In an old interview, Dallas star Linda Gray shared how she got rehired after seeking a chance to direct an episode. “It was season 8, I think, and I didn’t want more money. I wanted to direct one show in 52,” Gray said. “I had studied with a wonderful female director, Lillian Schofield, and so I studied with her for a year, and she said, ‘You know, you’re ready if you want to go, try to see if they will let you direct,’” she further added.

The veteran actress revealed, “And they fired me at the end of season 8. When I got home, Larry called me, and he said, ‘So I will see you next season,’ and you know we had a great eight years.” She continued, “And so I said, well, I was just fired. I cannot come back.” As such, Larry Hagman, who played J. R. Ewing, told showrunner Leonard Katzman, “If she goes, I go.”

Gray explained, “So they acquiesced and hired me back. We need a sunrise, and we had to get the sunrise every morning. So we got our coffee, and we burn it all up, and sunrise never came.” She added, “So I called Leonard, and I said, ‘Leonard, I can’t get the sunrise, it’s going up into the clouds,’ but Leonard answered, ‘Nope.’”

Gray continued, “And I thought, okay, I want to direct, I have to. That was it. It was a tough show for me.” However, she didn’t care about the difficulties and enjoyed working on the show. She concluded, “When people say,’ I love going to work every day,’ that’s how I felt every day.”

Linda Gray won numerous accolades for Dallas, including two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.