David Jacobs

In his over two-and-a-half-hour interview, David Jacobs (1939-2023) discusses his long career as a writer of non-fiction books, including a biography of Charlie Chaplin, and of magazine articles for such publications as The New York Times Magazine. He talks about his transition to television writing, which began on the series The Blue Knight and on Family when he was well into his thirties. Jacobs describes in great detail his creation of two popular and long-running nighttime serials: Dallas and Knots Landing. He notes the fact that Knots Landing was created before Dallas, but pitched and produced afterward. He recounts how Dallas was created around actress Linda Evans (who would be a regular on Dynasty), how the show came to be titled and set in Dallas (a city he had never been to), and how the show reflected its era. Jacobs also explains the premise of Knots Landing, gives his impressions of the actors who appeared on the show and discusses some of the storylines on the popular series. He then comments on a number of series, miniseries, and television movies he produced in the 1980s and '90s, including the western series Paradise and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Shelley Jenkins conducted the interview on February 29, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA.