Masked Singer in 2020.
Sheridan played Paige Matheson on the show, starting in 1986. She won two Soap Opera Digest Awards for her role (pictured on the show and in 2022)
Nicolette Sheridan
Sheridan played Paige Matheson on the show, starting in 1986. She won two Soap Opera Digest Awards for her role.
She quickly became a much-beloved character on the show and was invited back for the miniseries in 1997.
After the show’s ending, she went on to play several roles, including in CW’s Dynasty reboot, Desperate Housewives, where she neared Golden Globe nominations, according to NickiSwift.com.
She sued ABC for wrongful termination after she was killed off in Desperate Housewives. She also claimed to have faced physical abuse on set. Her case was dismissed, but she filed for a retrial in 2014.
Green played Brian Cunningham. After the show’s closing, he would land a decade-long stint as David Silver in Beverley Hills 90210 (pictured on the show show and in 2023)
Brian Austin Green
Green played Brian Cunningham, Abby’s teenage son. He also appeared on two episodes of the miniseries.
After the show’s closing, he would land a decade-long stint as David Silver in Beverley Hills 90210.
He also appeared on George Lopez and Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management, among others.
He married Megan Fox in 2010 and they share three children together. They finally divorced in 2022.
Van Ark played Valene Ewing on the show. She ultimately left the show in 1993, but won two Soap Opera Digest Awards for her role (pictured on the show and in 2020)
Joan Van Ark
Van Ark played Valene Ewing on the show, which carried over from her time on Dallas. Her characters married and divorced Shackelford’s character three times, while also having two other marriages on the show.
Her children on the show were also kidnapped in Season Six and Seven.
She ultimately left the show in 1993, but won two Soap Opera Digest Awards for her role.
She went on to guest star on The Nanny, My Name is Earl, and Nip/Tuck, according to NickiSwift.com.
