TLDR: Ted Shackelford worked as a hotel night manager in New York City before acting ever paid his bills, then inherited one of television’s most tangled family roles through a recasting decision he had nothing to do with. He held onto it for fourteen straight seasons, dated a costar along the way, and decades later found his way back to daytime television playing not one but two characters at once.
Theodore Tillman Shackelford III was born June 23, 1946, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of physician Paul Olden Shackelford and Mary Jane Kennedy.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and theater from the University of Denver in 1969, and supported himself working as a hotel night manager in New York City while trying to break into acting.
He Inherited a Role That Had Already Been Recast Once
Gary Ewing, the middle son of oil baron Jock Ewing and Miss Ellie Ewing on Dallas, had already been played by a different actor before the character was recast with Shackelford for the 1979 spinoff Knots Landing.
Shackelford was cast specifically because creator David Jacobs had recently seen him working alongside costar Joan Van Ark on an unrelated show.
He Held the Role Longer Than Anyone Else in the Cast
Shackelford played Gary Ewing across the show’s full fourteen-season run from 1979 to 1993, one of only three actors to remain with the series for its entire length, while continuing to make occasional crossover appearances back on Dallas during the same period.
As Gary, he was more or less the emotional center of the show’s ensemble, anchoring a character whose marriage to Valene Ewing, played by Joan Van Ark, became one of the era’s most closely followed on-screen relationships.
You can read the fuller story of that on-screen partnership, including a casting objection almost no one remembers, in our piece on Joan Van Ark.
His Real Relationships Included a Fellow Cast Member
Shackelford married Janis Leverenz in 1976, a marriage that ended in divorce in 1987. Between 1987 and 1989, he was in a real relationship with castmate Teri Austin, who played Jill Bennett on the same show, before he later married Annett Wolf in 1991.
He Kept Working Steadily After the Show Ended
Shackelford returned to play Gary one final time in the 1997 reunion miniseries, Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac, and again for the 2005 nonfiction special, Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again. In between, he built a steady career as a guest actor, appearing on shows including Cybill, The Practice, and Spin City.
He Eventually Returned to Soaps Playing Two Roles at Once
Shackelford found his way back to daytime television between 2015 and 2016, playing twin brothers Jeffrey and William Bardwell on The Young and the Restless, a genuinely unusual dual-role assignment decades after his original soap opera fame.
The casting brought him back into the same daytime drama world where former Knots Landing costar Joan Van Ark had also spent time playing a recurring role a decade earlier.
You can read more about the rest of the cast in our full guide to Knots Landing.
Ted Shackelford, Frequently Asked Questions
Did Ted Shackelford play Gary Ewing on Dallas too?
Yes, though the character originated with a different actor on Dallas before being recast with Shackelford specifically for the Knots Landing spinoff, and he continued making occasional crossover appearances on Dallas during his time on Knots Landing.
How many seasons was Ted Shackelford on Knots Landing?
He appeared across all fourteen seasons of the show’s run, from 1979 to 1993, one of only three actors to stay for the entire series.
What did Ted Shackelford do before acting paid the bills?
He worked as a hotel night manager in New York City while trying to break into acting, after earning a theater degree from the University of Denver.
Did Ted Shackelford date a Knots Landing costar?
Yes, he was in a relationship with castmate Teri Austin, who played Jill Bennett on the show, from 1987 to 1989.
What did Ted Shackelford do after Knots Landing?
He built a steady career as a guest actor on shows including Cybill, The Practice, and Spin City, and later returned to daytime television playing twin brothers on The Young and the Restless from 2015 to 2016.
