Flamingo Road
Encyclopedia
Flamingo Road is an American
prime time
soap opera
that aired on NBC
. It was first seen as a TV movie on May 12, 1980, and as a series on January 6, 1981, after a rebroadcast of the pilot on December 30, 1980. The show was based on the 1949 movie starring Joan Crawford
, which was, in turn, based on the novel by Robert Wilder. Flamingo Road was created to compete against CBS
's Dallas
and Knots Landing
, nighttime dramas that were inspired by the daily soap operas that aired in the afternoon.
, Florida
, which was situated on the inside of a corner of the panhandle. Action revolved around the various characters of the show, most of whom had ties to the very wealthy Weldon family, who resided on ritzy Flamingo Road: Claude, who gained his fortune through the paper industry; Eudora, his naive wife; Constance, their believed to be adopted daughter, and Skipper, their son who was in his early 20s. Fielding Carlyle was Constance's husband, whilst Lane Ballou was his frequent mistress. Lane worked for bar owner Lute-Mae Sanders, Constance's biological mother (Claude was her biological father, but no one knew it). At Lute-Mae's Lane became good friends with Sam Curtis, a construction magnate. Other important members in the cast were Titus Semple, the ruthless sheriff, and Elmo Tyson, editor of the Truro Clarion and Eudora's high school sweetheart.
Though the show was popular, it soon succumbed to being scheduled against ABC
's hit romance/mystery Hart to Hart
. NBC
pulled the plug on the show in Spring 1982, though reruns aired in the timeslot until mid summer of that year. Several of its stars went on to become famous for other works, including Morgan Fairchild
, Mark Harmon
, John Beck
, and Woody Brown. Others were already relatively known when the series debuted, such as Howard Duff
, Stella Stevens
, Cristina Raines
, and Barbara Rush
.
NBC executives proposed a daytime version of the primetime series to debut in September 1982, but that never occurred.
In the second hour, Lane comes back to town and gets a job at Lute-Mae's, angering Titus, who thought he had finally gotten rid of her. Lute-Mae is confronted by the sheriff, but has the upper hand in the situation and Lane stays. Field and Constance are married in the Weldons' backyard, and much of the town is in attendance. Those who are not, though, are partying at Lute-Mae's, where Lane is miserable over Field's nuptials. Lute-Mae steps out and heads over to the reception to have a quick chat with Claude, Constance's father. Claude comforts her, much to the dismay of an observant Eudora Weldon, Claude's wife. She gets even and gets "comforted" by Elmo Tyson, claiming that "it's hard to watch my little girl get married." Annabelle dies in a fire set at the Weldon Paper Mill & Company, where Skipper planned to meet her.
Lane becomes frightened when she realizes that a murderer is after her, because she has inside information about a killing that went on several years earlier. Her friend from the circus, Beth McDonald, is killed, and within weeks, Lane is secretly kidnapped. While she is gone, Field and Constance finally divorce. Hurricane Michelle storms towards town and leaves most of the main cast stuck at Lute-Mae's, with the exception of Elmo and Eudora who have dinner at the Clarion's headquarters. The hurricane sends Lane's kidnappers back to Lute-Mae's as well, and try to play on the act that they all entered the bar separately. Soon, though, hell breaks loose and one of the men is shot, while they are all arrested. Field comforts Lane, but Constance breaks them up, claiming that the divorce papers she had drawn were fakes and that she and Field were still married. In a rage, Field sent Constance over the railing at the top of the stairs and onto the floor.
Michael Tyronne makes his first appearance in town, bidding against Sam for a piece of waterfront property. Sam also becomes closer to Lane as the two slowly start to fall in love. After winning the bidding war with Sam, Michael also wants to buy the Cuban barrio, but Eudora does not want to sell, despite Claude's efforts to make her think otherwise. Eudora becomes addicted to painkillers and is sent to live in a mental sanitarium eventually to recover and return to Flamingo Road.
Constance regains the use of her legs, but realizes that while she was in her wheelchair, Field felt softer to her and that a reconciliation might happen. She pretends to still be paralyzed, but the truth comes out when Eudora has a fit for pills and Constance hops out of her chair to help her. Field happens to pass by the open door to Eudora's room and sees Constance out of her chair, running frantically around Eudora.
While Eudora is away, Claude forges her signature to sign over the barrio property to Tyronne. Tyronne has Titus evict the Cubans who live there, which includes two early 20 somethings who have ties to the Weldon family: Julio Sanchez, who starts a sexual relationship with Constance, and his sister Alicia, who falls in love with Skipper. Skipper and Alicia's relationship seemed doomed. They were working late at the Clarion office one night when an explosion went off. They both survived, but Skipper lost his sight in the accident. Soon they eloped and moved into the Weldon mansion together.
Michael Tyronne finally gets the barrio property and wants to build a casino resort on it. The problem is that gambling is illegal in Florida. He tries all he can to make Field rock the vote in the Senate to legalize gambling. Tyronne buys the bank that Claude has the Weldon Mill's trust at and forecloses on it, making Field the new owner. As much as this pleases Field, he still goes against Tyronne's plans. Tyronne loses the barrio, however, when Eudora gets wind of her name being forged.
Fielding begins to stray away from Constance again, but not with Lane (who had gotten married to Sam in a beautiful ceremony). He meets a reporter named Sandy Swanson and they fell in love. Unknown to Field, though, Sandy was Michael Tyronne's sister. Tyronne had vengeance on his mind when he came to Truro. Over 20 years ago, Tyronne's father had lived in Truro. He was convicted of a murder and Fielding's father, Judge Andrew Carlyle, and Titus, who was still the sheriff back then, had him receive the death penalty. Tyronne firmly believed that his father was innocent, despite the endless evidence that pointed to his guilt. Still, Tyronne wanted everyone connected to Titus and Judge Carlyle to suffer. His method of destruction was voodoo. He kills Sandy by having her car go off a cliff, because she was sleeping with Field.
After Tyronne beds most of the women on the show, and Constance beds most of the men, they find each other, but only for a while. Tyronne leaves her for a few rendezvous with Lute-Mae, after finding out that she is Constance's mother. Lane is shocked that Lute-Mae would date a man like Tyronne, and it drives a wedge between the longtime friends. Lane also has good news. She and Sam are expecting a baby.
Field finally cuts his ties with Tyronne when he decides to resign from the Senate, making him useless in Tyronne's urge to make gambling legal in Florida. This angers Tyronne much more, and leads him to get his job done faster. He plots to drive Titus insane and reveals to Constance her true parentage. Soon after, though, someone gets the guts to kill him. After he dies, many people are suspected in the crime, everyone from Lute-Mae to Constance to Eudora to Claude. Lute-Mae is revealed as the killer, however, in the series' last scene was of Michael's spirit rising from a burning barn and later being seen hidden away in a monastery, revealing to the audience that he was not dead.
as Sam Curtis.
Woody Brown as Skipper Weldon.
Peter Donat
as Elmo Tyson.
Howard Duff
as Titus Semple.
Morgan Fairchild
as Constance Weldon Carlyle.
Mark Harmon
as Fielding 'Field' Carlyle.
Kevin McCarthy
as Claude Weldon.
Cristina Raines
as Lane Ballou Curtis.
Barbara Rush
as Eudora Flowers Weldon.
Stella Stevens
as Lute-Mae Sanders.
as Julio Sanchez (Season 2 only).
Joel Bailey as Tony.
Denise Galik
as Christie Kovacs (Season 1 only).
Gina Gallego
as Alicia Sanchez Weldon (Season 2 only).
Alice Hirson
as Mary Troy (Season 1 only).
Dianne Kay
as Annabelle Troy (Pilot only)
Sandra Kearns as Beth McDonald (Season 1 only).
Marcia Rodd
as Alice Kovacs (Season 1 only).
Esther Rolle
as Julia (Season 2 only).
David Selby
as Michael Tyronne (Season 2 only).
John Shearin as Deputy Tyler (Season 1 only).
Cynthia Sikes
as Sandy Swanson (Season 2 only).
Carmen Zapata
as Lupe Sanchez (Season 2 only).
Charlie Robinson
as Phil (Season 1 only)
's list of The 50 Most Wicked Women in Primetime.
from 1981 to 1983. It also was rerun in the United States
on the Goodlife TV Network from June 2003 to September 2004.
The show was aired in Turkey
on the state-owned network TRT
from 1981-1982. Its popularity ended up with many establishments, particularly patisseries, to be named "Flamingo Yolu" (Turkish
literal translation) after the series, and even some municipalities throughout Turkey named park
s and promenades as that.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
that aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. It was first seen as a TV movie on May 12, 1980, and as a series on January 6, 1981, after a rebroadcast of the pilot on December 30, 1980. The show was based on the 1949 movie starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, which was, in turn, based on the novel by Robert Wilder. Flamingo Road was created to compete against CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
and Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
, nighttime dramas that were inspired by the daily soap operas that aired in the afternoon.
Synopsis
The series took place in the fictional town of TruroTruro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, which was situated on the inside of a corner of the panhandle. Action revolved around the various characters of the show, most of whom had ties to the very wealthy Weldon family, who resided on ritzy Flamingo Road: Claude, who gained his fortune through the paper industry; Eudora, his naive wife; Constance, their believed to be adopted daughter, and Skipper, their son who was in his early 20s. Fielding Carlyle was Constance's husband, whilst Lane Ballou was his frequent mistress. Lane worked for bar owner Lute-Mae Sanders, Constance's biological mother (Claude was her biological father, but no one knew it). At Lute-Mae's Lane became good friends with Sam Curtis, a construction magnate. Other important members in the cast were Titus Semple, the ruthless sheriff, and Elmo Tyson, editor of the Truro Clarion and Eudora's high school sweetheart.
Though the show was popular, it soon succumbed to being scheduled against ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's hit romance/mystery Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
pulled the plug on the show in Spring 1982, though reruns aired in the timeslot until mid summer of that year. Several of its stars went on to become famous for other works, including Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She achieved prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in several television series, in which she usually conveyed a glamorous image. Fairchild has also performed in live theater and played guest roles in television comedies...
, Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
, John Beck
John Beck (actor)
John Beck is an American actor. He grew up in Joliet, Illinois. Renowned as a gritty actor with plenty of presence on set, he is ultimately best-known worldwide for playing the role of Mark Graison in Dallas during the mid-1980s, but is also well-known for several other roles in which he...
, and Woody Brown. Others were already relatively known when the series debuted, such as Howard Duff
Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
, Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
, Cristina Raines
Cristina Raines
Cristina Raines is an American actress. She achieved her big break in the TV movie Sunshine, with Cliff De Young.-Biography:...
, and Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
.
NBC executives proposed a daytime version of the primetime series to debut in September 1982, but that never occurred.
Pilot (May 12, 1980, 2 hrs)
In the first part of the TV movie, we learn about how Lane Ballou, a singer with Coyne's Traveling Circus, was left behind when the circus was run out of Truro, Florida. She is found by Deputy Fielding Carlyle, and they begin to bond over time. The sheriff, Titus Semple, is dismayed at this, because he wants Fielding to someday become a Senator, and he believes that he must marry the rich bitch socialite Constance Weldon. Lane stays in town and she and Field embark on a secret affair. Lane also takes a job at the Eagle Cafe, alongside Annabelle Troy, a middle-class young woman who is dating Constance's brother Skipper. Constance starts planning her wedding, and begins to worry about Field's whereabouts when he would be with Lane. Lute-Mae Sanders, a local bordello owner, starts worrying about Constance, who does not know that Lute-Mae is her biological mother. At the end of the hour, Lane is falsely picked up for solicitation.In the second hour, Lane comes back to town and gets a job at Lute-Mae's, angering Titus, who thought he had finally gotten rid of her. Lute-Mae is confronted by the sheriff, but has the upper hand in the situation and Lane stays. Field and Constance are married in the Weldons' backyard, and much of the town is in attendance. Those who are not, though, are partying at Lute-Mae's, where Lane is miserable over Field's nuptials. Lute-Mae steps out and heads over to the reception to have a quick chat with Claude, Constance's father. Claude comforts her, much to the dismay of an observant Eudora Weldon, Claude's wife. She gets even and gets "comforted" by Elmo Tyson, claiming that "it's hard to watch my little girl get married." Annabelle dies in a fire set at the Weldon Paper Mill & Company, where Skipper planned to meet her.
Season One (January 6, 1981 - April 2, 1981, 15 episodes)
The series began with a steady start. Field and Constance honeymoon in the Bahamas, yet most of the time out there, Field is thinking of Lane. They are abducted by a couple hired by a drug dealer that received a bad deal from Titus. When they return, however, the drama continues. Field keeps his relationship up with Lane, including taking her with him on a business trip to Tallahassee. Constance gets wind of Field's deception and conspires with Titus to get Lane sent out of town, but they prove unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Mary Troy, Annabelle's mother, comes to town upon learning of her daughter's violent death. She, Skipper, and Lane, come to the conclusion that the Weldon fire was an arson, though they are never quite sure who set it up.Its discovered that Annabelle was Sheriff Titus Semple's illegitimate daughter from years before after he forced himself on her mother Mary.Field goes back to drinking and is drunk on the day of an important campaign function, resulting in Constance blabbing unconfirmed information about his opponent. In the end, however, Field wins the election is made a Senator of Florida. After various fights and arguments, the Carlyles separate. Skipper, on the other hand, begins a relationship with new girl in town Christie Kovacs, who moved to Truro to live with her overbearing sister Alice who worked at the Weldon Paper Mill and who was secretly in love with Claude.Christie leaves Truro for good after being paid off for having a brief affair and then surviving a car accident with Field .Not long after Alice resigns and also leaves Truro after realizing Claude would never return her feelings. Skipper also prepares to leave town to accept a job in New Orleans, but decides to stay after Claude is seriously injured in an accident at the mill.Lane becomes frightened when she realizes that a murderer is after her, because she has inside information about a killing that went on several years earlier. Her friend from the circus, Beth McDonald, is killed, and within weeks, Lane is secretly kidnapped. While she is gone, Field and Constance finally divorce. Hurricane Michelle storms towards town and leaves most of the main cast stuck at Lute-Mae's, with the exception of Elmo and Eudora who have dinner at the Clarion's headquarters. The hurricane sends Lane's kidnappers back to Lute-Mae's as well, and try to play on the act that they all entered the bar separately. Soon, though, hell breaks loose and one of the men is shot, while they are all arrested. Field comforts Lane, but Constance breaks them up, claiming that the divorce papers she had drawn were fakes and that she and Field were still married. In a rage, Field sent Constance over the railing at the top of the stairs and onto the floor.
Season Two (November 3, 1981 - May 4, 1982, 22 episodes)
Constance survives her fall, but is paralyzed indefinitely from the waist down as a result. Claude is ready to press charges on (and kill) Field for pushing down his little girl, but Constance agrees to keep him quiet if Field continues their farce of a marriage. He agrees to her terms. While in the hospital, Lute-Mae and Claude have a candid talk about Constance, not knowing that Eudora is in the chapel with them. She soon learns that Lute-Mae and Claude are Constance's biological parents. Lute-Mae faces her own problems, though, when she is raped by a delivery boy who works for the grocery store she shops at. Since the boy is part of an affluent Flamingo Road family, Titus refuses to press charges against him, but Lane and Lute-Mae soon get their justice. Field, acting as Senator, tries to fix a Cuban barrio in town, but then discovers that Claude Weldon owns it, though it is signed in Eudora's name.Michael Tyronne makes his first appearance in town, bidding against Sam for a piece of waterfront property. Sam also becomes closer to Lane as the two slowly start to fall in love. After winning the bidding war with Sam, Michael also wants to buy the Cuban barrio, but Eudora does not want to sell, despite Claude's efforts to make her think otherwise. Eudora becomes addicted to painkillers and is sent to live in a mental sanitarium eventually to recover and return to Flamingo Road.
Constance regains the use of her legs, but realizes that while she was in her wheelchair, Field felt softer to her and that a reconciliation might happen. She pretends to still be paralyzed, but the truth comes out when Eudora has a fit for pills and Constance hops out of her chair to help her. Field happens to pass by the open door to Eudora's room and sees Constance out of her chair, running frantically around Eudora.
While Eudora is away, Claude forges her signature to sign over the barrio property to Tyronne. Tyronne has Titus evict the Cubans who live there, which includes two early 20 somethings who have ties to the Weldon family: Julio Sanchez, who starts a sexual relationship with Constance, and his sister Alicia, who falls in love with Skipper. Skipper and Alicia's relationship seemed doomed. They were working late at the Clarion office one night when an explosion went off. They both survived, but Skipper lost his sight in the accident. Soon they eloped and moved into the Weldon mansion together.
Michael Tyronne finally gets the barrio property and wants to build a casino resort on it. The problem is that gambling is illegal in Florida. He tries all he can to make Field rock the vote in the Senate to legalize gambling. Tyronne buys the bank that Claude has the Weldon Mill's trust at and forecloses on it, making Field the new owner. As much as this pleases Field, he still goes against Tyronne's plans. Tyronne loses the barrio, however, when Eudora gets wind of her name being forged.
Fielding begins to stray away from Constance again, but not with Lane (who had gotten married to Sam in a beautiful ceremony). He meets a reporter named Sandy Swanson and they fell in love. Unknown to Field, though, Sandy was Michael Tyronne's sister. Tyronne had vengeance on his mind when he came to Truro. Over 20 years ago, Tyronne's father had lived in Truro. He was convicted of a murder and Fielding's father, Judge Andrew Carlyle, and Titus, who was still the sheriff back then, had him receive the death penalty. Tyronne firmly believed that his father was innocent, despite the endless evidence that pointed to his guilt. Still, Tyronne wanted everyone connected to Titus and Judge Carlyle to suffer. His method of destruction was voodoo. He kills Sandy by having her car go off a cliff, because she was sleeping with Field.
After Tyronne beds most of the women on the show, and Constance beds most of the men, they find each other, but only for a while. Tyronne leaves her for a few rendezvous with Lute-Mae, after finding out that she is Constance's mother. Lane is shocked that Lute-Mae would date a man like Tyronne, and it drives a wedge between the longtime friends. Lane also has good news. She and Sam are expecting a baby.
Field finally cuts his ties with Tyronne when he decides to resign from the Senate, making him useless in Tyronne's urge to make gambling legal in Florida. This angers Tyronne much more, and leads him to get his job done faster. He plots to drive Titus insane and reveals to Constance her true parentage. Soon after, though, someone gets the guts to kill him. After he dies, many people are suspected in the crime, everyone from Lute-Mae to Constance to Eudora to Claude. Lute-Mae is revealed as the killer, however, in the series' last scene was of Michael's spirit rising from a burning barn and later being seen hidden away in a monastery, revealing to the audience that he was not dead.
Starring
John BeckJohn Beck (actor)
John Beck is an American actor. He grew up in Joliet, Illinois. Renowned as a gritty actor with plenty of presence on set, he is ultimately best-known worldwide for playing the role of Mark Graison in Dallas during the mid-1980s, but is also well-known for several other roles in which he...
as Sam Curtis.
- Proprietor of Sam Curtis Construction. Bedfellow of Constance and later, devoted husband to Lane. Field's campaign manager.
Woody Brown as Skipper Weldon.
- Claude and Eudora Weldon's son. Soon goes blind and marries the poor Alicia Sanchez.
Peter Donat
Peter Donat
Peter Donat is a Canadian-American actor known for his roles in American television.-Early life:Donat was born Pierre Collingwood Donat in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie and Philip Ernst Donat, a landscape gardener. His uncle was British actor Robert Donat...
as Elmo Tyson.
- Editor of the town's newspaper, The Truro Clarion and secret admirer of Eudora. Candidate for Sheriff. Elmo was played by Mason AdamsMason AdamsMason Adams was an American character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Adams was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned an MA degree from the University of Michigan in Theatre Arts and Speech and also attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying theater arts...
in the pilot.
Howard Duff
Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
as Titus Semple.
- Corrupt sheriff of Truro County. Has done many dirty deeds, such as setting Lane up as a prostitute and orchestrating the Weldon Mill fire.
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She achieved prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in several television series, in which she usually conveyed a glamorous image. Fairchild has also performed in live theater and played guest roles in television comedies...
as Constance Weldon Carlyle.
- Wealthy, spoiled daughter of Claude and Eudora. Married to Field, yet sleeps with everyone but him. Rival of Lane.
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
as Fielding 'Field' Carlyle.
- Constance's husband and high school sweetheart. Started as a deputy but became a Senator. Lover of Lane and Sandy and one-time ally of Michael.
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy (actor)
Kevin McCarthy was an American stage, film, and television actor, who appeared in over two hundred television and film roles. For his role in the 1951 film version of Death of a Salesman, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of...
as Claude Weldon.
- Overly nervous paper mill owner and ally of Titus'. Secretly fathered Constance with Lute-Mae.
Cristina Raines
Cristina Raines
Cristina Raines is an American actress. She achieved her big break in the TV movie Sunshine, with Cliff De Young.-Biography:...
as Lane Ballou Curtis.
- Streetwise singer who works for Lute-Mae at her bar. Carried on a relationship with Field before marrying Sam.
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
as Eudora Flowers Weldon.
- Claude's long suffering wife . She befriends Lute-Mae.
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
as Lute-Mae Sanders.
- Kind, friendly ex-madam who owns a bar/brothel. Mother figure for Lane and Sam.
Also starring
Fernando AllendeFernando Allende
Fernando Allende is a Mexican singer, actor, painter, film producer, and film director. Allende began singing in 1959, at the age of seven.-Private life:...
as Julio Sanchez (Season 2 only).
- Bitter son of one of Sam's workers, and one of Constance's many lovers.
Joel Bailey as Tony.
- Handyman at Lute-Mae's who ends up blackmailing her.
Denise Galik
Denise Galik
Denise Galik-Furey is an American actress who has starred on television and in film.-Career:Born in in Cleveland, Ohio, Galik has starred in television on soap operas, daytime and night time soaps. Her first soap opera role was in the 1980s CBS soap Knots Landing as Linda Stricker from 1980 to 1981...
as Christie Kovacs (Season 1 only).
- Skipper's devious girlfriend in the first season who bed's Fielding Caryle and leaves town after surviving a car accident with Fielding.
Gina Gallego
Gina Gallego
Gina Gallego is an American actress, known for her work in television.Gallego was born in Los Angeles, California, daughter of Maria, a homemaker, and George Gallego, a landscape designer....
as Alicia Sanchez Weldon (Season 2 only).
- Julio's younger sister who eventually marries Skipper.
Alice Hirson
Alice Hirson
Alice Hirson is an American actress best known for her roles on television.She appeared regularly in soap opera with roles as Stephanie Martin on The Edge of Night, as Marcia Davis on Somerset, and as Eileen Riley Siegel on One Life to Live...
as Mary Troy (Season 1 only).
- Annabelle Troy's mother, who comes to Truro to investigate her daughter's death.
Dianne Kay
Dianne Kay
Dianne Kay is an American actress, best known for her role as Nancy Bradford on the ABC television show Eight is Enough ....
as Annabelle Troy (Pilot only)
- Young woman who is Skipper's girlfriend and Sheriff Titus Semple's illegitimate daughter. She dies in the Weldon mill fire.
Sandra Kearns as Beth McDonald (Season 1 only).
- Old friend of Lane's who is killed.
Marcia Rodd
Marcia Rodd
Marcia Rodd is an American actress.Rodd was born in Lyons, Kansas, the daughter of Rosetta and Charles C. Rodd. She studied drama at Northwestern University....
as Alice Kovacs (Season 1 only).
- Christie's stern older sister who was secretly in love with Claude Weldon and leaves Truro not long after her sister does
Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle was an American actress. She was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Florida Evans on the CBS television sitcom Maude and its spin-off series Good Times.-Biography:...
as Julia (Season 2 only).
- Michael's mysterious voodoo high priestess.
David Selby
David Selby
David Lynn Selby is an American character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap operas and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins on the ABC-TV serial, Dark Shadows , and as the evil and compassionate...
as Michael Tyronne (Season 2 only).
- Cunning and debonair businessman who is out for revenge.
John Shearin as Deputy Tyler (Season 1 only).
- The deputy that replaces Field upon his arrival in the Senate.
Cynthia Sikes
Cynthia Sikes
Cynthia Sikes is an American actress known for her television roles. On JAG, she played the love interest of Adm. Albert Jethro 'A.J.' Chegwidden . Her breakthrough role was playing Dr. Annie Cavanero on the critically acclaimed series St. Elsewhere, which she appeared in for the first three...
as Sandy Swanson (Season 2 only).
- Michael's reporter sister who falls for Field and is killed by voodoo.
Carmen Zapata
Carmen Zapata
Carmen Margarita Zapata is an American actress. Zapata was born in New York City to a Mexican father and an Argentine mother. She has been in over one hundred movies and shows, including Batman: The Animated Series, Married... with Children, Sister Act, and she was Carmen Castillo in Santa Barbara...
as Lupe Sanchez (Season 2 only).
- Julio and Alicia's Puerto Rican mother.
Recurring
Glenn Robards as Jasper (entire run)- The Weldon family's trusty butler.
Charlie Robinson
Charles Robinson (actor)
Charles "Charlie" Robinson is a critically acclaimed American theater and television actor. He is best known for his role as Mac Robinson in the NBC sitcom Night Court...
as Phil (Season 1 only)
- The main bartender at Lute-Mae's.
Directors
- Gabrielle BeaumontGabrielle BeaumontGabrielle Beaumont is a British film and television director.Her directing credits range from Hill Street Blues to Star Trek: The Next Generation. She is best known for directing, writing and producing the TV special Diana: The People's Princess...
- Alan CookeAlan CookeAlan Cooke is a British actor.He has appeared in many British television shows, including Grange Hill, The Bill and EastEnders, playing Carl Talbot.-External links:...
- Barry CraneBarry CraneBarry Crane, born Barry Cohen, was a prolific television producer and director, and a champion bridge player....
- Bill DukeBill DukeWilliam Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
- Larry Elikann
- Edward H. Feldman
- Kim FriedmanKim FriedmanKim Friedman is American television director and producer.Friedman's career began in 1977, directing episodes of the sitcom, Alice she then moved on to directing episodes of Family, Knots Landing, Square Pegs, The Love Boat, Dynasty, A Different World, Head of the Class, Beverly Hills, 90210,...
- Nick Havinga
- Fernando LamasFernando LamasFernando Álvaro Lamas was an Argentine-born actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas.-Early life and career:...
- Stan LathanStan LathanStan Lathan is an American television director, film director, television producer and television director.-Career:Lathan’s career began with public television in Boston where he co-created and directed one of the first and longest running urban themed magazine shows, Say Brother...
- John NewlandJohn NewlandJohn Newland was an American director, actor, television producer, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:...
- Michael Preece
- Ron Satlof
- Nicholas Sgarro
- Paul StanleyPaul Stanley (director)Paul Stanley was an American television director.Stanley worked in television from the early 1950s until the mid-1980s...
- Bob Sweeney
- Don Weis
Writers
- Margaret Armen
- Stephen Black
- Robert Blees
- Bill D'Avray
- Jeff Freilich
- James Fritzhand
- Michael Furino
- Howard Lakin
- Ann MarcusAnn MarcusAnn Marcus ia an American television writer, producer and playwright. She graduated from Western College for Women, worked for the New York Daily News and Life, where she worked with famed photographers such as Alfred Eisenstadt....
- Ellis Marcus
- Paul Eric Myers
- Joyce Perry
- Margaret Schibi
- Kathleen Shelley
- Joel SteigerJoel SteigerJoel Steiger is an American television producer, writer, and director. He specializes in creating mystery series. Has worked as writer, executive producer and consultant on some of the most successful television mysteries of the 80's & 90's.-Awards:Steiger has won one Edgar Award in 1983 for...
- Henry Stein
- Judy Terl
Reception
The character of Constance ranked at #16 on E!E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
's list of The 50 Most Wicked Women in Primetime.
Broadcast
The show aired in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 1981 to 1983. It also was rerun in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the Goodlife TV Network from June 2003 to September 2004.
The show was aired in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
on the state-owned network TRT
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...
from 1981-1982. Its popularity ended up with many establishments, particularly patisseries, to be named "Flamingo Yolu" (Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
literal translation) after the series, and even some municipalities throughout Turkey named park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s and promenades as that.