Larry Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012)
The death of Larry Hagman star of Dallas and the creator of the greatest villain on TV is a sad but timely death after his fight with cancer.
He first found fame as astronaut Major Anthony “Tony” Nelson in ‘I Dream Of Jeanie’ a man who married a genie who constantly bemused her husband with wishes and spells which never quite do what they supposed to do. The program was a success and is constantly repeated on TV channels across the world.
In 1977 he was offered the role as JR in Dallas a villain who was constantly in pursuit of his parents love and determination to win the control of the family business which was oil. The role resembled a Oedipus Complex writ large and gave Larry Hagman a comedic persona which he could use his talent to the max.
The character that everyone loved to hate led to the famous episode of ‘Who Shot JR’ which was so popular that it led to bookmakers giving odds on which character shot JR. In the end the attempted murderer was a bit of a anti-climax when it was shown to have been a mistress of JR Kristin Shepard.
Larry Hagman being shrewd businessman decided he wanted a pay raise before he would continue with the part and was rewarded with a pay of $100,000 per episode. When it was revealed that Kristin Shepard was the attempted assassin in the episode ‘Who Done It’ the bookmakers were re leaved it was not Sue Ellen who was best priced at 25/1 and had seen a run of bets which went into 6 figure losses for the bookmakers.
The role was later revised in 2012 and again JR was up to his old tricks of trying to take over the Ewing Oil Company.
Larry Hagman personal life was full of ups and down but the one thing constant was his addiction to drink and his liking for smoking and marijuana. He apparently drank 4 bottles of champagne while on the set for Dallas. He later changed to marijuana when introduced to it via Jack Nicholson. He packed up smoking when first diagnosed with cancer in the 1990’s.
He was also very political being a member of the Peace and Freedom Party since the 60’s. He attacked George W Bush for being “….A sad figure, not too well educated, who doesn’t get out of America much. He’s leading the country towards fascism”. He also supported environmentally friendly energy and had created a energy efficient home.
Larry Hagman died on the 23rd November 2012 from cancer. He leaves a wife and two children,