J.R. Ewing — Dallas
Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing made “Who shot J.R.?” a global summer sport on Dallas — oil-opera villainy with a smile that sold cliffhangers. Southfork seating charts, spoiler culture as national weather. On TV Flash he is primetime soap’s most delicious bastard, reboot-proof mythology in a Stetson.
Larry Hagman played J.R. Ewing on Dallas, the CBS oil opera that taught television how to own a summer. March 1980: J.R. on the office floor, then months of a country asking a question like it was a relationship status. Who shot J.R.? was event television as a soft launch. Hagman made villainy photograph as charm. Patrick Duffy’s Bobby is good-son lighting. Linda Gray’s Sue Ellen is the marriage as a crime scene.
1978–1991. s01e01 is the table getting names, oil-opera seating chart before the country learned the question. Watch Hagman for the grin as a weapon. The dream season tried to un-happen a death with a shower. International J.R. fever was soft power with a Stetson. He remains the bastard the cliffhanger still needs.
s01e05 files Southfork as a photocall with brisket — early proof the barbecue is a political convention. s03e25 is the leak: a summer becomes a product; spoiler culture gets its founding carpet. Hagman holds delicious bastard through both. Reboot-proof mythology. Seating charts with land attached.
The catalog also files NBC’s I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970): Hagman as Maj. Anthony Nelson hiding a genie from NASA for five seasons of blinks and suburban farce. s01e01 is The Lady in the Bottle. TV Flash keeps the Stetson as the lede.
Thirteen seasons of oil opera still required a grin that could own a summer. Hagman’s J.R. is that grin. The desk wants the table, the brisket photocall, the leak that founded spoiler culture — then notes the bottle sitcom without letting it overwrite the Stetson. Delicious bastard. He is how a question became national weather.
FAQ
Where should I start with Larry Hagman — Dallas or I Dream of Jeannie?
For the grin as weapon, Dallas s01e01 names the table. For the bottle sitcom, Jeannie s01e01 hides a genie from NASA.
Lead, supporting, or ensemble?
Lead bastard of a Southfork ensemble; earlier astronaut lead. Hagman’s J.R. is spoiler-culture weather — villainy as charm, not a guest heel.
What hour still shows the turn?
Dallas s03e25, the leak: a summer becomes a product, spoiler culture’s founding carpet. The grin is already the weapon.
Networks & studios
- CBS — via catalog credits
- NBC — via catalog credits
- Lorimar Television — production
- Lorimar-Telepictures — production
On the dial
Shows in our catalog
On the web
External sites for further reading — TV Flash is not affiliated with these networks or studios.
Stay on this channel
More with Larry Hagman
- ShowDallasWho shot J.R.? — the cliffhanger that taught TV how to own a summer.
- ShowI Dream of JeannieAstronaut, bottle, blink — Space Race sitcom with genie chemistry.
- The Carpet ReportThe Summer America Spent Asking Who Shot J.R.Dallas taught television how to own a summer: Southfork seating charts, Larry Hagman’s grin as a weapon, and a cliffhanger that turned spoiler culture into national weather.
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