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Here's what the entertainment world will miss most about the ''Dallas''
star by Patrick Duffy
Barbara Bel Geddes Oct 31st – August 8th 2005
When Barbara joined the cast of ''Dallas,''
as Miss Ellie, I considered her to be like Helen Hayes, Katherine Cornell, and Ethel Barrymore — a real ''name'' in
American theatre. But you'd never have known it. She exhibited no large ego because of her history. She'd schlepp in and drop
your jaw with every performance — whether it was drinking a cup of coffee, having a mastectomy, or losing Jock Ewing.
It was remarkable, her ordinariness despite that pedigree.
We called Barbara ''BBG'' on the set. She was the mama figure. Larry Hagman was obviously the prow of the boat, but
he couldn't have functioned without a strong mother, and I don't think there's been a mother like her on dramatic television
since then. People related to her because she was the epitome of compassion despite her own pain. Off screen, she was a pistol.
She cussed like a mule skinner, and she really liked to have her drinks. But she also had an endless capacity to include everybody
that she loved, and that was the entire cast.
Bel Geddes died of lung cancer in Northeast Harbor, Maine
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