10 photos in galleryAs soon as I learned to read music, my piano teacher asked me what song I’d like to try first. My first two choices were, in this order, the themes to “Dallas” and “Dynasty.” (And bless her, she wrote them out for me.) Living in England at that time, we tended to devour any U.S. television shows we got, but Dallas and Dynasty were the big dogs: If I missed them, I taped them. Those people were so familiar to me. So the return of J.R. Ewing to TV was one of the most welcome and awesome things ever, and the death of Larry Hagman this weekend was actually viscerally distressing. Hooray for us all that we got the gift of ten more episodes — plus however many new ones he’d already shot — of J.R.’s sassy one-liners and delectable scheming, but it means we’ll all feel the loss even more. AND Bobby and Sue Ellen were apparently at his deathbed with his family. Sniffle. Anyway, Liz & Dick kind of sucked the time away this weekend, but we wanted to throw together at least a QUICK tribute to Larry Hagman, to wish him well as he heads up to the pearly gates and commences smiting that snake Cliff Barnes.
For a CLASSIC J.R. and Sue Ellen verbal spat, click here — the music cue right before J.R. delivers his exit line is hilarious. And for a montage of J.R. moments that’s long but also essential, click here. “What do you like in your coffee?” “BOURBON.” Yes sir.
[Photos: Getty, WENN]
Comments (49):
The lederhosen (suederhosen?) are magnificent. Just the thing for scheming in the Austrian alps. I expect he was planning to wrestle control of the cuckoo clock industry fom the Swiss after attending the toblerone barons’ ball.
Aw, well played Heather. That last slide made me a little misty eyed.
Well played, indeed, Heather. Thank you for this. He bit off the role of a lifetime and made a MEAL of it. I read that Joan Collins said that he inspired her to play Alexis. And Scouse Helen, toblerone barons’ ball … nice one.
He’ll always be Major Nelson to me.
YES! I was literally thinking those exact same words!!!! So so true…
I had a bit of a crush on Major Nelson.
Those were MAGNIFICENT eyebrows. On a truly rare man, who will be missed.
My childhood just passed before my eyes. I was in junior high in Texas when the “who shot JR” cliffhanger happened. Of course, high school football is a religion in TX, so we couldn’t stay home and watch the season opener (Dallas aired on Friday nights), but about 1/4 of the crowd had little portable TVs in the stands to find out whodunit. The next morning on the banner of the local newspaper, along with the local HS football scores, it listed: Kristin 1 JR 0
That is awesome.
Well Played, Texas!
“The only thing you ever learned is that vodka doesn’t smell on your breath.” DAMN. Thank you for this…
(And that music cue was AMAZING.)
Yes! That music cue reminded me, somehow, of a tickle. They knew we would love the line about to come! J.R. Ewing…how could a man so evil bring us such joy. RIP Larry.
I teared up a little on that final slide. You will be missed Larry Hagman!
RIP, you magnificent man with you magnificent brows.
Also, love that you name checked Space Camp. I have serious love for that movie. It is right up there with Troop Beverly Hills and Center Stage as the best cheesy movies evarrrr.
As a lover of soaps, but born too late for Dynasty/Dallas, I have come to know Larry Hagman/JR Ewing slowly over the years and was THRILLED when Dallas came back and I’ll miss him from that. I didn’t even realise until my teens that he was also Major Nelson! He certainly brought a lot to his roles. And I’m so pleased that despite his troubles, his former/current co-stars remember him fondly.
So sad, RIP Larry. I loved him as Major Nelson, loved to hate him as JR…… he OWNED that character. You will be missed!
Thanks, Heather. Happy trails, indeed. Gutted he’s gone – and taking with him the best character on television, then and now. A true original! RIP Larry
Major Nelson was one of my first crushes. I’d like to thank nick at night for introducing me to a young Larry. You will be missed!
Ditto! Although it was way before my time, I watched reruns and I have at least one season of I Dream of Jeannie on DVD somewhere. And Major Nelson was straight-up dreamy.
I never watched the original Dallas, but bought an iTunes season pass to season 1 of the reboot, and I have loved every minute of it. Larry Hagman just lit up the screen in every episode.
Super well-played, Heather!
Love you for this! I always loved to hate J.R. and loved Major Nelson… just the way it ought to be. Larry Hagman was fabulous and may he rest in peace.
You youngsters really can’t imagine the furor that gripped the entire nation, for months, over Who Shot JR. The fact that there were only four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS) made it almost a guarantee that at least 1/4 of everyone you met, strangers in line in the store, passers-by, co-workers, cab drivers, every single person, was as intimately familiar with the Ewings and their machinations as members of their own family. It was a real unifying feeling.
According to imdb, Larry Hagman & KEITH MOON WERE BESTIES! My rewatching of Dallas will never be the same.
I believe it, based on the strength of Slide 6 alone.
Larry Hagman — you will be missed! I rushed through my wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner in order to get home in time to find out who shot J.R.
That was a nice little tribute. Thanks for making it; I really liked him alot.
I love this man! I grew up watching “I Dream of Jeannie” and it is still one of my favorite shows ever! Larry was truly a Master with such a commanding presence that I couldn’t help but to watch him in awe! I think part of my fondness for him comes from my dad looking so much like him; they could’ve been brothers! So sad to know he’s not with us anymore, but he will live forever in our hearts as Major Nelson & J.R. Ewing! Rest In Piece, Larry… I will remember you!
i lived in france when i first watched dallas. so J.R. always sounded like a distinguished french man. his texas twang was a bit of a shock when i finally heard it. anyway, thank you for the tribute. i loved him as major nelson and even if i hated J.R. larry hagman played him flawlessly.
I was in France, too. “Daaaaa-llas, ton univers impitoyaaaa-ble…”
Great tribute, Heather! He sounded like a crazy, loveable rascal in real life.
I remember being on vacation in Paris a few years ago, and having the morning news on in the hotel room while getting ready. It ended, and Dallas came on, dubbed into French. I was so tempted to not even leave the hotel room, but rather to sit and watch JR et al, en Francais!
What a wonderful tribute to a man who will be greatly missed!
I have to say, I was slightly taken aback by how much the news of his passing upset me. I will miss him, and his brows possibly more so…
Thanks Heather for the tribute– he will be missed! <3
I loved him in I Dream of Jeannie. Larry Hagman had excellent comic timing.
New-found respect (I always liked him as an actor but from the sounds of it he was also a great man) – married to the same woman for over 50 years and politically active for progressive causes. What a loss.
In that 8th pic he’s selling solar cells for a german company.
I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and our network TV programs were always shown on a two week delay from what the folks in the Lower 48 were watching. Something to do with the shipping of the film reels or some such. However, the season opener in 1980 of “Who Shot JR” was such a big deal and had created such a nationwide frenzy that the local CBS affiliate broadcast it on the same night as the rest of the country. That is what you call making an impact. RIP, dear rapscallion.
“Is the bar closed or were you 86′d?” is going to be my next catch phrase.
Love this tribute and was very sad to hear of Larry Hagman’s passing. I was such a fan that I used Dallas as my GCSE Media Studies essay topic in 1989 -and cut up my beloved Dallas annual to illustrate it- good times!
Okay, so can we talk about #6 for a minute?
I grew up in an era, and area, in which coonskin caps were still perfectly acceptable… so, seeing animals on heads in general, no shock… but, is this a skunk? IS it?
Because if it is, I think it beats out the lederhosen. Not for Best Thing Ever, but for “I have got to know how this happened!”
That is indeed a skunk on his head. No one should wear a skunk on their head. Take off the skunk, Larry.
Sadly, that was the 70s and that was probably an expensive hat. The 70s: America’s Most Embarrassing Decade.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video
to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on
just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
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I will always remember him for the “Larry Hagman Bracelet” stop smoking campaign. I.e., put a rubber band around your wrist and give it a good snap every time you get the urge for a smoke.
What a lovely tribute. I only know (and LOVE!) him from I Dream of Jeannie, so it was lovely to see all these other pics of him.
Major Nelson was just the best. And a whole retrospective should be done on all the outfits Jeannie wore when she blinked out of her regular harem-wear. She had the most fantastic mod wardrobe. To the point where I wish I could take dvds to a dressmaker and have someone recreate things for me.
I don’t think it’s a skunk in photo#6. I believe it is a badger. It takes a certain panache to wear a badger on your head:) I loved I Dream of Jeannie when I was a kid.
Ah, a BADGER! Thank you, cynicalsmirk.
And yes, that does require some serious panache! Which Hagman certainly had.
I disagree. I think it’s a skunk.
It’s a pole cat hat.
JR was my hero as a kid, and now that I’m old enough to realize what a bastard he was in the old Dallas, I love him even more. I teared up at this, but I love that in these pics you can tell that Larry Hagman really knew how to live. Thanks, Heather!
I still use his comment to Sue Ellen: “I bet if I took a sip outta that glass it would be pure vodka… ” Classic. A definite end of an era.
I just read in EW that he always carried a flute. I hope no one ever refutes that fact. It is my santa claus. I like to think he carried it in his left sock and whipped it out at moments that needed a little extra whimsicality or a break in the tension. Oh Mr. Hagman, the world needed you so.