Larry Hagman

Photos of Larry Hagman with mother Mary Martin, 1948 with Elizabeth Hartman in Doctor's Hospital, 9/17/75 with Elizabeth Hartman in Doctor's Hospital, 9/17/75 with Linda Gray, early 1980's with Linda Gray, early 1980's Portrait, 1951

Just watching Larry Hagman in his two most famous roles, as lovable astronaut Tony Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie and scheming oil man J.R. Ewing on Dallas, should convince anyone of his versatility as an actor. In a career that spans over 50 years, Hagman has experience on stage, screen and, most successfully, on television, where he has been, more often then not, the leading man. A character actor in movies, he has played a wide variety of roles, among them a nervous Russian interpreter in Fail-Safe, an abusive alcoholic playwright in The Group, a down on his luck son in Harry and Tonto, a hilariously incompetent Colonel in The Eagle Has Landed, and a decent but flawed presidential candidate in Primary Colors.

Larry Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas on September 21, 1931, the son Broadway legend Mary Martin and attorney Ben Hagman. Appropriately enough, Hagman's first acting experience was in Dallas, at Margo Jones' Theatre in the Round in 1950. In 1951, after performing in the City Center production of The Taming of the Shrew in New York, and in numerous regional theater productions, he traveled to London to appear with his mother in South Pacific. A four year stint in the Air Force followed, during which he produced and directed shows for service members.

In 1956, Larry Hagman returned to New York, where he appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, as well as a large number of television shows, most of them live. In 1961 he joined the cast of The Edge of Night as Ed Gibson, and stayed in that role until 1963. While still in New York, he played the memorable role of Buck the Russian interpreter, opposite Henry Fonda's president, in the cold war masterpiece, Fail-Safe. When New York based television work dried up in the early to mid sixties, Hagman moved west to try his luck in Hollywood.

There he landed the role of Tony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie, giving Hagman some measure of fame as the handsome astronaut who finds a beautiful genie on a deserted island after an aborted mission. The show lasted five years, from 1965 to 1970. After I Dream of Jeannie, Hagman starred in two sitcoms, The Good Life and Here We Go Again. Unfortunately, neither lasted more than a half season, leaving Hagman to make his living in TV movies, numerous guest appearances on TV series, and the occasional movie. In the late 1970s his luck was to change dramatically, when he took the role of J.R. Ewing on Dallas.

Dallas premiered on April 2, 1978 as five part mini-series. The cast of Dallas was large, and J.R. Ewing was not originally the focus of the show. However, it didn't take long for Hagman's portrayal of the charming villain to draw attention, as he was both fun and fascinating to watch. The show's ratings continued to climb in it's first full season, and by the second season, it had reached #1. The second season cliff-hanger had J.R. Ewing gunned down, with nearly everyone in the show a suspect. The mystery of "Who Shot J.R." became a world-wide phenomenon, making Larry Hagman an international star. The episode that revealed the shooter was aired on November 21, 1980 and was the highest rated U.S. television program ever, until the finale of M*A*S*H beat it a few years later. Dallas lasted 13 years, ending in 1991.

After Dallas, Larry Hagman appeared in two films and a number of TV movies, as well as the short-lived TV series Orleans. He also returned to the stage, touring the U.S. and Europe in Love Letters with his Dallas co-star Linda Gray in 1991, and appearing in Murder in the First in 2000, which was directed by Gray. In 2006, he starred in Love Letters again, this time re-uniting with Barbara Eden of I Dream of Jeannie. Hagman was back on TV in a recurring role in the fourth season of Nip/Tuck in the fall of 2006.

Larry Hagman generously gives his support to many charities, hosting fund-raisers and auctioning off memorabilia for his favorite causes. He is also a big supporter of alternative energy, solar and biodiesel in particular. Hagman has the largest residential solar electric system in the United States.

- Linda McIntyre

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