As a result, Van Ark became the youngest student ever to receive a scholarship to the well-respected school and the second woman ever to enroll. The first woman was Julie Harris, who helped Van Ark into the school.
āShe wrote to the dean and asked him to meet me. Long story short, my parents drove me to New Haven, Connecticut, to meet the dean, who gave me a scholarship,ā she recalled.ā It was meant to be.ā
Valene Ewing on āDallasā and āKnots Landingā
Van Ark began her professional career at the Minneapolis Guthrie Theater, where she starred inĀ The MiserĀ by Moliere. After working about a year at the Arena StageĀ in Washington DC, she moved down to work with the national touring companyĀ Barefoot in the ParkĀ in 1963, which led to her Broadway debut. In 1971, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play after starring inĀ The School for Wives.
At that point, Joan Van Ark had begun working in front of a screen rather than on stage. She appeared on television series includingĀ Temperatureās Rising,Ā Spider-Woman, andĀ Days of Our LivesĀ and even in one episode ofĀ Bonanza.
Even though Joan Van Ark wasnāt short of jobs, she was still looking for her significant breakthrough role as the 1980s approached. In 1978, she made several appearances as Valene Ewing onĀ DallasĀ ā which led her to the role of a lifetime.
Knots LandingĀ ā a spinoff ofĀ DallasĀ ā premiered in 1979, and Joan Van Ark reprised her role as Valene Ewing. She starred in 327 episodes ā acting alongside Michele Lee as Karen and Ted Schakleford as Gary ā and became a massive star.
Even though it was a spinoff of Dallas ā about the rotten but wealthy Ewing Clan ā it was initially brought to CBS years before.
However, the network wanted a ābig rich familyā show, andĀ DallasĀ got picked as the one. But later on,Ā Knots LandingĀ became a massive success as the studio realized how big of a show Dallas had grown into, and after only one season, it rose into the top 20 in TV ratings.
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