Willard "Digger" Barnes

Willard "Digger" Barnes is a fictional character in the popular American television series, Dallas, played by David Wayne (1978), Keenan Wynn (1979-1980), and David Marshall Grant in Dallas: The Early Years. As the patriarch of the Barnes family, Digger Barnes was the father of Cliff Barnes and Pamela Barnes Ewing. Digger shocked Pamela on his deathbed by revealing that Hutch McKinney was her biological father but, that he had always loved her as though she were his own.

Character's biography

Willard Barnes' father, Henry Barnes, was best friends with Aaron Southworth, the father of Ellie Southworth. In fact, Henry saved Aaron's life so Aaron took care of young Willard throughout much of his adolescence. Willard first started dating Ellie in 1930, when Ellie was 15. However, after being caught with Ellie by her brother, Garrison, Willard decided to try his fortune at wildcatting. As a result, he met Jock Ewing while riding in a train boxcar on the way to the oil fields, and the two became friends. Willard, Jock and Jock's brother Jason all became wildcatters and began drilling their own fields. Willard had a unique ability to smell oil underground, earning him the nickname "Digger", which over time became the name that people used more and more (even his children would sometimes call him "Digger", in addition to "Daddy"), eventually getting to the point where virtually nobody called him "Willard" anymore.