Dallas ' Charlene Tilton Says Show & Her Costars Prevented Her from Becoming a 'Casualty' of the '80s

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Dallas star Charlene Tilton is grateful to her costars for not becoming a "casualty" amid the '80s drug culture.

Tilton – who was 17 when she began filming Dallas from 1978 to 1991 – said in a recent interview that she was offered drugs by staffers at famed New York City nightclub Studio 54.

"I remember one time at Studio 54, and I was so naive," the actress, 62, told Page Six. "I was asked what I would like when I walked in, and I said, 'Oh, Coke, please,' and I meant Coca-Cola. And they came back with coke [cocaine], and I looked down and I said, 'No, no, Coca-Cola, please!"

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Her Dallas costars, she said, made sure that she didn't get into the wrong crowd.

"There was a lot of stuff going on in the '80s, if you remember," Tilton continued. "And I'm telling you, it was by the grace of God in their protection that I was not a casualty of the things that were going on in the '80s."

Studio 54 – now a Broadway theatre – was a disco hotspot for celebrities including Elton John, Diana Ross, Andy Warhol, Cher, Michael Jackson, and more. Netflix released a documentary on the nightclub in 2018.

Despite the party scene, Tilton told Page Six that her costars, including Larry Hagman, Barbara Bel Geddes and Jim Davis, kept her disciplined.

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"It really was about the work, and they protected me," she told Page Six. "They expected me to not show up on time — to show up early, to be prepared.

Tilton added, "So I really learned from the best. I had these people protecting me, but at the same time expecting me to do the work, and I wanted to do the work. I loved it."