# What role is Larry Hagman best known for?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted
**Created:** [April 7, 2025, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749 "2025-04-07T17:15:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/41 "2025-04-07T22:59:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> And count me in as somebody even from the tender age of 8 when it first was released who realized the whole point of the show was ogling Barbara Eden as much as the mid-60s censors would permit.
>
> I never saw an episode of _Dallas_ but it was pretty obvious the point wasn’t pretty women. So not a show I cared to watch.
Maybe you shoulda tried watching the show before reaching that conclusion.
---
### Author:  [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/42 "2025-04-07T23:00:07Z")
@Briny_Deep couldn’t remember the name of the character Hagman played on _I Dream of Jeannie_ . I couldn’t either until it was mentioned in the thread
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/43 "2025-04-07T23:05:33Z")
_ **Dallas** _ began with Bobby Ewing and Pam Barnes returning home after they had eloped, and the series was originally supposed to focus on them. JR was actually of less importance at first, but he stole the show because he hated Pam (their fathers were sworn enemies) and started doing everything he could to ruin the marriage. His popularity grew along with his assholiness, and people were soon tuning in just to see what kind of dirty trick he was going to pull that week.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/44 "2025-04-07T23:06:16Z")
I Dream of Jeannie was in Syndication ever since it stopped production. I’m not sure if it’s still on the cable channels.
I watched it for years until burning out. I’ve seen every episode many rimes.
I voted that Hagman is known as Major Nelson.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/45 "2025-04-07T23:10:06Z")
I never watched the 80’s prime time soaps. Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest etc.
I did hear about JR and the other major characters. They were on the TV Guide covers.
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/46 "2025-04-07T23:10:33Z")
_ **Jeannie** _ turns up every now and then in rotation on CHCH’s daytime Retro block. Its latest run ended a couple of weeks ago, and _ **Leave It to Beaver** _ is now on instead.
Which is almost as bad as _ **Mad About You** _ taking the slot of _ **The Avengers** _. 😠
---
### Author:  [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/47 "2025-04-07T23:15:38Z")
Proper use of italics on my part would have helped.
---
### Author:  [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/48 "2025-04-07T23:46:49Z")
What a fun question; LH was excellent and well known in both. I like Major Nelson better but based on the hullabaloo surrounding Dallas in the '80s, I have to vote for JR.
---
### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/49 "2025-04-07T23:49:14Z")
The first image that comes to my mind is from IDoJ.
The second thought is Dallas.
The rational best known for worldwide is Dallas. But to me he is best known for IDoJ.
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/50 "2025-04-08T00:06:17Z")
This.
---
### Author:  [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/51 "2025-04-08T01:01:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> I never saw an episode of _Dallas_ but it was pretty obvious the point wasn’t pretty women.
It may not have been the _point_, but there were plenty of them there. Those prime time soaps never had any shortage of beautiful women.
---
### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/52 "2025-04-08T01:10:25Z")
_Dallas_ for me. Before I opened the thread I couldn’t think of any specific thing he had done before Dallas. Even after opening the thread, I can only nod in agreement at vaguely remembering him being in IDoJ. Even though I’ve seen 10 or fewer IDoJ episodes, I’ve probably seen not that many more Dallas episodes. It was something you just _knew_ that he did, even if you never watched the show, since he was the face of all the publicity about _Dallas_.
---
### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/53 "2025-04-08T01:23:26Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> Is there anybody who was an American kid in the 1960s or 70s who didn’t vote “Major Nelson”?
Me too.
_IDoJ_ was one in a mix of moderately entertaining sitcoms that haven’t really aged well. LH was one of the leads, but he wasn’t the star. _Dallas_ was a world-wide phenomenon. LH didn’t get the most screen time, but he was the star.
I remember traveling on a train in southern France in the 1990s and struck up a conversation with two young students from China. They asked about visiting the US, and the only two places they wanted to visit were New York for lots of reasons, and Dallas because of the TV show.
---
### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/54 "2025-04-08T01:56:23Z")
Hagman directed and had a small role in **Beware! The Blob** (1972), which is now known as the film that JR shot.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/55 "2025-04-08T02:49:35Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> I was born in 1967 and voted Dallas. That show was much bigger than Jeannie, even if I didn’t watch it.
We are the same age and I agree.
Jeanie was on syndication for a long time and I remember watching it then.
_Dallas_ turned into a cultural touchstone. “Who shot J.R.?” was on the cover of Time magazine and many other national publications. People wore t-shirts with the slogan. When the episode answering the question aired 83 million Americans watched and 76% of the TVs tuned in. It’s still the second highest rated episode of tv in history. Only the MASH finale was higher.
The answer is JR and it’s not even close.
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/56 "2025-04-08T03:01:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> More people may have watched Dallas when it was being first aired but I’m sure reruns have given I Dream of Jeannie more exposure to people over time.
This sums up what I think.
Hagman was much better known for playing J.R. Ewing in the eighties when _Dallas_ was huge. But that series’ time has passed. Who’s watched Dallas in the last twenty years? (I know there was a revival show. Did people watch it?)
I’m assuming _I Dream of Jeannie_ is still being shown in syndication and on streaming and there are young people watching the show for the first time. So over the long haul, Hagman is better known for playing Tony Nelson.
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/57 "2025-04-08T03:10:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Who’s watched Dallas in the last twenty years? (I know there was a revival show. Did people watch it?)
I did. It was okay, but not as good as the original. The saddest part was seeing how Hagman and Duffy had aged, along with some of the other actors from the '80s.
The best part was watching Brenda Strong, the “Oh Henry!” heiress on _ **Seinfeld** _.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/58 "2025-04-08T03:12:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> I’m assuming _I Dream of Jeannie_ is still being shown in syndication and on streaming and there are young people watching the show for the first time. So over the long haul, Hagman is better known for playing Tony Nelson.
I don’t think that’s a good assumption. Shows from that era had their syndication heyday in the early 80s. They were pushed out of the rotation long ago. Only TV Land has old show like that (but not that one). As far as I can tell you can only find it on Tubi where old shows go to die. Or you can buy it. I doubt there are any young people watching anywhere.
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/59 "2025-04-08T04:59:17Z")
See post no. 45?
---
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/60 "2025-04-08T05:01:30Z")
I was going to say _The Nanny and the Professor_ as a clever reference to an obscure role, but turns out that wasn’t him, that was Richard Long.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749.md?page=2)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749.md?page=4)