Larry 'JR Ewing' Hagman dead at 81
Larry Hagman dead at 81, portrayed notorious TV villain J.R. Ewing
LOS ANGELES - Larry Hagman, whose predatory oil baron J.R.
Ewing on television's long-running nighttime soap opera "Dallas'' became
a symbol for 1980s greed and coaxed forth a Texas-sized gusher of TV
ratings, has died. He was 81.
Hagman, who returned as J.R. in a new edition of "Dallas'' this year, passed away Friday,23 November 2012, afternoon due to complications from his battle with cancer, according to a statement from the family provided to The Associated Press by Warner Bros., producer of "Dallas.''
"Larry was back in his beloved hometown of Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved the most,'' the family said. "Larry's family and closest friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday.''
Hagman was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis of the liver and acknowledged that he had drank heavily for years. In 1995, a malignant tumor was discovered on his liver and he underwent a transplant.
Years before "Dallas,'' Hagman had gained TV fame as a nice guy with the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie", in which he played Capt. Tony Nelson, an astronaut whose life is disrupted when he finds a comely genie, portrayed by Barbara Eden, and takes her home to live with him.
He also starred in two short-lived sitcoms, "The Good Life'' (NBC, 1971-72) and "Here We Go Again'' (ABC, 1973). His film work included well-regarded performances in "The Group,'' "Harry and Tonto'' and "Primary Colors.''
But it was Hagman's masterful portrayal of the charmingly loathsome J.R. that brought him his greatest stardom. The CBS serial drama about the Ewing clan and those in their orbit aired from April 1978 to May 1991.
The "Who shot J.R.?'' story twist, in which Hagman's character was nearly murdered in a cliffhanger episode, fueled international speculation and millions of dollars in betting-parlour wagers. It also helped give the series a ratings record for the time.
When the answer was revealed in a November 1980 episode, an average 41 million viewers tuned in to make "Dallas'' the second most-watched entertainment show of all time, trailing only the "MASH'' finale in 1983 with 50 million viewers.
It was J.R.'s sister-in-law, Kristin (Mary Crosby) who plugged him- he had made her pregnant, then threatened to frame her as a prostitute unless she left town - but others had equal motivation.
Hagman played Ewing as a bottomless well of corruption with a charming grin: a business cheat and a faithless husband who tried to get his alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), institutionalized.
"I know what I want on J.R.'s tombstone,'' Hagman said in 1988. ``It should say: `Here lies upright citizen J.R. Ewing. This is the only deal he ever lost.'''
In 2006, Hagman did a guest shot on FX's drama series "Nip/Tuck,'' playing a macho business mogul. He also got new exposure in recent years with the DVD releases of "I Dream of Jeannie'' and "Dallas.''
As a youngster, Hagman gained a reputation for mischief-making as he was bumped from one private school to another. He made a stab at New York theater in the early 1950s, then served in the Air Force from 1952-56 in England.
While there, he met and married young Swedish designer Maj Axelsson. The couple had two children, Preston and Heidi, and were longtime residents of the Malibu beach colony that is home to many celebrities.
He called his 2001 memoir ``Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales about My Life.''
"I didn't put anything in that I thought was going to hurt someone or compromise them in any way,'' he told The Associated Press at the time.
After his transplant, he became an advocate for organ donation and volunteered at a hospital to help frightened patients.
"I counsel, encourage, meet them when they come in for their operations, and after,'' he said in 1996. "I try to offer some solace, like `Don't be afraid, it will be a little uncomfortable for a brief time, but you'll be OK.' ``
He also was an anti-smoking activist who took part in "Great American Smoke-Out'' campaigns. - AP
Hagman, who returned as J.R. in a new edition of "Dallas'' this year, passed away Friday,23 November 2012, afternoon due to complications from his battle with cancer, according to a statement from the family provided to The Associated Press by Warner Bros., producer of "Dallas.''
"Larry was back in his beloved hometown of Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved the most,'' the family said. "Larry's family and closest friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday.''
Hagman was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis of the liver and acknowledged that he had drank heavily for years. In 1995, a malignant tumor was discovered on his liver and he underwent a transplant.
Years before "Dallas,'' Hagman had gained TV fame as a nice guy with the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie", in which he played Capt. Tony Nelson, an astronaut whose life is disrupted when he finds a comely genie, portrayed by Barbara Eden, and takes her home to live with him.
He also starred in two short-lived sitcoms, "The Good Life'' (NBC, 1971-72) and "Here We Go Again'' (ABC, 1973). His film work included well-regarded performances in "The Group,'' "Harry and Tonto'' and "Primary Colors.''
But it was Hagman's masterful portrayal of the charmingly loathsome J.R. that brought him his greatest stardom. The CBS serial drama about the Ewing clan and those in their orbit aired from April 1978 to May 1991.
The "Who shot J.R.?'' story twist, in which Hagman's character was nearly murdered in a cliffhanger episode, fueled international speculation and millions of dollars in betting-parlour wagers. It also helped give the series a ratings record for the time.
When the answer was revealed in a November 1980 episode, an average 41 million viewers tuned in to make "Dallas'' the second most-watched entertainment show of all time, trailing only the "MASH'' finale in 1983 with 50 million viewers.
It was J.R.'s sister-in-law, Kristin (Mary Crosby) who plugged him- he had made her pregnant, then threatened to frame her as a prostitute unless she left town - but others had equal motivation.
Hagman played Ewing as a bottomless well of corruption with a charming grin: a business cheat and a faithless husband who tried to get his alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), institutionalized.
"I know what I want on J.R.'s tombstone,'' Hagman said in 1988. ``It should say: `Here lies upright citizen J.R. Ewing. This is the only deal he ever lost.'''
In 2006, Hagman did a guest shot on FX's drama series "Nip/Tuck,'' playing a macho business mogul. He also got new exposure in recent years with the DVD releases of "I Dream of Jeannie'' and "Dallas.''
As a youngster, Hagman gained a reputation for mischief-making as he was bumped from one private school to another. He made a stab at New York theater in the early 1950s, then served in the Air Force from 1952-56 in England.
While there, he met and married young Swedish designer Maj Axelsson. The couple had two children, Preston and Heidi, and were longtime residents of the Malibu beach colony that is home to many celebrities.
He called his 2001 memoir ``Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales about My Life.''
"I didn't put anything in that I thought was going to hurt someone or compromise them in any way,'' he told The Associated Press at the time.
After his transplant, he became an advocate for organ donation and volunteered at a hospital to help frightened patients.
"I counsel, encourage, meet them when they come in for their operations, and after,'' he said in 1996. "I try to offer some solace, like `Don't be afraid, it will be a little uncomfortable for a brief time, but you'll be OK.' ``
He also was an anti-smoking activist who took part in "Great American Smoke-Out'' campaigns. - AP
In this dated Aug 21, 2012 filed photo
shows US actor Larry Hagman arrives on the red carpet to attend the
launch of the new 10-part series of US television show Dallas in London.
Hagman, died on Friday, the Dallas Morning News reported. He was 81. --
PHOTO: AFP
Hagman died at a Dallas hospital of complications from his battle with throat cancer, the newspaper said, quoting a statement from his family. He had suffered from liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver in the 1990s after decades of drinking.
Hagman's mother was stage and movie star Mary Martin and he became a star himself in 1965 on I Dream of Jeannie, a popular television sitcom in which he played Major Anthony Nelson, an astronaut who discovers a beautiful genie in a bottle.
Dallas, which made its premiere on the CBS network in 1978, made Hagman a superstar. The show quickly became one of the network's top-rated programs, built an international following and inspired a spin-off, imitators and a revival in 2012.
J.R. Ewing was a business cheat, faithless husband and bottomless well of corruption.
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