Victoria Principal on Why She Turned Down Huge Pay-Raise on "Dallas"

[JamesG]

Why Victoria Principal Turned Down a Texas-sized Payday on "Dallas"
by Lynette Rice
March 31, 2018


For nine memorable years on "Dallas", Victoria Principal portrayed unsophisticated Texas belle Pam Barnes, who married into the wealthy Ewing clan.

In 1987, the actress turned down a contract that would have made her the highest-paid actress on TV. Here, Principal looks back on her turbulent last month on TV’s ratings powerhouse.





The first five years on "Dallas" were so unbelievably wonderful — then some key writers departed, and by year 7 there was a decline in the writing, which was an enormous part of my decision to leave.

I informed the producers during re-negotiations in the seventh year that I would only stay for two more. They wanted a longer contract, and I said no. I was completely transparent.




Cut to two years later when I was busy creating my production company and looking for scripts, when my rep was approached about my negotiating to stay longer. Since this had all been done two years prior, it was quite a surprise. They felt that because others had left and returned, perhaps I would have a fear factor, and if they waited until the last minute, that would influence me to stay for less money.

What they didn’t understand was how committed I was to leaving. It was belated and somewhat insulting. So my polite response was “I’m leaving.”




There was a lot of pressure. At first it was flowers and notes. But apparently I wasn’t behaving in the way they expected an actress to behave, so my parking space was taken away; I had to park off the MGM lot. The pressure intensified until they made an offer that completely caught me off guard:

A few days before my final scene in the car accident, I’m offered a per-episode salary that would have made me the highest-paid woman on TV. There are moments in life when you discover your true character. That night I slept like a baby, because I wasn’t for sale.




The last day I filmed, the scene didn’t involve any of my costars. They were all gone. The cast and even Larry Hagman didn’t know I was leaving because it was [production company] Lorimar’s responsibility to inform them. I had an enormous cake brought in and had shirts made for everyone on the crew that said, “It was all a dream. Love, Victoria.”

Afterward I flew to Texas for a charity event. When I got back, I was supposed to make a joint announcement with the producers about my departure, but instead Lorimar announced they had let me go. I’m not going to say what I did, but I took the necessary hours to think about it and met with my attorneys and the producers.




A new statement was reissued, but it was a bit like the tail wagging the dog. I learned a lot from playing Pam. She was someone with such innate goodness and who was courageous in fighting for what she believed in.

It was really a privilege to play her.

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/31/why-vict...day-on-dallas/

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by JamesG

Why Victoria Principal Turned Down a Texas-sized Payday on "Dallas"
by Lynette Rice
March 31, 2018


For nine memorable years on "Dallas", Victoria Principal portrayed unsophisticated Texas belle Pam Barnes, who married into the wealthy Ewing clan.

In 1987, the actress turned down a contract that would have made her the highest-paid actress on TV. Here, Principal looks back on her turbulent last month on TV’s ratings powerhouse.





The first five years on "Dallas" were so unbelievably wonderful — then some key writers departed, and by year 7 there was a decline in the writing, which was an enormous part of my decision to leave.

I informed the producers during re-negotiations in the seventh year that I would only stay for two more. They wanted a longer contract, and I said no. I was completely transparent.




Cut to two years later when I was busy creating my production company and looking for scripts, when my rep was approached about my negotiating to stay longer. Since this had all been done two years prior, it was quite a surprise. They felt that because others had left and returned, perhaps I would have a fear factor, and if they waited until the last minute, that would influence me to stay for less money.

What they didn’t understand was how committed I was to leaving. It was belated and somewhat insulting. So my polite response was “I’m leaving.”




There was a lot of pressure. At first it was flowers and notes. But apparently I wasn’t behaving in the way they expected an actress to behave, so my parking space was taken away; I had to park off the MGM lot. The pressure intensified until they made an offer that completely caught me off guard:

A few days before my final scene in the car accident, I’m offered a per-episode salary that would have made me the highest-paid woman on TV. There are moments in life when you discover your true character. That night I slept like a baby, because I wasn’t for sale.




The last day I filmed, the scene didn’t involve any of my costars. They were all gone. The cast and even Larry Hagman didn’t know I was leaving because it was [production company] Lorimar’s responsibility to inform them. I had an enormous cake brought in and had shirts made for everyone on the crew that said, “It was all a dream. Love, Victoria.”

Afterward I flew to Texas for a charity event. When I got back, I was supposed to make a joint announcement with the producers about my departure, but instead Lorimar announced they had let me go. I’m not going to say what I did, but I took the necessary hours to think about it and met with my attorneys and the producers.




A new statement was reissued, but it was a bit like the tail wagging the dog. I learned a lot from playing Pam. She was someone with such innate goodness and who was courageous in fighting for what she believed in.

It was really a privilege to play her.

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/31/why-vict...day-on-dallas/

I think she was right to leave when she did. The character had outlived its uselessness as counterbalance to covetous Cliff and at times ersatz mother to Lucy. The killing off of her mother meant an end to that particular storyline and the character had reached a dead end. I also suspect (allegedly) that the actress was suffering from some kind of eating disorder.

[adamchandler]

I’m happy she didn’t take the offer. Yes I agree it was time for her to go. No I don’t believe she outstay her welcome, the writers just failed her! She was the female lead from my understanding bobby and Pam were the center everything that happened should have always been lead to them. Yes, jr popularity made him just a big focus but not enough to neglect the them. We as viewers saw the Ewing’s through her eyes so killing her meant more to us. It’s a entirely new show after she leaves.

[TV Guy]

Victoria isn’t being quite truthful about why she left. She was willing to stay if she got salary parity with Patrick Duffy (who got a huge raise when he returned) and she only wanted to sign for an additional year. CBS was willing to give her a raise - though not as much as Duffy - and they wanted two years. So she walked away.