# 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:** 4
### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/61 "2025-04-08T05:42:53Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> I suspect the JR voters are younger or from outside the US where _Dallas_ probably found a larger audience than _Jeannie_.
Since _any_ audience is larger than the _zero_ audience _IDoJ_ had here, yes. I mean, Dallas was _huge_ here when I was a kid, but also, never seen the other thing.
---
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/62 "2025-04-08T05:45:48Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> Is there anybody who was an American kid in the 1960s or 70s who didn’t vote “Major Nelson”?
I was a kid in the '70s, and watched him in reruns of _I Dream of Jeannie_ for years. I answered the poll, not from my own personal POV (which would, indeed, be Tony Nelson), but which role, I suspect, he was best-known for among the general public – and I am pretty sure that that would be J.R. Ewing.
---
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/63 "2025-04-08T05:50:20Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> 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.
I recall watching _I Dream of Jeannie_ not too long ago on MeTV: one of several syndicated over-the-air networks, similar to Antenna TV, Cozi, etc., which local TV stations now run on their “secondary” digital channels. Those channels all feature old reruns – primarily network sitcoms and dramas from the 1960s through 1980s – but seem to rotate various series in and out, and it doesn’t look like they have that series right now.
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/64 "2025-04-08T09:50:46Z")
> [@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.
Young people don’t watch those old shows on MeTV or TVLand, even if IDoJ were on those. That’s for old fogeys like us. First of all, there are commercials, which young people never see anymore. Second, look at the ads – they’re all for diabetes meds and Medicare Advantage. Third, they aren’t forced to watch old crappy sitcoms, since there’s an infinite number of streaming options now. I never would have watched Giligan’s Island if it weren’t the only option.
I think they go back to Friends or How I Met Your Mother. My kids (who are all grown) don’t watch any 70s or 80s shows and none of their friends talk about them. One of my kids loves the Dick van Dyke show, but she’s an anomaly.
---
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/65 "2025-04-08T09:58:26Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> I never would have watched Giligan’s Island if it weren’t the only option.
This is something that irritates me, how some shows are considered special or had amazing ratings or the cast are held up as legends, when in reality they were watched repeatedly because that’s how they were broadcast. Quality was irrelevant, it was frequency of repeats and a narrow field of options. Nobody on _The Brady Bunch_ or _The Munsters_ are putting in world class performances of award winning scripts, they were just what was on.
---
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/66 "2025-04-08T10:25:13Z")
That’s why these end up being repeated year after year for the youngest and oldest audiences. I do think that could end soon with so much more content available.
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/67 "2025-04-08T13:13:10Z")
Did _Dallas_ ever enter syndication or any other distribution channel for modern audiences to watch it?
---
### Author:  [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/68 "2025-04-08T13:24:45Z")
It may have been syndicated, but it really wasn’t the type of show that does well in traditional syndication , where the show was sold to different stations in different markets - hour-long dramas don’t tend to do well , and those with a continuing storyline less so. It was probably shown on a cable station like the Soap Opera Network or TNT and I know it’s definitely streaming now (I saw it listed on one service or another)
---
### Author:  [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/69 "2025-04-08T13:31:22Z")
I was able to find I Dream of Jeannie on the schedule for Antenna TV, after first checking on MeTV and Cozi TV. You have to really want to watch it to go to the trouble of tracking it down. It’s not something that kids today are going to just come across and decide to watch for awhile. I don’t think young people watch TV in that way anymore.
---
### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/70 "2025-04-08T13:36:58Z")
A few of the Live Streamers are showing I Dream of Jeannie. Tubi is one.
---
### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/71 "2025-04-08T13:37:47Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> I never would have watched Giligan’s Island if it weren’t the only option.
Every day in the prime after-school spot. I must have seen every episode 5 times.
I liked it. Hey, Iw as a kid.
Then they replaced that slot with Star Trek, and a whole new world opened up. Now I can;t stand Gilligan’s Island, though some episodes still linger as fond memories (usually the fantasy/dream ones).
---
### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/72 "2025-04-08T13:40:22Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> I was born in 1967 and voted Dallas. That show was much bigger than Jeannie, even if I didn’t watch it.
I was also born in 1967. I didn’t watch reruns of IDoJ, nor did I watch Dallas. But even though I didn’t watch it, I knew Hagman played J. R. Ewing on the latter, and I remember all the hoopla over “Who shot J.R.?”
Looking at a [list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-rated_United_States_television_programs_of_1980%E2%80%9381) of primetime TV shows during that era, I was watching _The Dukes of Hazzard_, _Happy Days_, and _That’s Incredible!_.
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/73 "2025-04-08T13:42:12Z")
Nice! If it was either GI or One Life to Live or some talk show, I was definitely watching GI. For me, IDOJ\>Get Smart\>Bewitched\>GI. Gosh, we had some terrible shows to choose from.
---
### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/74 "2025-04-08T13:44:10Z")
I thought Get Smart was a very good show.
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/75 "2025-04-08T13:44:48Z")
The acting is pretty terrible. The writing was funny, though.
---
### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/76 "2025-04-08T13:48:11Z")
The acting in a lot of 60s shows was pretty terrible I guess. I didn’t notice it being any worse for Get Smart. Maybe Max himself, but the rest were average for the time. There were stand outs like The Dick Van Dyke show, but most of the sitcoms were actually insipid. The Dramas usually had leads on par with Shatner.
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/77 "2025-04-08T13:50:35Z")
I think the Chief is also a terrible actor, like so bad it’s as if they didn’t use an actor. I will never say anything against Agent 99, of course.
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> but most of the sitcoms were actually insipid
Completely. And, there was so much less content that had to be made. It’s weird – they only had to fill 3 channels, and they filled it with so much crap. Now, there are 5 or 6 networks, plus HBO, Prime, Netflix, Apple, etc., and the quality of the writing and acting has gone way up.
---
### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/78 "2025-04-08T14:11:12Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> but most of the sitcoms were actually insipid.
Well, at least the ones that kids would actually sit down and watch after school in the 1970s. The “good” sitcoms from the 1960s would have bored us to death.
---
### Author:  [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/79 "2025-04-08T14:11:40Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> Now, there are 5 or 6 networks, plus HBO, Prime, Netflix, Apple, etc., and the quality of the writing and acting has gone way up.
That’s part of the reason the quality has gone up - when there were three or six channels of crap, I had to watch one of those or do something else , which wasn’t always an option. I’m not going to the movies every night right before bed like I might have watched some old sitcom every night at 11. Now, if the broadcast channels all have crap and the cable channels all have crap, there are a zillion streaming services I can watch , with everything from movies to that series I always wanted to watch in the 80s but I worked Thursday nights so I never did and so on. The same channels can have the same crap - but now I have options.
---
### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749/80 "2025-04-08T14:25:35Z")
But, in a sense, now there’s TOO MUCH television. How many streaming services are there? And how many shows? I guarantee that 90% of streaming is crap, but how can you tell which is which without watching it all?
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> The “good” sitcoms from the 1960s would have bored us to death.
And 70s. I’m sure a lot of the humor went right over my head in the “good” sitcoms. I could “get” Gilligan’s Island, but when I watched Mary Tyler Moore it was only OK. When I rewatched it as an adult I couldn’t believe how much innuendo there was. Mary!
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749.md?page=3)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-is-larry-hagman-best-known-for/1016749.md?page=5)