Biography Larry Hagman

was an American film and television actor best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas, and befuddled astronaut Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.
Hagman had supporting roles in numerous films including Fail-Safe, Nixon, and Primary Colors. His television appearances also included guest roles on dozens of shows spanning from the late 1950s up until his death, and a reprisal of his signature role on the 2012 revival of Dallas. He also worked as a producer and director on television.
Hagman was the son of actress Mary Martin. He underwent a life-saving liver transplant in 1995. Although Hagman was a member of a 12-step program, he publicly advocated marijuana as a better alternative to alcohol. He died on November 23, 2012 from complications of throat cancer.


Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas.His mother, Mary Martin, became a Broadway actress and musical comedy star after his birth. His father, Benjamin Jackson Hagman, who was of Swedish descent, was an accountant and lawyer who worked as a district attorney. Hagman's parents divorced in 1936, when he was five years old. He lived with his grandmother in Texas and California while his mother became a contract player with Paramount in 1938.
In 1940, Hagman's mother met and married Richard Halliday and gave birth to a daughter, Heller, the following year. Hagman attended the strict Black-Foxe Military Institute (now closed). When his mother moved to New York City to resume her Broadway career, Hagman again lived with his grandmother in California. A couple of years later, his grandmother died and Hagman joined his mother in New York.
In 1946, Hagman moved back to his hometown of Weatherford and attended Weatherford High School. One summer he worked for oil field-equipment maker Antelope Tool Company and witnessed the eldest son of the company founder win a battle to succeed his father. Although his father wanted Hagman to become a lawyer and join his practice, he was drawn to drama classes and reportedly fell in love with the stage. He graduated from high school in 1949, and decided to pursue acting.

Hagman began his career in Dallas as a production assistant and acting in small roles in Margo Jones's theater company in 1950 during a break from his one year at Bard College. He appeared in The Taming of the Shrew in New York City, followed by numerous tent show musicals with St. John Terrell's Music Circus in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Lambertville, New Jersey. In 1951, Hagman appeared in the London production of South Pacific with his mother, and stayed in the show for nearly a year. In 1952, during the Korean War, Hagman enlisted in the United States Air Force.Stationed in London, he spent the majority of his military service entertaining U.S. troops in the UK and at bases in Europe. After leaving the Air Force in 1956, Hagman returned to New York City where he appeared in the Off-Broadway play Once Around the Block, by William Saroyan. That was followed by nearly a year in another Off-Broadway play, James Lee's Career. His Broadway debut occurred in 1958 in Comes a Day. Hagman appeared in four other Broadway plays, God and Kate Murphy, The Nervous Set, The Warm Peninsula and The Beauty Part
During this period, Hagman also appeared in numerous, mostly live, television programs. Aged 25, Hagman made his television debut on an episode of Decoy. In 1958, he joined Barbara Bain as a guest star in the short-lived adventure and drama series Harbormaster. Hagman joined the cast of daytime soap opera The Edge of Night in 1961 as Ed Gibson, and stayed in that role for two years. In 1964, he made his film debut in Ensign Pulver, which featured a young Jack Nicholson. That same year, Hagman also appeared in Fail-Safe with Henry Fonda.

Television

Hagman starred in two short-lived series in the 1970s, Here We Go Again and The Good Life.
In 1993, Hagman starred in Staying Afloat as a down-on-his-luck former millionaire who agrees to work undercover with the FBI to maintain his playboy lifestyle. Originally ordered for two TV movies and a weekly series by NBC, the pilot movie aired in November 1993 to critical drubbing and low ratings, ending production. In January 1997, Hagman starred in a short-lived television series titled Orleans as Judge Luther Charbonnet, which lasted only eight episodes.
In 2002, he made an appearance in the fourth series of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's British comedy panel game, Shooting Stars. In January 2011, Hagman made a guest appearance in the seventh Season of Desperate Housewives as a new husband for Lynette Scavo's mother, Stella (played by Polly Bergen).
He directed episodes of I Dream Of Jeannie and The Good Life as well as several episodes of Dallas and In the Heat of the Night, which was the only series he directed but did not act in.

Film

He appeared in several feature films, including The Group, Fail-Safe, Harry and Tonto, Mother, Jugs & Speed, The Eagle Has Landed, Superman, Nixon, and Primary Colors. His television film work included Getting Away from It All, Sidekicks, The Return Of The World's Greatest Detective, Intimate Strangers, and Checkered Flag or Crash.
He also directed (and appeared briefly in) a low-budget comedy and horror film in 1972 called Beware! The Blob, also called Son Of Blob, a sequel to the classic 1958 horror film The Blob. This was the only feature film he directed.

Music

In 1980, Hagman recorded a single called Ballad of the Good Luck Charm.

Product spokesman

During the 1980s, Hagman was featured in a national televised Schlitz beer campaign, playing on – but not explicitly featuring– the J. R. character from Dallas. Hagman wore the same kind of western business outfit – complete with cowboy hat – that he wore in his role. The end of each 30-second spot featured a male voice-over saying, "Refreshing Schlitz beer...the gusto's back..." and Hagman grinning into the camera and saying, "...and I'm gonna get it!" He also made commercials for BVD brand underwear.
In 2010, Hagman was hired as a spokesman for SolarWorld, a German solar energy commercial enterprise. While the SolarWorld commercials do not specifically mention either Dallas or J. R. Ewing, Hagman essentially revisits the character (complete with a picture of Hagman as J. R. Ewing from the original series on the mantle), stating that his oil company days are long over, "though still in the energy business", meaning solar energy instead.