At a Glance
- Dynasty premiered 45 years ago on Jan. 12, 1981, and ruled TV during the 1984-85 season
- The 1989 cliffhanger finale came after ratings dropped and salaries soared
- Multiple reunions kept the cast connected, including a 2021 fundraiser for long COVID research
- Why it matters: The show’s stars reveal how overnight fame reshaped their lives, careers, and personal battles
Dynasty debuted 45 years ago and instantly turned its cast into household names. The glitzy saga of the Carringtons and Colbys dominated ratings, then crashed amid backstage chaos. From blockbuster careers to courtroom drama, here’s where every key player stands today.
The Ratings Queen: Joan Collins
Collins joined as Alexis Colby in season 2 and credits herself with “catapulting Dynasty’s ratings into the stratosphere.” She told CBS Sunday Morning in 2019, “She was the first empowered woman on TV. I got a lot of flack for it… I was just standing up for myself as an independent woman!”
Post-show, Collins logged roles on The Nanny, Will & Grace, Guiding Light, and The Royals. She and Linda Evans toured the U.S. in the 2006 play Legends!. Collins has written 19 books; the latest, Behind the Shoulder Pads, arrived in 2023. Married five times, she now lives with producer Percy Gibson, “the great love of her life.” Up next: portraying Wallis Simpson in the biopic The Bitter End.
The Good Girl Gone Bad: Heather Locklear
Locklear entered in season 2 as Krystle’s niece Sammy Jo and stayed until the 1989 finale. After splitting from Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, she wed Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora; daughter Ava arrived in 1997. The couple divorced in 2006.
A 2018 double arrest led to eight misdemeanor counts and a court-ordered 30-day stay in a residential mental-health facility. She marked one year of sobriety in 2020 and accepted a proposal from high-school sweetheart Chris Heisser. The pair ended their engagement in May 2025. Locklear returned to acting in the 2021 Lifetime film Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story.
The Rival: Linda Evans
Evans left in 1988, citing burnout. “I sort of retired,” she told Digital Journal in 2023. “Somehow I am very blessed when I want to work… things come to me.” She reunited with Collins for Dynasty: The Reunion (1991), toured in Legends!, won Hell’s Kitchen in 2009, and published Recipes for Life: My Memories in 2012. Evans, 78, resurfaced in the 2021 film Swan Song. She was married twice and dated Yanni for nine years; she now says she’s “completely happy on my own.”
The Patriarch: John Forsythe
Forsythe’s Blake Carrington anchored the show while he juggled Charlie’s Angels and The Colbys. After Dynasty he voiced Charlie again in the 2000s Charlie’s Angels films. Diagnosed with colon cancer in 2006, he died of pneumonia complications on April 1, 2010, at age 92. Widow Nicole Carter died of cancer five weeks later.
The Runaway Heiress: Pamela Sue Martin
Martin exited after four seasons, moved to Idaho, and raised son Nicolas with fourth husband Bruce Allen. She later led the Interplanetary Theater Group and returned onscreen in 2017’s My Christmas Prince and 2019’s Nancy Drew reboot.
The Troubled Wife: Pamela Bellwood
Bellwood, who played Claudia Blaisdel, told The Daily Beast in 2017: “You became like public property… I’m a private person… I was happy to have the work, to go to work, but then leave work.” She married twice and has two sons, Kerry and Christian.
The Groundbreaking Son: Al Corley
Corley quit after one season, frustrated that writers wouldn’t fully explore Steve Carrington’s sexuality. He scored a 1984 hit single “Square Rooms,” released two albums, and directed the 2005 film Bigger Than the Sky. His most recent credit is 2021’s The Ice Road.
The Good Guy: John James
James spent the entire run as Jeff Colby and later farmed in upstate New York with wife Denise Coward. Daughter Laura won America’s Next Top Model cycle 19. James returned to soaps on All My Children and As the World Turns and in 2022 launched the cabaret Cocktails with the Carringtons with former costars.
The Chauffeur: Wayne Northrop
Northrop’s Michael Culhane appeared in seasons 1 and 7. He married Port Charles costar Lynn Herring and has two sons. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018, he died Nov. 29, 2024.
The Teen: Katy Kurtzman
Kurtzman left in 1981 to be a “normal” student, then restarted her career at 21. She teaches acting and has appeared on Strong Medicine and Grey’s Anatomy.
The Oil Man: Dale Robertson
Robertson’s Walter Lankershim lasted one season. He later starred in J.J. Starbuck and guested on Dallas and Murder, She Wrote. He died at 89 on Feb. 27, 2013.
The Geologist: Bo Hopkins
Hopkins racked up 100+ credits, including The Getaway and Hillbilly Elegy. He died in May 2022 after a heart attack.
The Butler: Lee Bergere
Bergere’s Joseph Anders featured in more than 200 TV shows. He died Jan. 31, 2007, at 88.
The Tycoon: Lloyd Bochner
Bochner’s Cecil Colby appeared in The Twilight Zone and voiced Gotham’s mayor in Batman: The Animated Series. He died of cancer on Nov. 1, 2005, at 81.
Key Takeaways
- Dynasty’s 1980s reign ended in a ratings nosedive and backstage turmoil
- Joan Collins and Linda Evans leveraged fame into books, tours, and new roles
- Heather Locklear weathered legal battles and is rebuilding her life and career
- Several cast members have died, but reunions keep the Carrington legacy alive
