TLDR: Sheree J. Wilson joined Dallas in 1986 as April Stevens, a scheming oil business villain who eventually softened into Bobby Ewing’s wife across five seasons.
She filmed her death scene seven months pregnant, hiding her bump behind a bouquet. Producer Leonard Katzman later called killing April his biggest regret. ‘
Wilson called it hers too. The role led directly to her casting in Walker Texas Ranger, which she described as continuing the dream.
Before Sheree J. Wilson was Alex Cahill on Walker Texas Ranger, she spent five seasons on one of the most watched shows in American television history.
Dallas was already a cultural institution when she arrived in 1986 — the show that gave the world “Who shot J.R.?” and turned Texas oil wealth into weekly prime-time drama.
She came in as a villain and left as Bobby Ewing’s wife. What happened in between is one of the more interesting character arcs of the show’s final era.
The Job of the Century
Wilson didn’t audition for Dallas in the traditional sense. Executive producer Leonard Katzman had worked with her previously on a short-lived 1985 ABC series called Our Family Honor and had stayed in contact. In 1986, when he returned to Dallas amid production shifts, her agent received a call.
Katzman’s pitch was direct: he wanted her as J.R. Ewing’s new nemesis, a “really bad girl” who would go toe-to-toe with Larry Hagman for at least 13 episodes. No audition required. He had already decided she was right for it.
Wilson called her agent immediately afterward. “Unless I’m crazy,” she said, “I just got offered the job of the century.” She later described Dallas as her dream job, a total surprise and a gift.
Katzman told her the part was tailor-made for her classic beauty and sassy, fun-loving, energetic nature. She debuted as April Stevens on October 24, 1986, in the episode “Trompe L’Oeil.”
A Bitch on Wheels Who Became Bobby’s Wife
April Stevens arrived in Dallas as the ex-wife of Jack Ewing, Bobby’s cousin.
Their early-1970s marriage had ended in a divorce that granted April 50 percent of Jack’s future income for five years.
She came to claim her share of his stake in Ewing Oil and immediately inserted herself into the family’s business wars.
Wilson’s own description of the character in those early episodes: “a bitch on wheels.” April schemed with and against J.R., struck deals with WestStar Oil, sold shares strategically, and eventually owned her own company while holding stakes in both Ewing Oil and WestStar.
She was calculating, smart, and unafraid to double-cross anyone who got in her way.
Then Victoria Principal’s Pam Ewing was written out after a car accident at the end of season ten, and the show needed someone to fill the emotional space beside Bobby. April’s trajectory shifted.
The scheming gradually softened. The gold-digging villainess became warm, loyal, and genuinely affectionate.
Wilson later described the arc with characteristic directness: “They wanted to keep me. So they had to figure out a character arc for me. And over the years, I morphed into a really good girl so I could marry Bobby Ewing. It was quite a ride.”
They married in 1990 during season thirteen. Fan response was mixed. Some viewers found April a better-suited match for Bobby than Pam had been, appreciating the no-nonsense energy and the chemistry with Patrick Duffy.
Others felt the character’s earlier edge had been softened too abruptly for the romance to feel fully earned. The debate continues in Dallas fan communities today.
Patrick Duffy Hiding in a Closet in His Underwear
Whatever was happening on screen, the set itself was apparently a constant comedy. Wilson described the Dallas cast as incredibly close and the off-camera environment as a screwball comedy.
Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy were legendary pranksters. Food fights involving peas and mashed potatoes.
Hagman talking to her with food falling out of his mouth. Duffy hiding in her dressing room closet in his underwear and jumping out to scare her “like a bear.”
Wilson said her daily goal was simply to know her lines cold because the two of them constantly derailed her with laughter. “All we did was laugh,” she recalled.
Hagman became like a second father to her. She spent weekends at his Malibu home. The friendships formed during those five years continued for decades, including a reunion at Southfork Ranch for the show’s 30th anniversary in 2008.
Filming a Death Scene Seven Months Pregnant
April’s exit came in the final season. During a Paris honeymoon storyline filmed on location, she was kidnapped and then shot during a violent confrontation, dying in Bobby’s arms in one of the show’s most emotional scenes.
Wilson won a Soap Opera Digest award for Best Death Scene in 1991.
What the audience couldn’t see was that she was seven months pregnant with her first child when she filmed it. The production concealed her bump using a large bouquet, a miniskirt, and careful camera angles.
She made brief subsequent appearances in Bobby’s dream sequences that season.
She had requested the dramatic exit. Believing the show was in its final year and wanting to focus on motherhood, she told producers: “This is the last year of the show. Kill me off in grand fashion.”
The show did end in 1991. But later revivals and reunion projects made her wish she had stayed.
Katzman reportedly called killing April his biggest regret. Wilson felt the same way.
“The problem was I requested it. It was terrible. I thought, ‘Why did I kill myself off?!'” She and Hagman even discussed a potential comeback involving an evil twin sister, which would have required Wilson in a brunette wig.
Hagman’s illness prevented it from happening.
From Dallas to Walker
Dallas wrapped in 1991. Wilson married Paul DeRobbio that same year and had two sons. After the show she did guest spots on Matlock, Burke’s Law, and Renegade before being cast opposite Chuck Norris in the 1993 film Hellbound.
That film collaboration was the direct path to Walker Texas Ranger. Norris had seen what she could do and wanted her for the lead female role in his new CBS procedural.
She played Assistant District Attorney Alexandra “Alex” Cahill on Walker Texas Ranger for the show’s entire run from 1993 to 2001. Her five years on Dallas as a strong, Texas-tough leading lady had positioned her perfectly for another long-running CBS hit opposite a male action star.
She noted the contrast between the two characters. April was a femme fatale. Alex was “surrounded by justice, and truth, and nobility. Very different. And very much fun.” Dallas was a dream job, she said, and then she got Walker Texas Ranger to continue the dream.
For the full story of what happened after Walker ended, her production company, her skincare businesses, and her years touring with Clarence Gilyard in Driving Miss Daisy, the main Sheree J. Wilson article covers all of it.
What character did Sheree J. Wilson play on Dallas?
Sheree J. Wilson played April Stevens on Dallas from 1986 to 1991, across five seasons. April Stevens arrived as a scheming villainess and ex-wife of Bobby Ewing’s cousin Jack, but evolved over the seasons into Bobby’s romantic partner and eventual wife. Wilson won a Soap Opera Digest award for Best Death Scene in 1991 for her dramatic exit from the show.
How did Sheree J. Wilson get the role on Dallas?
Sheree J. Wilson did not audition for Dallas in the traditional sense. Executive producer Leonard Katzman had worked with her previously on the ABC series Our Family Honor and contacted her agent directly in 1986. He pitched the role to her personally, describing it as tailor-made for her, and offered it without a formal audition. Wilson later described it as the job of the century.
How did April Stevens die on Dallas?
April Stevens was shot during a violent confrontation while on her Paris honeymoon with Bobby Ewing in the show’s final season in 1991. She died in Bobby’s arms in a scene that won Sheree J. Wilson a Soap Opera Digest award for Best Death Scene. Wilson was seven months pregnant when she filmed the scene, with her pregnancy concealed by a bouquet, a miniskirt, and careful camera angles. She had requested the dramatic exit herself, believing it was the show’s final season.
Did Sheree J. Wilson regret leaving Dallas?
Yes. Sheree J. Wilson has said publicly that requesting to be killed off Dallas was her biggest career regret. She asked producer Leonard Katzman to kill April Stevens in grand fashion because she believed it was the show’s final year and wanted to focus on motherhood. Katzman reportedly called the decision his biggest regret as well. Wilson later said she thought to herself, why did I kill myself off. She and Larry Hagman even discussed a comeback involving an evil twin sister, but Hagman’s illness prevented it.
How did Dallas lead to Walker Texas Ranger for Sheree J. Wilson?
After Dallas ended in 1991, Sheree J. Wilson starred opposite Chuck Norris in the 1993 film Hellbound. That collaboration led directly to her being cast as Assistant District Attorney Alex Cahill in Walker Texas Ranger, which premiered the same year. Her five seasons on Dallas as a strong Texas-based leading lady positioned her perfectly for the role.
