Obituary: Larry Hagman

Another television icon has died in a year of several deaths of TV icons: Larry Hagman, best remembered for his portrayal of the villainous J.R. Ewing in the 1980s hit show Dallas, has passed away. He had been battling cancer. I am frankly surprised by this because his wife of 58 years I know has suffered from Alzheimer's or some form of dementia and I had expected her to die first.

Hagman was the son of famed Broadway actress Mary Martin. He enjoyed some popularity in the 1960s when he co-starred with Barbara Eden in the NBC Bewitched ripoff I Dream of Jeannie, but it was Dallas that shot his popularity up to iconic status.

He was born to play the J.R. Ewing part. I watched many episodes of it, although I didn't watch it as religiously as my parents did.

Larry Hagman was 81:

Mr. Hagman died at 4:20 p.m. Friday at Medical City Dallas Hospital from complications of his recent battle with cancer, members of his family said.

“Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most,” the family said in a statement. “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.”

The iconic role of J.R. Ewing metamorphosed Mr. Hagman’s life. He rocketed from being a merely well-known TV actor on I Dream of Jeannie and the son of Broadway legend Mary Martin, to the kind of transnational fame known only by the likes of the Beatles and Muhammad Ali.

Here he talks about almost quitting Dallas: