Actor Larry Hagman, notorious and beloved as 'Dallas' villain J.R. Ewing, dies

[Seth82]

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local...ewing-dies.ece

Actor Larry Hagman, notorious and beloved as 'Dallas' villain J.R. Ewing, dies


Larry Hagman and Josh Henderson speak with reporters on the red carpet during the TNT premier of the television show, Dallas at the Winspear Opera House on Thursday, May 31, 2012.

Larry Hagman, the North Texas native who played the conniving and mischievous J.R. Ewing on the TV show Dallas, died Friday afternoon at a Dallas hospital, according to sources close to the actor. He was 81.

The iconic role changed 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.

Mr. Hagman made his home in California with his wife of nearly 60 years, the former Maj Axelsson. Despite obvious physical frailty, he gamely returned to Dallas to film season one of TNT’s Dallas reboot and part of season two.

Among those confirming the death were Linda Gray's agent, Jeffrey Lane, who said the actress was at Mr. Hagman's bedside when he died at a Dallas hospital, according to The Sun in London. He said another co-star, Patrick Duffy, was also present. “They had been friends for 35 years and they had worked together for many years, so obviously it is devastating," Mr. Lane told The Sun.

More details to come.