HKevin Dobson- Knots Landing’s
Mr. Nice Guy.
“My dream has come true. I’m on a big hit show.
I’m working. I’m a working actor,” handsome
Kevin Dobson says with a smile.
Kevin attributes his ambition, drive and determination to succeed,
to the way he was brought up . . . . and later to the help of
his wife Susan, who encouraged him all along the way.
“When I really started working with the ‘Kojak’
series, I said, ‘That’s it. I’ve succeeded.’
Then I found that the same dream I had in the beginning when
I decided to be in this business, the dream never ends. The
dream is always going forward, moving forward.”
Kevin thought for a moment and went on to explain, “I’ve
been fortunate in that when ‘Kojak’ ended, the dream
happened again. And now I’ve done nine Movies of the Week
that I’ve had the lead in and the movies are another career.”
Kevin says he loves his successful television career and someday
hopes to be able to do more theater. So far his work schedules
have prevented his fitting that in. It’s still in the
future. But for now, Kevin says, “I’m proud of where
I am today and proud of what the future will hold in my profession.”
Meantime, Kevin happily reports that he has directed his first
‘Knots Landing’ episode.
“It was everything I thought It would be and more. I
was in total control. I felt like I wanted to do all the parts
and yet you find out, you make a suggestion here and there and
you see that come to fruition, you see that come alive. It’s
so rewarding. I had a great time with the younger people who
are still finding a way, I really had a good time in making
some adjustments and was tested as far as my creative input.
on the technical side, I didn’t walk in there pretending
I knew the camera, you know.”
Kevin has words of advice to other aspiring actors. “Commitment
to a goal is not a sometimes thing. I work at my craft every
day as hard as I can. I can’t say that I am in this business
alone and I will succeed alone and will go into the future alone.
It takes an absolute team. When you have a good team . . . .I
credit my wife with that, the people around me like Joe Sutton,
the right representation in agents, choosing the right material,
being in the right place at the right time . . . . and most
of all, being patient.
“At first, I wanted all the leads and after realizing
what the inside of the business is about and how I can build
to get those leads, you have to have patience, so I credit dedication
with tenacity as purpose will be rewarded. I firmly believe
that it’s a constant work effort, work ethic, belief in
yourself and your abilities and not being afraid to take the
next step forward.”
After nine years of ‘Knots Landing,’ Kevin has
definite ideas as to why it is still successful where other
nighttime soaps are fading.
“I think it’s the combination of people that is
bringing this across. It is their realistic approach to what
they’re doing. I think we can identify with each of these
characters because they’re more grass roots people - not
one of affluence. Everyone has fought for what they have achieved
and I think that’s what we identify with. It’s not
just Mack and what re represents, as the husband and great family
man. The all-American guy. That takes a lot of work to make
sure that comes across, but I think the success of the show
is that the characters are real fighters for what they believe
in. Nothing’s handed to any one of them. We identify with
that struggle.”
Are there any similarities in Kevin and Mack? Differences?
“Mack is less frustrated that Kevin,” he said smiling.
“Mack is less anxious. lately I’ve been trying to
incorporate where they have that meeting and they share in equal
anxiety and frustrations and next year Kevin and Mack are getting
together in a greater form and wanting to expose more of that,
those daily anxieties that Kevin suffers through, that I want
Mack also to have, so I want to incorporate both.”
Is Kevin learning from Mack to be less anxious?
“It’s a good way to, yes, I am in a way. Yes, Kevin
is learning from Mack because, I mean, that’s a sage place
to do that and to express yourself, to express myself using
someone else’s words. What a great way to do it, so Kevin
is bringing more of his personal life to Mack in the guise of
Mack and That’ll come out next season.”
Like most of the soaps, Knots Lading has its share of sex scenes
and one wonders how Susan Dobson feels about that, does Kevin
talk it over with her before his scenes the next day?
“I talk it over with Susan, but most of the time it’s
after the fact. ‘God it was tough today,’ you know,
a torrid sex scene. Fortunately the guy I play being married,
and is probably the most married guy in Hollywood, I think those
torrid sex scenes, if you have any ideas, I’d welcome
them. I think it’s like safe sex working there and playing
husband and wife and we have liberties but we haven’t
put on her nightgown yet or anything like that.”
According to Kevin there is a very friendly atmosphere on the
set with all the cast members.
“I don’t talk to anyone,” Kevin says kidding.
“We have a great working relationship. It’s a wonderful
camaraderie, a unit of people that have belief in making the
show the best that it can be. All these people independent of
Knots Landing, can surely have their own series if they wanted
it and have the wherewithall to control and be the lead in that
responsibility and how we are, to have a group of people with
equal responsibilities giving the best presentation of themselves
they can and when you put that combination together, they interact,
sparks fly. I love working with those people. I think they’re
just terrific. They keep bringing more out. you never know what’s
going to happen, it’s always new and exciting.”
Today, the handsome actor from Queens, in New York City, who
had just forty-six cents in his pocket when he got his part
in ‘Kojak’ looks back with fondness at the long,
hard struggle he went through, with Susan, to get to this point.
They have three wonderful children, actually Kevin was one of
a family of seven children himself. Susan and Kevin have two
boys and a girl that they are raising to have the same values
they have.
Kevin tries to involve his children when he works for charity
groups he appears for, like Muscular Dystrophy and AIDS. Kevin
got interested in the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, which
is a degenerative eye disease.
“I have two nephews who are legally blind and it’s
always frustrated me that they can’t see, there’s
got to be something done about this. So I’m putting my
efforts in helping that Foundation because I know that it can
help my Godson and help others.
“I try to expose my children to the various charities
I’m associated with, to show then that things aren’t
as bright all the time, that there are other people in the world
that are not as fortunate as we are.”
Kevin feels that working for various causes is part of the
responsibility of being a successful actor and a person the
public recognizes.
“I’ve lost two friends to AIDS,” he says,
“so if I can lend my support in helping out then I will
do that. I’m also involved with the Special Olympics,
which covers a wide variety of diseases.”
Helping out wherever he can is an opportunity to be able to
give back some of what Kevin has gotten. It’s a responsibility
that he takes very seriously, just as he takes his acting career
and his family and friends. You won’t find a nicer guy
than Kevin Dobson!
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