Cally Harper Ewing
Calpurnia Elizabeth "Cally" Harper Ewing is a fictional character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Cathy Podewell from 1988 to 1991. Cally was the second wife of J.R. Ewing.
Podewell reprised her role as Cally Harper for J.R.'s funeral episode in the second season of the new [Dallas (2012 TV series)|Dallas] in 2013.
Storylines
Cally is a waitress at a hotel in Haleyville, Arkansas. J.R. meets her while on a hunting trip with his brother Bobby and their sons. J.R. gets Cally into bed, but when J.R. is discovered by her crazed brothers, he is arrested and convicted of rape. After Cally's brothers break J.R. out of prison, Cally lies that she might be pregnant, and her brothers force J.R. into a shotgun wedding. J.R. eventually escapes from Haleyville and returns to Dallas, but Cally follows him. She intends to make their marriage work, but finds that J.R. wants nothing to do with her.Seeking the help of J.R.'s first wife, Sue Ellen, Cally tricks J.R. into renewing their wedding vows when she claims she is pregnant. J.R. discovers her ruse, but decides to remain married to her, because his son John Ross has become fond of her.
The marriage is short-lived. By the time Cally divorces J.R., she really is pregnant with his child. In an attempt to leave J.R., Cally lies that his son James is the child's father, and J.R. allows Cally to leave Dallas. After discovering the child's true paternity, J.R. decides to track Cally down and finds that she has created a new life for herself in Florida with their child and her new boyfriend. Realizing how happy Cally is, J.R. decides to leave her in peace.
In the series finale "Conundrum", J.R. dreams of what life would have been like without him. In the dream, Cally is the victim of repeated abuse from a very aggressive husband until she shoots him and has to go to jail.