Morgan Fairchild Shares How Dallas Cast Learned Texas Accents
Morgan Fairchild reveals how Dallas producers utilized her and Larry Hagman to teach the cast authentic Texas accents during filming.
Authentic Texas Roots on Set
During the production of the hit television series Dallas, actress Morgan Fairchild and co-star Larry Hagman served as the primary linguistic resources for the cast. As the only two actors with genuine ties to Texas, they were tasked with helping their colleagues master the regional dialect.
Producers recognized the need for vocal consistency to maintain the show's setting. Because the series relied heavily on a specific regional atmosphere, the production team directed other cast members to Fairchild and Hagman to refine their speech patterns.
The 'Texican' Accent Instruction
Fairchild recalled that the actors were sent to them specifically to learn what was referred to on set as the 'Texican' way of speaking. This informal term described the specific cadence and inflection required to portray characters from the Lone Star State convincingly.
While the show featured a large ensemble, the lack of native Texans among the supporting cast created a technical challenge for the production. By utilizing Fairchild and Hagman, the creators sought to ensure that the dialogue sounded natural to viewers familiar with the region.
Key Details of the Accent Training
- Primary Instructors: Morgan Fairchild and Larry Hagman.
- Target Audience: Non-Texan cast members.
- Goal: Achieving a consistent 'Texican' accent for character authenticity.
- Reasoning: Fairchild and Hagman were the only actors with actual Texas origins in the main production group.
This method of peer-to-peer coaching allowed the production to maintain its stylistic goals without hiring external dialect coaches for every individual performance. The involvement of Fairchild and Hagman ensured that the localized mannerisms remained central to the show's identity.
