'Dynasty' Turns 32: Where Are the Carringtons Now?

Jan. 11, 2013— -- intro: "Dynasty" premiered 32 years ago on ABC and became an award-winning drama featuring Hollywood's biggest stars, from Joan Collins and John Forsythe to Heather Locklear and Rock Hudson.

The tale of Colorado oil tycoon Blake Carrington and the women he loved and wronged captivated America each week for eight years on ABC.

The show premiered Jan. 12, 1981, and, by 1982, was in the top 10 before landing at No. 1 in 1985. "Dynasty" was nominated every year from 1981 through 1986 for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Drama.

Its stars went on to far-reaching careers in Hollywood and beyond. Click through our slideshow for a look at where seven of its most well-known stars went after Dynasty went off the air in 1989.

quicklist: 1category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: John Forsythe url: text: John Forsythe led the drama on "Dynasty" as patriarch Blake Carrington, the ruthless CEO of oil enterprise Denver-Carrington.

Forsythe landed the role on "Dynasty" after a long-running stint as the mysterious voice of Charlie on "Charlie's Angels," for which he was the highest-paid actor on television. He reprised the role in 2000, when the television show was remade into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore.

Forsythe and his wife, Julie Warren, who died in 1994, had two daughters. He was remarried in 2002 to Nicole Carter, and died in April 2010 of pneumonia in California. He was 92 years old.

Forsythe was nominated for a Golden Globe award six years in a row for his role on "Dynasty" and won the award twice.

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quicklist: 2category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: Linda Evansurl: text: Linda Evans played the ultimate trophy wife, Krystle Carrington, to John Forsythe's Blake Carrington. She was awarded a Golden Globe for her performance in the show's first season and nominated four other times during the course of the show.

After "Dynasty," Evans left Hollywood and headed for the hills of Washington state, where she took up cooking. She competed on and won the British version of the TV show "Hell's Kitchen," and published a cookbook and memoir, "Recipes for Life," in 2012.

Evans, age 70, lives in Rainier, Wash., where she has 70 acres of woods and land.

"The pressure [was] too big," Evans told ABC News in 2009. "I moved up here and within the first year I gained 25 pounds. It was so much fun not to put on makeup and just to be a regular person."

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quicklist: 3category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: Joan Collinsurl: text:Joan Collins captivated America when she joined the cast of "Dynasty" in season two as the troublesome Alexis Carrington Colby, Blake Carrington's ex-wife. Collins got the part after actress Sophia Loren turned it down earlier that year.

During the last seasons of "Dynasty," Collins launched a second career writing romance novels in the vein of the popular books written by her sister, Jackie Collins. She wrote dozens of self-help and beauty books in the years after "Dynasty," as well.

In 1997, Collins was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

She has continued to star on television and in movies and plays since the end of "Dynasty." She tweets at Twitter.com/JoanCollinsOBE.

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quicklist: 4category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: Gordon Thomsonurl: text: Gordon Thomson joined the cast of "Dynasty" in 1982 as the calculating child of patriarch Blake Carrington and his ex-wife, the villainous Alexis Carrington Colby, who tries to claim his right as heir to the Carrington fortune.

Thomson went on to star in other soap operas after "Dynasty" ended, playing parts in "The Young and the Restless," "Passions" and "Sunset Beach," as well as a recent appearance on "Days Of Our Lives."

He was also featured in many of Aaron Spelling's TV shows in a variety of small parts. He played a small role in the Academy Award-winning 2006 movie "Little Miss Sunshine," as well.

Thomson has also worked as a television host on England's ITV network.

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quicklist: 5category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: John James url: text: John James' career was launched and cemented with his role as Jeff Colby on "Dynasty," which he eventually spun off into his own show, "The Colbys."

James continued playing roles in soap operas after the end of "The Colbys" and "Dynasty," including "As the World Turns" and "All My Children."

James' daughter, Laura James, won the 19th season of "America's Next Top Model."

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quicklist: 6category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: Heather Locklearurl: text: Heather Locklear was just 21 years old when Aaron Spelling cast her in "Dynasty," launching her Hollywood career. As the young niece of Krystle Carrington, Locklear's Sammy Jo Carrington went from guest star to full-blown, full-time TV star during the course of the show's run.

After "Dynasty" ended, Locklear cemented her place in Hollywood on "Melrose Place." She has also made appearances on "Saturday Night Live," "Spin City," "Scrubs," and other TV shows, and has gained notoriety for her relationships with rock star Tommy Lee and guitarist Richie Sambora.

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quicklist: 7category: Cast of 'Dynasty': Where Are They Now?title: Rock Hudsonurl: text: After a career starring in movies such as "Pillow Talk" and "Strange Bedfellows," Rock Hudson joined the cast of "Dynasty" midway through its run in 1984 as the father of Heather Locklear's character, Sammy Jo Carrington, and love interest of Linda Evans' character, Krystle Carrington.

Hudson was diagnosed with and began experiencing symptoms of AIDS during the fourth season of the show and was written out of "Dynasty" for the show's fifth season. He did not acknowledge having the disease, which was still stigmatized and not widely understood, until shortly before his death in 1985.

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