Former News columnist Nancy Smith will dish on ‘80s Dallas at Allen library

Big D was booming in the 1980s, with the hit TV show Dallas filming on its streets as high-rise office buildings sprouted like weeds on the Texas prairie.

Nancy Smith had a firsthand look at the city’s rapid transformation, first as a columnist and society editor for The Dallas Morning News and then as a celebrity columnist for the Dallas Times Herald. As one of Dallas’ leading social butterflies, Smith always had the scoop on subjects, like where Larry Hagman and Victoria Principal were dining. She’ll discuss her experiences on May 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Allen Public Library.

Smith wrote about the transformative period in North Texas in her books, Dallas International with J.R. Ewing and Dallas Celebrity in the Glamorous 1980s Era of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

“This is the generation that made Dallas an international city,” Smith says in a news release, explaining why she chose to write about the 1980s. “I feel like I’m kind of a cheerleader for the whole generation.”

The program will be streamed live on the city of Allen’s ACTV at actv.org and youtube.com/AllenCityTV.

The library is at 300 N. Allen Dr. in Allen. For more information, call 214-509-4911.