At the same time, the television series became a huge part of Van Arkās life. So even though she felt comfortable leaving, it was a tough blow since she thought it would be easier.
Blamed herself for āKnots Landingā cancelation
āI have loved more than life the 13 years Iāve had on that show,ā she said. ā[Knots LandingĀ creator] David Jacobs is a great influence on my life, has taught me so much about so many things. Ted [Shackelford] is the other half of every breath I take on the show, and personally, heās a large part of my heart. The people are my familyāwe have shared marriages, deaths, divorces. Itās far more difficult to leave than I thought.ā
The show didnāt quite work without the great chemistry between characters Valen and Gary. In fact, Joan took the blame for the show being shut down.
āWell, it was my fault. I jumped over to NBC to do a pilot which did not sell,ā sheĀ said. āI was so ready to go, after fourteen years with the one lady, so I auditioned for the pilot, and they cast me. It wasnāt as cleanly negotiated as it should have been. When the pilot didnāt sell, they asked me back, and I did do the four-hour finale of the show.ā
Joan Van Ark left the soap opera business behind but continued to star in many television series. She had minor parts in television series, including Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, andĀ starred in some television movies. Between 2004 and 2005, Joan appeared as Gloria Fisher in 55 episodes of the hugely successful television drama The Young and The Restless.
Joan Van Ark ā marriage, husband, children
Itās common for celebrities in Hollywood to marry other celebrities, and show-biz marriages donāt always last very long.
But that wasnāt the case for Joan Van Ark, who met the love of her life back in high school. She met her husband, John Marshall, while the two were students in Boulder. In 1966, the couple married on a military base in Germany.
āBelieve me, it was nothing like the marriages [Valene Ewing] has gone through,ā she toldĀ UPI.
