Editing Dallas (TV series) (section)

===Main cast departures===
By the end of the series, only three of the series' original characters (J.R., Bobby, and Cliff) were left in Dallas, the others having either died or left town.

Jock Ewing was the first main character to depart the series, as Jock died offscreen in a mysterious helicopter crash in South America, during [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 5|season 5]]. Actor [[Jim Davis (actor)|Jim Davis]], who played Jock, had died just after production had completed on [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 4|season 4]] in 1981.

Bobby Ewing's death in the [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 8|season 8]] finale, alongside his subsequent absence during the following season, was explained away at the beginning of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 10|season 10]] as having been dreamed by Pamela, thus erasing everything that had happened during [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 9|season 9]]. Patrick Duffy had left the series to pursue other opportunities, but due to declining ratings, he was convinced to return to the series by production company [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]] as well as by series star Larry Hagman.<ref name="Dreamzone"/>

Jack Ewing left Dallas to continue his travels and get away from J.R., midway through [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 10|season 10]], and returned a final time for two episodes towards the end of the season. While there has been no official reason as to why actor Dack Rambo was written out of ''Dallas'', Rambo himself later stated that he believed the reasons to be his bisexuality or his conflicts with Larry Hagman, which Rambo said had particularly intensified during his last season on the show (season 10). Before ''Dallas'', Rambo and Hagman had worked together on ''[[Sword of Justice (TV series)|Sword of Justice]]'' in the late 1970s.<ref name="os911127">[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1991/11/27/actors-pay-price-of-aids-stigma/ "Actors Pay Price Of Aids Stigma"]  ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]''; November 27, 1991</ref><ref name="people920511">[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20112643,00.html Lipton, Michael A. "Dack Rambo's Brave New World"] ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]''; November 27, 1991</ref> Hagman later denied any involvement in Rambo's dismissal from ''Dallas''.<ref name="UltimateActors"/>

Pamela was severely burned after driving a car into an oil tanker, which then exploded into flames, in the [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 10|season 10]] finale in 1987. During [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 11|season 11]], Pam disappeared after her half-sister Katherine was seen around the hospital, with Pam seemingly leaving Bobby and Christopher due to her unwillingness to let them see her in such a physically disfigured fashion. While Victoria Principal never returned to ''Dallas'' again after the season 10 finale, [[Margaret Michaels]], a Principal look-alike, played Pam in the opening episode of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 12|season 12]]. Having undergone plastic surgery which explained the difference in her appearance, it was revealed that Pam was dying of a disease, though only she and her doctor knew about this. After this episode, Pam is never seen again. Unable to reach a salary agreement and having a desire to start her own business,<ref name="Curran">{{cite book|title=25 Years of Dallas|last=Curran|first=Barbara A.|date=2004|publisher=Virtualbookworm.com|isbn=1-58939-583-2|pages=250–251}}<!--|access-date=17 April 2015 --></ref> it was Principal's own decision not to return to the show after the season 10 finale.<ref name="wms870129">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19870129&id=oew0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=DhQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6823,9304662 "Victoria Principal leaving 'Dallas'"] ''[[Wilmington Morning Star]]''; January 29, 1987</ref><ref name="hc870130">[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1987_438626/hagman-not-happy-that-victoria-principal-is-leavin.html "Hagman not happy that Victoria Principal is leaving 'Dallas'"], ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''; January 30, 1987</ref>

Budget cuts also meant other long term cast members were let go.<ref name="Curran"/> In addition to Pamela's departure, Ray and Donna divorced at the end of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 10|season 10]]. Donna moving to [[Washington, D.C.]], where she later married Senator Andrew Dowling (guest star [[Jim McMullan]]), with whom she raised Ray's daughter Margaret. Actress [[Susan Howard]] stated in 1987 that the producers had told her that her character had run its course.<ref name="hc870130"/><ref name="ultimatesusan"/> As [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 11|season 11]] ended, Ray sold his ranch to Carter McKay and left Dallas for Switzerland with Jenna and Lucas, Charlie having already moved there to attend a [[finishing school]].  Ray returned for five episodes in the early period of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 12|season 12]].

[[Lucy Ewing]], who had left with husband Mitch at the end of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 8|season 8]], returned to Southfork in the final episodes of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 11|season 11]], only to leave again two years later for Europe. On both occasions, [[Charlene Tilton]]'s axing was a decision made by the creative team, who had difficulties creating storylines for her.<ref name="UltimateActors">[http://www.ultimatedallas.com/news/database6.htm Ultimate Dallas: Actor Trivia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822092348/http://www.ultimatedallas.com/news/database6.htm |date=August 22, 2012 }}</ref>

Sue Ellen left in the [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 12|season 12 finale]], moving to [[London]] with her new husband, film director Don Lockwood (guest star [[Ian McShane]]). While Linda Gray was let go by the same budget cuts that ended Steve Kanaly's run on the show,<ref name="UltimateActors"/> Sue Ellen's exit has since been described by Gray as a mutual decision by her and [[Leonard Katzman]], agreeing that the character "had come more than full circle".<ref name="UltimateLinda">{{cite web|url=http://www.ultimatedallas.com/dallasinterviews/lindainterview2.htm|title=Official Dallas website - exclusive dallas interview Linda Gray|author=David Massey - Goldlion|access-date=April 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628062445/http://www.ultimatedallas.com/dallasinterviews/lindainterview2.htm|archive-date=June 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Stephanie Rogers (Dallas)|Stephanie Rogers]] was let go as Cliff's PR representative at the end of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 13|season 13]], making actress [[Lesley-Anne Down]] the most short-lived member of the regular cast, appearing in 8 episodes and being on the opening title sequence in 13 episodes.

[[Barbara Bel Geddes]] had quadruple heart bypass surgery on March 15, 1983, just days after finishing her last scenes on [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 6|season 6]]. Bel Geddes then missed the first 11 episodes of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 7|season 7]], as she had a period of rest and recuperation following the surgery. After the season 7 finale, Bel Geddes left ''Dallas'' entirely after disagreements over her workload and salary in the period following her heart surgery. The role of Miss Ellie was then recast with [[Donna Reed]] for [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 8|season 8]], with Reed signing a 3-year contract.<ref name="People841119">[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089172,00.html "21 As Dallas's New Miss Ellie, Donna Reed Trades the Kitchen for a Home on the Range"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120205849/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089172,00.html |date=November 20, 2012 }} ''[[People (magazine)|People]]''; November 19, 1984.</ref> Bel Geddes was asked to return for the start of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 9|season 9]], a request to which Bel Geddes agreed, resulting in a high-profile public relations debacle that left Reed infuriated and in litigation with the series producers, who eventually made Reed a $1 million out-of-court settlement. Reed died unexpectedly of pancreatic cancer a few months later, in January 1986.<ref name="lat860114">[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-14-mn-27829-story.html Times Wire Services: "Donna Reed, 64, Dies of Cancer at Her Home"] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''; January 14, 1986</ref> Miss Ellie remained on the show until near the end of [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 13|season 13]], when she and Clayton left Dallas, deciding to travel around Far East Asia before eventually settling in Europe near Ray and Jenna. Following her exit from ''Dallas'' in 1990, Bel Geddes retired from acting.

When [[Dallas (1978 TV series) season 14|the 14th and final season]] of the series commenced, ten actors received regular cast status. Although half of them left the show prior to [[Conundrum (Dallas)|the series finale]], all of them remained billed in the series' opening sequence throughout the year. [[Clayton Farlow]] made four appearances, clearing up business that included deeding Southfork to Bobby; [[April Stevens Ewing]] died early on in the season, kidnapped on her honeymoon by Hillary Taylor (guest star [[Susan Lucci]]); [[Cally Harper Ewing]] left midway through the season to build a new life, with a new boyfriend and her and J.R.'s newborn son; Liz Adams broke her engagement to Cliff and left near the end of the season, and James Beaumont left the show a couple of episodes prior to the series finale, to start a new life on the east coast with his newly discovered toddler son Jimmy, and Jimmy's mother Debra Lynn (guest star [[Deborah Tucker]]).

As the series concluded, Carter McKay stayed put at WestStar, as powerful as ever; Michelle Stevens was left heartbroken and humiliated, alone in the ranch she had bought from McKay hoping to live there with James; Cliff Barnes was once and for all the sole owner of Ewing Oil, and Bobby Ewing, now owner of Southfork, was finally able to find closure after April's death. J.R., however, having lost both Ewing Oil and Southfork, as well as being abandoned by his sons, was at the end of his rope; the series ended with the unanswered question whether or not he killed himself.