I went to the Westminster College for Men in Missouri, which is what it was called back then, and transferred to the University of Denver where I ultimately got my degree.
Ted Shackelford
Theater to me is acting but it's more real on film.
I act for the reality, for the moment, and most of all I do it for the process.
I have no interest in writing, directing or producing.
If I could work with Joan Van Ark every day for the rest of my life I would.
Television is so dictated by time constraints that you have to make quick decisions and go with them.
I can't really recall the first time I was noticed by a producer but the first time I was on television was doing Daytime for Another World, which I started in December '75 and went until December '76.
In January '77 I went out to LA and have been here 26 years.
Thirty years ago dinner theatre used to be much more of a going concern than it is now.
The thing with being on a series that runs that long is that the writers run out of things to do.
What happens if you're the guy who's been on the show ten years and is highly paid but they have nothing for you to do is that they bring in other people, and you become a supporting character to those people.
I have German Shepherds that I train and have brought back to Germany. I love going there.
My wife is Danish and we go to Denmark a couple of times a year.
But no, I'm still living in LA and haven't dropped off the face of the earth.
It was unpredictable, good storytelling that brought you back each week.
And I had a lot to play, which is what you want as an actor.
The decision as to why a show makes it has to do with politics and money.
I really wasn't on the Dallas set much. I did three or four episodes so I didn't see too much.
On daytime they continue to revisit a lot of the same stuff while nighttime does move on and show development.
One of the things I was so glad that happened to me on Knots was that I learned to relax.
Knots Landing is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Everything I have in life comes from Knots Landing.
