Patrick Duffy

Patrick Duffy was born on March 17, 1949, in Townsend, Montana. His parents, Terrence and Marie Duffy, owned local taverns. He was raised in Everett, Washington, from the age of 12. Initially, he aspired to be a professional athlete and became a certified scuba diver during his teenage years. However, his involvement in high school drama shifted his career focus. He was accepted into the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington, Seattle, one of 12 accepted out of over 1,200 applicants. During his senior year of college, Duffy ruptured both vocal cords. He created the position of actor-in-residence, working as an interpreter for ballet, opera, and orchestra companies and teaching mime and movement classes. During this period, he met Carlyn, a ballet dancer with the First Chamber Dance Company of New York, whom he married in a Buddhist temple in 1974. Carlyn introduced him to Buddhism, which he has practiced for over 30 years.

Duffy and his wife moved to New York, where he performed in Off-Broadway plays and worked as a carpenter to support his family. They later relocated to Hollywood, where he drove a florist’s delivery truck and secured minor roles in film and television. His breakthrough came in 1976 when, while working as a house painter, he secured the role of Mark Harris in the TV series ‘Man from Atlantis’ (1977). Two years later, he landed the pivotal role of Bobby Ewing on ‘Dallas’ (1978). This role brought him international recognition. He initially left ‘Dallas’ in 1985, but returned in 1986 following a significant narrative event, remaining with the series until its conclusion in 1991. Between 1979 and 1982, he also appeared in episodes of the ‘Dallas’ spin-off, ‘Knots Landing’. In 1986, his parents were murdered during a robbery at their tavern in Montana.

After ‘Dallas’, Duffy starred as Frank Lambert in the family sitcom ‘Step by Step’ (1991), which ran until 1998. He also directed numerous episodes of both ‘Dallas’ and ‘Step by Step’. His career continued with various TV movies and guest appearances, including voicing characters in ‘Family Guy’ and ‘Justice League’. He reprised his role as Bobby Ewing in two ‘Dallas’ reunion movies, ‘J.R. Returns’ (1996) and ‘War of the Ewings’ (1998), serving as a co-producer on both. From 2006 to 2011, and then again in 2022 and 2023, he took on the recurring role of Stephen Logan in the daytime soap opera ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’. In 2012, Duffy returned to the role of Bobby Ewing for the TNT revival series ‘Dallas’, which aired until 2014. He was widowed in 2017 and currently resides between Los Angeles and southern Oregon. In recent years, he has appeared in projects such as ‘The Family Business’ (2024-2025) and ‘Hollywood Grit’ (2025).