Larry Martin Hagman
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Larry Hagman made J.R. Ewing a household name across all 357 episodes of Dallas. The son of Broadway legend Mary Martin, he was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1931. After a liver transplant in 1995, he became an advocate for organ donation. He died in 2012 from complications of throat cancer.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Larry Hagman — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Larry Hagman by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Larry Hagman — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born on September 21, 1931 in Fort Worth, Texas, Larry Hagman was the son of actress Mary Martin and district attorney Benjamin Jack Hagman. After his parents divorced, he moved to Los Angeles to live with his grandmother. When his grandmother died when he was 12, he moved back to his mother, who was launching a Broadway career. He attended Bard College and followed his mother into acting, starting with the Margo Jones Theatre-in-the-Round in Dallas.
Hagman began his television career in 1961 with guest roles. He landed a starring role in the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night for two years. In 1965, he became a household name as astronaut Anthony Nelson on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, starring alongside Barbara Eden for five years. But his defining role came in 1978 when he was cast as J.R. Ewing on the prime-time soap Dallas. He played the character in all 357 episodes and two reunion movies. Hagman also appeared in films like Primary Colors 1998 and Nixon 1995. He hosted the Texas history documentary series Lone Star in 1985.
While stationed in England, Hagman met his wife, Maj. They married on December 18, 1954 and were together until his death. They had two children. Drinking heavily for years, Hagman developed liver cirrhosis and received a life-saving liver transplant in 1995. He quit drinking, smoking, and eating meat and dairy after the operation. After the transplant, he became a vocal advocate for organ donation. Diagnosed with throat cancer in June 2011, he died in November 2012.
Hagman’s portrayal of J.R. Ewing made the character a pop culture staple. The Who Shot J.R.? cliffhanger in 1980 became the second-highest-rated TV episode in history. He holds the record for most consecutive appearances by a lead actor in an hour-long prime-time drama with 357 episodes. His advocacy for organ donation raised awareness and saved lives. In 1981, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He reprised the role in the 2012 revival before his death.
Browse the complete filmography of Larry Hagman — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Larry Hagman — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Larry Hagman's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Larry Hagman — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Made Money. Enough so I Don’t Have to Work Again. but I’d Like To, I Really Would. but I’d Want to Do Something Interesting Like Santa Claus or God.
Barbara Eden Is the Most Beautiful Girl in the World.
I Spent Five Years in England, I Went Over There with My Mother in the Show South Pacific and I Just Love It. I Go Back There Three or Four Times a Year. I Joined the American Airforce Because the Korean War Was Going on at One Time and I Got My Call up Papers and I Was Supposed to Report Back to the United States and Get My Ass Shot off in Korea Which I Didn’t Think Was a Smart Idea and Not Only That I Couldn’t Understand What the War Was All About, I Guess a Lot of People Could at That Time but I Still Can’t Even More Than I Can the Vietnam War, so Anyhow I Enlisted in the American Airforce and I Was Stationed in London for Four Years Which Was Pretty Good Because I Never Gave up My Civilian Apartment in St Johns Wood. I Got Married, Met a Swedish Girl There, We’ve Been Married 46 Years Now.
I Was Born with Success. Lucky for Me I Am Able to Handle It. Also, I Damn Well Deserve It!
People I Meet Really Want Me to Be J.R., so It’s Hard to Disappoint Them.
I’m Stronger Now Than When I Started This Whole Rigamarole. I Know I Have a Nice 36 Year Old Liver in the Body of a 66 Year Old Man and I Feel Wonderful.
The Time Is Ripe for a Bad Guy, and I’m It.
They Say It’s No Worse Than Standing in Front of a TV Set. That’s What They Said About Asbestos and World War II Radiation Experiments.
Naw, I Asked Walter Cronkite to Be Vice President. Everybody Loves Walter, a Lot of People Don’t Like Mr. Nixon and a Lot of People Don’t Like Don.
If You Do Your Research on Hot Springs All Over the World, They’re Usually Places of Peace. People, Even in Warring Nations and so Forth, They’ll Go and Live in Peace Together Around the Hot Springs, Which Were Always Considered Medicinal. I Firmly Believe in Water Therapy.
Little-known facts about Larry Hagman — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
In 1996, after Robert Downey Jr. asked to borrow $100,000, Hagman offered to pay for his drug rehab.
Autograph seekers had to sing a song or tell Hagman a joke before receiving his signature; he said it was to get something back from his fans.
Of the entire cast, Hagman appeared in all 357 episodes of Dallas.
Hagman died on November 23, 2012, one month before his 58th wedding anniversary. His ashes were scattered at Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas.
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu allowed Dallas to air in his country because he believed J.R. Ewing epitomized the worst of American capitalism; he even paid Hagman to display his image, hoping to turn people against capitalism.
Hagman holds the record for most consecutive appearances by a lead actor in an hour-long prime-time drama, with 357 episodes of Dallas.
He wanted to stay on Dallas because he wanted to work with Barbara Bel Geddes, who played his mother.
To test his self-discipline, he refused to speak one day a week.
Whenever tensions ran high on set, Hagman would throw parties for the cast and crew at his home.
He was diagnosed with Stage 2 throat cancer in June 2011, was cancer-free for nearly the entire year in 2012, until just before his death.
Out of the original cast of Dallas, Hagman was the only one originally from Texas; Susan Howard, who later joined, is also from Texas.
His ex-Dallas co-star Charlene Tilton was the only cast member to attend his 70th birthday party on September 21, 2001.
He reunited with ex-I Dream of Jeannie co-star Barbara Eden on both A Howling in the Woods 1971 and Dallas 1978.
Until 2001, he always refused to talk about his role on I Dream of Jeannie.
He played J.R. Ewing in three different series: Dallas 1978, Knots Landing 1979, and Dallas 2012.
Before becoming a successful actor, he dug ditches and bailed hay in his hometown of Weatherford, Texas.
At the start of the second season of the revised Dallas 2012 series, he reduced his appearances because he needed chemotherapy.
With encouragement from Dallas co-star Patrick Duffy, he quit smoking and drinking after over 45 years; Hagman began drinking as a teenager.
As of 2012, his wife Maj Hagman had advanced Alzheimer’s disease and lived in a rented flat near his house, attended by five live-in nurses.
Before Patrick Duffy was born, Hagman frequently visited Duffy’s parents’ home as a teenager. Years later, he suggested Duffy audition for a role on Dallas, and Duffy didn’t know who Hagman was at the time.
According to Charlene Tilton, after his death, she said in an interview that while she was a teenager living with her single mother, Hagman became a surrogate father to her during Dallas, teaching her how to behave professionally.
He was one month younger than his I Dream of Jeannie co-star Barbara Eden.
He was longtime friends with Richard Dawson, who used to play Frisbee at Hagman’s house in Malibu.
He almost died from liver failure, but his liver was matched in 30 days; he was sent via helicopter to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for a successful transplant on August 22, 1995.
Due to health reasons, he quit drinking, smoking, and eating meat and dairy products.
His final guest-starring role was on Desperate Housewives 2004.
When I Dream of Jeannie began, a crisis emerged: series star Barbara Eden was pregnant, forcing quick filming of 10 episodes. Problems developed between Hagman, determined to make the sitcom the best it could be, and director Gene Nelson, who insisted on following the script. Due to NBC’s preference, Hagman prevailed.
His Dallas co-star Ken Kercheval said Hagman’s character J.R. Ewing was the total opposite of Hagman in real life.
He earned a reported $75,000 to $100,000 per episode for Dallas.
His idol when young was Jim Davis, who later played his television father on Dallas until Davis’s death on April 26, 1981. Hagman had Davis’s portrait hanging in his house until he passed away. He was one of the few stars unable to attend Davis’s funeral because his plane was detained by a London airport strike.
On Dallas, his character drank heavily; in real life, he also drank heavily, leading to his liver transplant in 1995. In the reunion movie Dallas: J.R. Returns 1996, his character stopped drinking, reflecting his real-life choice after doctors ordered him to.
Barbara Eden said she never worked with an actor with whom she had such a connection and rhythm as with Hagman, both on I Dream of Jeannie and her guest role on Dallas.
He met his wife while he was stationed in England.
Just before his death, he reprised his role as J.R. Ewing in the 2012 Dallas revival.
He met Donna Mills on The Good Life 1971, and they remained best friends for 41 years until his death.
On I Dream of Jeannie, he played an astronaut in the Air Force; in real life, he served in the United States Air Force.
His wife Maj Axelsson Hagman passed away on May 31, 2016. Born in May 1928 in Eskilstuna, Sweden, she became a dress designer and met Hagman in London. They married and she supported his career, designing costumes and building homes. She also supported philanthropic causes such as organ donation and solar energy.
He said his favorite series was Dallas.
His idols were Jack Benny, John Wayne, Dick Powell, and his future Dallas co-stars Barbara Bel Geddes and Jim Davis.
At his wife’s suggestion, he auditioned for the lead role of J.R. Ewing on Dallas and won it.
The series Dallas was filmed at an actual place called Southfork Ranch.
He was longtime friends with Carroll O’Connor and spoke at O’Connor’s funeral on June 26, 2001. O’Connor gave Hagman’s daughter Heidi a role on Archie Bunker’s Place in the early 1980s.
When his mother Mary Martin was diagnosed with cancer in 1989, she was a Kennedy Center Honoree; at the ceremony, Hagman gave a funny and poignant tribute to her.
Before becoming successful, he worked with a young unfamiliar actor Carroll O’Connor, who was an assistant stage manager for the Broadway play God and Kate Murphy, in which Hagman starred.
The Malibu house where he used to reside is now owned by rock star Sting.
He dated Dame Joan Collins while in England.
He was raised largely by his maternal grandmother while his mother became a famous stage actress.
He was an avid fan of The Sopranos 1999.
His father, Benjamin Jack Hagman, had a massive stroke and died on July 15, 1965.
He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 1560 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California on September 9, 1981.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Larry Hagman.
Celebrities similar to Larry Hagman — same craft, ranked by reach.
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