Patrick Duffy: Biography

The son of tavern owners, Patrick Duffy was selected for a special drama program at the University of Washington while attending high school in Seattle. He became the state's first Actor in Residence, working as a carpenter and delivery man whenever he wasn't teaching or touring. After performing with the San Diego Shakespeare Festival and spending several years in minor film and television roles, Duffy was starred as gill-endowed Mark Harris in the TV series Man From Atlantis (1977). It was the sort of fantasy role that either typed an actor for life or led to bigger things; fortunately for Duffy, the latter proved to be the case. In 1978, Duffy was cast as Bobby Ewing on the prime time serial Dallas. After seven seasons, Duffy expressed a desire to leave the series and pursue other projects; obligingly, Bobby Ewing was killed off on the last episode of the 1984-85 season in a spectacular and apparently permanent fashion. But in the first episode of the 1986-1987 season, there was Bobby Ewing, taking a shower as though nothing had happened (Nothing did: Bobby explained that his death, and his subsequent season-long absence, was all a figment of his wife Pam's imagination!). Duffy remained with Dallas until its cancellation in 1990, directing a few episodes along the way. His next TV series was Step by Step, a "retro" sitcom co-starring Suzanne Somers that ran from 1991 through 1994. In addition to his series work, Patrick Duffy has been seen in such made-for-TV movies as The Enola Gay (1982) and Alice in Wonderland (1985, as "The Goat"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide