Forty years after two teenagers shot and killed his parents at their Montana bar, actor Patrick Duffy is revisiting the tragedy and the Buddhist practice that helped him survive the aftermath.
The 77-year-old “Dallas” star spoke about the November 18, 1986, murders on Steve Kmetko’s “Still Here Hollywood” podcast, Page Six reported. Two 19-year-olds, Sean Wentz and Kenneth A. Miller, returned to the Boulder, Montana, establishment with shotguns after Duffy’s father, Terrence, ejected them earlier that evening for causing trouble and getting drunk.
“It was very late at night,” Duffy said on the podcast. “There was nobody in the bar except my father and my mother. And they walked in with their shotguns.”
The Fatal Confrontation in Boulder
Terrence Duffy saw the armed teenagers return and stepped toward them, telling the pair, “I told you to,” before they opened fire, according to trial testimony cited by Page Six. Marie Duffy, who was working on a crossword puzzle at the opposite end of the room, rushed toward her husband and was also shot and killed.
After the shooting, the two gunmen jumped over the bar, took money from the cash register, and stole a few bottles of liquor before fleeing. A group of people stopping for a drink after a shift change at the nearby Montana Developmental Center later discovered the bodies.
One woman initially thought Marie had simply fainted on the floor before noticing blood on Terrence and running outside to alert a friend. Wentz and Miller subsequently stole a pickup truck from a dealership and visited Wentz’s 22-year-old girlfriend, who alerted police after the teens mentioned shooting people.
Wentz and Miller received prison sentences of 190 and 180 years, respectively.
Telling His Sons in California
Duffy learned of the killings the following morning when his sister, a Washington state police lieutenant, called him in tears while driving to Montana. News crews soon gathered outside his California residence, and producers of “Dallas” arranged a private jet to fly him to the state.
At the time of the family tragedy, Duffy was married to ballet dancer Carlyn Rosser, whom he wed in 1974, and the couple shared two sons, Padraic and Conor. Before leaving for the airport, the actor spoke with his young children as they prepared for school.
“And I said to the boys, I said, ‘Padraic, Conor, we have to go in now. I’m going to chant with you,’” Duffy recalled.
Duffy had practiced Buddhism for 15 years, making chanting a regular part of the family’s morning routine. He instructed his sons to chant for their grandparents, explaining that the victims would understand and hear them.
Finding Solace Through Practice
The actor credited his Buddhist practice with helping him process the sudden loss, explaining that the philosophy centers on a continuous life cycle of the entity. He said that he did not study the philosophy academically at the time, but turned to chanting because it offered emotional grounding.
“I was just chanting because it felt good. It felt right. It made my life feel better,” Duffy said.
Duffy portrayed Bobby Ewing on “Dallas” from 1978 to 1991, later building a decades-long career with roles in “Step by Step” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
