Dallas Oilman

As Texas oilman J. R. Ewing, Larry Hagman became a huge sensation everywhere Dallas played on television. Larry Hagman portrayed an oilman who was controlling, manipulative and underhanded. As an extremely successful businessman, J. R. Ewing built a strong empire with Ewing oil. Dallas projected a romantic image of Texas where the women are glamorous, the cattle ranches huge and the world of Texas oil filled with schemes, huge fortunes, affairs and shady dealings. Standing in front of this image, larger than life J. R. Ewing hell bent on controlling the Ewing Empire no matter the cost.

As part of the Ewing Empire and a dysfunctional family, J. R. schemed and plotted his way through fourteen seasons of Dallas. Beginning in 1978 and ending in 1981, Dallas became the prime time soap opera captivating audiences with the subplots involving J. R. and the rest of the Ewing clan. Who could not feel sympathy for Sue Ellen, J. R.’s alcoholic wife who was beautiful, insecure and neglected by the skirt-chasing J. R.? Blood may have been thicker than water for J. R. and his brother Bobby, but spectacular disagreements kept audiences enthralled and rooting for Bobby. Dallas Oilmans can also be found in online games at the web.

Larry Hagman presented J. R. as the man everyone loved to hate. He took every opportunity to crush his enemies in clever and petty ways. No matter the situation J. R. found himself in, Larry managed to present J. R. as a smiling, charming and powerful man. He had enemies, both men and women, but continued his ways no matter the danger he exposed himself to. Who shot J. R. became the highest international television rating for a program and a topic of conversation worldwide. People speculated, and in the end, in true Dallas fashion, the person least likely to be the suspect shot him.