Charlene Tilton

Career

Tilton had early roles on such television series such Happy Days and Eight Is Enough. She made her first film appearance alongside Jodie Foster in Freaky Friday (1976). In 1978, Tilton made a cameo appearance in the John Milius film Big Wednesday. The following year, she made her big break by landing the role of Lucy Ewing, the sly, vixenish, frequently frustrated granddaughter of John "Jock" Ewing Sr. and the former Eleanor "Ellie" Southworth on the television series Dallas, alongside actors Jim Davis, Barbara Bel Geddes and Larry Hagman, from 1978 to 1985 and from 1988 to 1990. She also appeared on one episode of the series' spin-off Knots Landing in 1980. At the height of her Dallas fame, she received $50,000 salary per episode, appeared on 500 magazine covers and drew 65 million viewers for her 1981 TV wedding.

Tilton is also a singer, lending her vocal ability to a 1978 episode of Dallas titled "Runaway," in which Greg Evigan guest-starred. In 1984, she released the dance-pop single "C'est La Vie," which became a hit in several European countries. She appeared on Circus of the Stars in 1979 and 1991, on one occasion acting as a knife thrower's target girl while dressed in a gold bikini. Tilton also appeared on game shows, including being a panelist on the 1979-1982 syndicated version of Match Game. She also hosted the pilot for a potential revival of the show in syndication as Match Game 2/MG2 in 1996.

Tilton was the guest host on an episode of Saturday Night Live on February 21, 1981, which featured a parody of the famed "Who shot J.R.?" episode of Dallas. In the episode, cast member Charles Rocket was shot in the chest by a sniper while doing a sketch about a sexy couple (with Gail Matthius as his partner) bathing a dog and spouting innuendo. At the end of the show, during the "goodbyes," Tilton asked Rocket how he felt about being shot. In character, a wheelchair-bound Rocket improvised, "Oh, man, it’s the first time I've ever been shot in my life. I'd like to know who the fuck did it." The improvisation by Rocket, which violated FCC broadcast standards, led to his dismissal from the show's cast.

Tilton appeared in a number of commercials for the Abdominizer line of direct-market workout equipment in the 1990s. She appeared as herself in an episode of Married... with Children which sent up her involvement with the "Abdominizer." In addition, she has appeared in several send-up comedies, such as The Silence of the Hams (1994), Superhero Movie (2008) and Paranormal Calamity (2010). In 2005, she appeared in the British reality television show The Farm.

In 2001, Tilton was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her role as Lucy Ewing on the original Dallas television series. In January 2012, Tilton was a contestant on the British ice-skating show Dancing on Ice in its seventh season, in which she was paired with American figure skater Matthew Gonzalez. But Tilton was voted out of the competition in week five of a twelve-week run.

In 2012, Tilton joined the cast of TNT's Dallas revival series, and reprised her role as Lucy Ewing in a number of episodes.

Personal life

Tilton was born on December 1, 1958 in San Diego, California, the daughter of Katherine Thacker, a secretary; she grew up not knowing her father and with few financial resources available to her or her mother.

Tilton is approximately 4'11" (1.50 m).

Tilton was married to country singer Johnny Lee from 1982 to 1984. She has one daughter, Cherish Lee Dunn, born in 1982. In 2001 Tilton began dating cinematographer Cheddy Hart. The couple enjoyed boating and lived together in a modest home in Oxnard, California. In December 2009, Hart suddenly died of heart failure at age 54.

Tilton is a strong advocate for autism awareness in the media. She is currently the ambassador for Actors for Autism, an organization that leads improv and acting workshops for children and adults with autism. She approached AFA in 2010 with the desire to volunteer and has been affiliated with them ever since.