Larry Hagman, TV's J.R. Ewing passes

Larry Hagman was an icon of TV for two roles, one as the bumbling Major Nelson on the classic 1965-70 series I Dream of Jeannie and then in 1978 he took on the role of J.R. Ewing on the CBS primetime soap, Dallas. Hagman died of throat cancer in the city of Dallas on November 23 at the age of 81. The conniving Ewing – the man whom everybody loved to hate- was to become his most defining role, playing the character during the series entire 13 year run. 

After taking time off and also going through a lifesaving kidney transplant in 1995, he returned to play J.R. in two TV movies in 1996 and 1998. During the first decade of the 21^st Century, Hagman went into semi-retirement, taking care of his wife who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2008, but still popped up in an episode of Nip/Tuck in 2006 and Desperate Housewives in 2010. Then in 2011, the cable network TNT announced they were going to do a sequel series to Dallas (over the last decade, there had been various attempts at resurrecting the show, including a potential motion picture. The new show would also ignore the events of the latter two TV movies). While the new show would focus on the children of the original characters (now adults themselves), Larry Hagman agreed –along with Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray- to return to the show.

Shortly after the announcement, Hagman said he had stage 2 throat cancer. “As J.R. I could get away with anything — bribery, blackmail and adultery", Hagman said in a statement. "But I got caught by cancer. I do want everyone to know that it is a very common and treatable form of cancer. I will be receiving treatment while working on the new Dallas series. I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love." The new series debuted in January of 2012 and became a huge hit for the cable net and was quickly picked up for a second season, which will debut on January 28, 2013.  In mid-2012, Hagman announced that he had “beat” the cancer, which was in remission. In a statement, Hagman’s family said “Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most. Larry’s family and close friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday. When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones. It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for. The family requests privacy at this time.”