Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Gretchen Wyler: An appreciation

She was Pam Ewing's patient physician on "Dallas," with a first name that could stop traffic: Dr. Conrad, or Dagmara, as her friends no doubt called her. She also was the tough female presider, Judge Larson, when Cruz Castillo stood trial for the murder of Eleanor Norris / Elena Nikolas on "Santa Barbara."

With lots of TV credits dating back to the '50s, she certainly was one of those faces that you swear you've seen a hundred times, though there was no one role that really eclipsed the others.

Born Gretchen Winnecke in Oklahoma in 1932, Gretchen Wyler studied ballet and did some Broadway dancing early in her career. She continued on in Broadway for years but also began a decades-long career in television. With her trademark blond hair, she did guest stints on great classic TV like "Charlie's Angels," "Hart to Hart" and "Benson." She was Libby Carnes on CBS' "Falcon Crest." Wyler was also an avid fighter for animal rights and had several pets of her own.

You can learn more about her life at her official website. Gretchen Wyler died on Sunday, May 27, in her Camarillo, Calif., home of breast cancer, the UPI reports. She was 75.

BRBTV News Blog Blip: As if the "Dallas" big-screen remake hasn't had enough sputters and stalls, now the director, Gurinder Chadha, is taking a break off the project for her pregnancy. DailyIndia.com reported yesterday that Chadha is about a month from giving birth.

No comments: