Secrets From the Set of ‘Dynasty’: John Forsythe’s Reaction to Joan Collins’ ‘Playboy’ Cover, More

In their first Dynasty catfight, Alexis Colby lobbed a vase of flowers at her rival Krystle Carrington’s head. “If you want a rematch, just whistle,” Krystle, played by Linda Evans, huffed to her nemesis, played by Joan Collins. “It was a powerful time of my life,” Evans, 83, told Closer. “Thank God Dynasty came along.”

That’s what 60 million people who tuned in to watch the season 5 finale of the quintessential 1980s prime-time soap thought, too. By that time, the series, about the exploits of a filthy-rich Denver oil family, had become a national obsession. Dynasty — which ran from 1981 to 1989 — “was spectacular,” the late Diahann Carroll, who played Dominique Deveraux, once recalled to Closer. “Everyone was saying, ‘Hello, Diahann,’ and, ‘You slapped Joan Collins! Thank you, Diahann!’ ”

The actors got along better than their characters did — “Joan and I were friends,” Carroll noted.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “Joan was jealous of Linda because she was so beloved by the rest of the cast,” Gordon Thomson, 81, best remembered as “deeply troubled jerk” Adam Carrington, also told Closer in an interview. “Linda was gorgeous to look at and just as glorious inside.”

Joan, 92, stole the show when she arrived as Alexis in the second season.

The sexy star irked John Forsythe, aka Blake Carrington, when she posed nude for Playboy in 1983. “John stormed into [producer] Aaron [Spelling’s] office and said ‘How dare she!?’ ” Gordon said. “John was protective of the show.”

Forsythe, who died in 2010, was just as nice as Blake, his costars recall — and he insisted Blake would never cheat on Krystle with Lady Ashley Mitchell, played by Ali MacGraw, even though that had been the writers’ plan.

“When Ali arrived, there was a huge bunch of flowers from John. The card said, ‘This is not going to happen!’ ” recalled Gordon.

Not all the actors enjoyed the juggernaut. Pamela Sue Martin, 73, who originated the role of Fallon, left in 1984. “She couldn’t take [the pressure] anymore,” John James, 70, who played her husband, Jeff Colby, told Closer. Emma Samms, 65, stepped in to replace her.

But the switch didn’t hurt ratings. Over nine seasons, the Carringtons and their scandals won viewers around the world.

“We had an impact,” admitted James, who recently met a woman named Fallon. “I said, ‘Fallon? That’s an interesting name.’ She said, ‘My mom watched Dynasty.’ It’s the third time I’ve come across somebody named Fallon!”