Larry Hagman | Actor and American Icon

Larry Hagman

Actor and American Icon

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Larry Hagman
Biography

November 21, 1980 and August 23, 1995, are two dates Larry Hagman will never forget. On the first, over 350 million fans in 57 countries were glued to their television sets to find out who shot J.R. On the second, Larry received a liver transplant that took 16 hours and saved his life.

In 1997, feeling better than he had in years, Hagman completed work on two projects that were filming simultaneously: Ken Follett's "The Third Twin," a four hour miniseries based on the author's best selling novel, which aired on CBS, and Mike Nichols' "Primary Colors," a film based on the best selling book by Anonymous who later was acknowledged to be journalist Joe Klein. The film opened March 20, 1998 and stars John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates and Adrian Lester. Hagman plays Governor Picker, an anti-politics politician who poses a serious threat to Governor Stanton's (John Travolta) big for office. Mr. Hagman has received unanimous raves from the critics for his stirring performance and rumblings of a possible Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor abounded. "Primary Colors" is Hagman's second "presidential" film having also appeared in Oliver Stone's "Nixon." Following those projects, the second Dallas Reunion Movie "War of the Ewings" aired on CBS on Friday, April 24 1998. Larry also served as executive producer.

Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas on September 21st, the son of actress Mary Martin and attorney Ben Hagman. When his parents divorced, he moved to Los Angeles to live with his grandmother. After his grandmother's death, Hagman, who was only 12, returned to his mother, who had remarried and was pursuing a successful Broadway career.

After a year at Bard College in Anandale-on-the-Hudson, New York, Hagman decided to follow in his mother's theatrical footsteps. His first stage experience was with the Margo Jones Theatre-in-the-Round in Dallas. He next appeared in the New York City Center production of "Taming of the Shrew," followed by a year in regional theater.

Hagman moved to England as a member of the cast of his mother's big stage hit, "South Pacific," and stayed for five years. There he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he produced and directed several shows for members of the service.

While stationed in England, Hagman met and married Maj (pronounced "My") Axelsson (December, 1954), a young Swedish designer who Larry insists is "the best thing that ever happened to me."

After completing his military service, Larry returned to New York for a series of Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including "Once Around the Block," "Career," "Comes a Day," "A Priest in the House," "The Beauty Part," "The Warm Peninsula," and "The Nervous Set," among others.

His television experience began with various guest appearances on such shows as "The ALCOA Hour." He was then cast in the daytime series "The Edge of Night," in which he starred for two years.

After eight years in New York, Larry decided to pack up his family--which then included a daughter, Kristina Mary (2/17/58) and a son, Preston (5/2/62)--and move to Hollywood.

Mr. Hagman became a true TV star in 1965 in the comedy series "I Dream of Jeannie," in which he played an amiable astronaut whose life is plagued by a beautiful blonde genie, portrayed by Barbara Eden. The show ran for 5 years and afterwards, Larry continued his television success in "The Good Life" and "Here We Go Again," as well as a multitude of guest-starting roles on various series. He also starred with Lauren Becall in the television version of the hit Broadway musical "Applause."

Mr. Hagman's TV film credits include:
-"The President's Mistress"
-"Last of the Good Guys"
-"Battered"
-"Deadly Encounter"
-"Staying Afloat" for which he also served as executive producer
-"The Third Twin"

Among his motion picture credits are:
-"Fail-Safe" (1964)
-"Ensign Pulver" (1964)
-"The Cavern" (1965)
-"In Harm's Way" (1965)
-"The Group" (1966--his performance was overwhelmingly praised by the critics)
-"Three in the Cellar" (1970)
-"Harry and Tonto" (1974)
-"Stardust" (1975)
-"Mother, Jugs and Speed" (1976)
-"The Eagle has Landed" (1976)
-"Superman" (1978)
-"Blake Edwards' S.O.B." (1981)
-"Primary Colors" (1998)

It was not until 1977, when "Dallas" came along, however, that Mr. Hagman's career took off. He credits "Superchick" (his affectionate name for Maj) for persuading him to do the series. This saga of an excessively rich Texas family was one of the boldest, brassiest, most talked-about shows ever and, Larry Hagman, as the despicable, corrupt, merciless, millionaire J.R. Ewing, the man everyone loved to hate, was its centerpiece. The series ran for an unprecedented 13 seasons (from 1978-1991) and the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode remains the second highest rated TV show in the history of the medium.

Since his name had become synonymous with Texas, it was fitting that he host "Lone Star," an eight-part documentary series on the history of Texas for PBS. The series, which aired in the fall of 1985, celebrated the 150th anniversary of Texas as an independent republic.

In April 1987, Karl-Lorimar released "Larry Hagman--Stop Smoking for Life." Proceeds from the instructional home video went to the American Cancer Society. In November 1996, Hagman starred in "Dallas: JR Returns," two-hour MOW which was a ratings blockbuster for CBS as well as in the network's one-hour drama series "Orleans." His portrayal of Judge Luther Charbonnet garnered some of the best reviews of his career.

Off-screen, Larry is actively involved in numerous civic and philanthropic activities. An adamant non-smoke, Larry was chairperson of the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout" from 1981-1992.

Larry served as the National Spokesperson for the 1996, 1998 and 2000 U.S. Transplant Games presented by the National Kidney Foundation and, on November 2, 1996, received the Foundation's Public Service Award for his efforts in heightening public awareness of the importance of organ donation. He continues to serve as an advocate of organ donation and transplantation.

Currently he is serving on the Board for the Solar Electric Light Fund, a non-profit organization bringing solar energy to regions in third world countries without access to electricity.

Larry enjoys spending time with his family more than anything else. He and Maj live on a ranch in Ojai, California, but also spend time in a condo in Santa Monica. They believe that life should be filled with sensual pleasures--"Don't Worry, Be Happy, Feel Good" is the family motto.

Mr. Hagman, an avid Harley-hog, also enjoys fishing, traveling, and collecting hats and flags.

Larry's new book, "Hello Darlin'," published by Simon and Schuster, was released in October 2001 and is available in bookstores everywhere.

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Larry Hagman
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