When Larry Hagman died yesterday, the cast and crew of TNT’s Dallas series had finished filming six of the 15 episodes that had been ordered for the second season. He was scheduled to shoot more scenes this week and his demise reportedly came as a shock to many of those on the show.
A statement from TNT reads, “All of us at TNT are deeply saddened at the news of Larry Hagman’s passing. He was a wonderful human being and an extremely gifted actor. We will be forever thankful that a whole new generation of people got to know and appreciate Larry through his performance as J.R. Ewing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time.”
Warner Bros. and executive producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael M. Robin said, “Larry Hagman was a giant, a larger-than-life personality whose iconic performance as J.R. Ewing will endure as one of the most indelible in entertainment history. He truly loved portraying this globally recognized character, and he leaves a legacy of entertainment, generosity and grace. Everyone at Warner Bros. and in the Dallas family is deeply saddened by Larry’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time.”
Word is that the current Dallas’ producers and writers plan to start revising scripts and will give JR Ewing a big send-off. Years before the original Dallas ended, Hagman said, “I know what I want on JR’s tombstone. It should say: ‘Here lies upright citizen J.R. Ewing. This is the only deal he ever lost.'”
This will be the third time that Cidre has had to make script adjustments.
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When TNT first ordered the new Dallas pilot, Hagman was holding out for a lot more money and an agreement couldn’t be reached. Cidre reportedly came up with an alternate script for the pilot that would have incorporated vintage footage of JR from the original series. Warners Bros. apparently liked the approach a lot and was ready to move forward but Hagman finally signed on.
Last October, during the filming of the first season, Hagman announced that he was battling cancer. His airtime was cut down to three episodes just in case he wasn’t well enough for more (remember when JR disappeared off to Las Vegas?). He was ultimately able to appear in all of the episodes.
It’s hard to imagine Dallas without JR Ewing and certainly no one else could take over the role. What do you think? Do you think the series will be worth watching without Hagman? Should the new Dallas come to an end or keep going?
The second season of Dallas is set to begin airing January 28th.
I love Dallas! In my opinion it would be a complete slap in the face to Larry Hagman to cancel Dallas because He would want his costars to keep doing the show. The writers are very creative for these stories and they will continue to do that and remember Larry during the writing process. RIP Larry Hagman aka JR Ewing. We love you and miss you but we still watch Dallas for the memories.
We agree that L.H. is too big of an icon. But, let the writers get creative. There has to be old clips, old stories, scenes not used that can be used creatively. We’re taking a liking to the new cast with bit parts of Bobby, Sue Ellen, Cliff. We say, keep up the great job!
Dallas will never last without Larry Hagman. The show’s success was centered around JR Ewing. I’ve seen no one in the current cast that can fill that gaping hole.
i think it would be a terrible slap in his face to cancel the show without him being on it,,,there is always a way to keep his presence,,for one thing a life size portrait in a room with a lot of activity will help a lot,,toasts to him along the way as a nod both to JR and Larry,,i even think some back shots of a double from time to time would keep him rather alive for all of us,,but cancel the show he so loved,,,im not a fan of Dallas but even I SAY hells no,,,,,
I agree with Lee they should get anyone that is still alive from the original show, Sly, Kendall, Lucy, Mitch, Ray Barbara Eden, all of JR’s Love Interest. Its my understanding Vanessa his Eueropean Lover is still living? Maybe they can do another Who Shot JR and this time it takes. I think the show will survive without him, they can do cameos of the past and even get a stand in for awhile only showing his back and paste together his voice they can do so much for the rest of the Season. I do believe there will be… Read more »
Hail JR
I’ll miss Larry but the show is still good – he was barely in 3 of them and I still thoroughly enjoyed the episodes. One thing is certain and that it won’t be the same without ol’ JR. RIP
I think dallas should continue i hope they dont write bobby off the show with him having cancer on the show now that Larry has died with cancer in real life that would be unbearable to watch 2 of my best characters die
I was a fan of Jocks, (Jim Davis) passed away, I continued watching and was a Huge fan of JR’s, I hope they keep the show so I can give John Ross an honest chance I still love the show!
Loved Larry Hagman as JR, vintage Dallas. I am a proponent for the showing soldiering on, and I know Larry Hagman loved Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, and the franchise enough to want it to succeed if it can. You best believe his spirit will descend on the set of Dallas, and provide support……that said….if you can get him…..In a scene where JR’s helicopetor crashes, he endures burns on his face, they unwrap MICHAEL DOUGLASS! He is the only one that I can see doing it…..he has the chops, and he definitely can pull off a slick character, he will also… Read more »
My heart goes out to Larry Hagman’s family. If the public will miss him so much I can’t imagine how much his own family will miss him. It’s hard to think of Dallas without J. R. Ewing but everyone must die at sometime. I feel that the new Dallas can survive with J. R. if it has good writers. Honor him in the series, but please continue on. I feel that Larry Hagman would want that.
Larry was awesome every role he played. Best sendoff should be done for him in Dallas! Has to be very well written. I think new Dallas still has a chance without him as the rest of the cast is very talented! Also am sure can use footage and splice in to accomplish a full second season, then near the end of the season do a brilliant send off! Have seen shows in the past where footage was used and made the actor appear alive for another 6 months. Would be great as to insure the success of new Dallas. Larry… Read more »
I agree with Lee. JR Ewings death should be written into the script. Unfortunately people die every day and Larry will truly be missed by all, but Dallas is still a good show and I believe it should continue. I bet Larry Hagman would want that as well.
They need to do an episode that is 60 minutes dedicated to the funeral of JR Ewing. All kinds of characters from the past should come back, some sorry to see him go, some happy to see him go. I’m sure JR Ewing would love that!
RIP – Larry…you will be deeply missed. TNT please keep the show!