Early Years

Larry Hagman, accomplished actor, producer, director and family man is a native Texan. Born in 1931 in Forth Worth, Texas he is he son of the late Mary Martin, an accomplished Broadway actress and a district attorney. His early life was filled with family changes including the divorce of his parents and his mother’s remarriage. He lived with his grandmother for one part of his young life and moved back and forth several times. He attended a strict military school for a short while and finally enrolled in high school.

His acting ability started to bloom in high school and he began to spend his summers in stage productions. Acting came naturally to Larry Hagman and was a popular actor in his comedic roles. In 1950 he began to pursue acting as a career, and even a stint in the United States Air Force during the Korean War didn’t stop his pursuit of acting. He spent his time entertaining troops in Europe and the United Kingdom.

With his military service completed, Larry began to appear in off-Broadway productions. Larry appeared in several plays, but appeared to have been overshadowed by his mother’s huge success as Peter Pan on Broadway. His actual debut in 1958 on Broadway was in the play “Along Comes a Day.” He successfully appeared in four other Broadway plays while on Broadway.

Aside from his Broadway acting, Larry began to also appear on television shows, most of which were live at this time. He ever appeared on the famous soap opera “The Edge of Night.” As a versatile actor Larry was cast in a variety of roles but nothing long-term until 1965 when he landed the first role to give him stardom status, that of Major Anthony Nelson, on the hugely popular show “I Dream of Jeannie.”