On November 21, 1980, over 350 million people worldwide tuned in to
find out: "Who shot J.R.?"
In portraying the scheming, ruthless J.R. in "Dallas" during its
entire run, from 1978 to 1991, Larry Hagman reached a level of fame
and recognition that is rare, if not unique. Now the man behind
J.R. tells his own story in an autobiography that is at once rowdy
and moving, self-searching and scandalous, juicy and a "recovery
story" -- and often outrageously funny.
Though Larry Hagman is best known for his starring roles in two
hugely successful -- and very different -- television series, "I
Dream of Jeannie" and "Dallas, " his life has been a star act from
birth.
Born to the theatrical purple as the son of the legendary Mary
Martin, Larry Hagman received his first exposure to the heady world
of show business through her -- as well as experiencing a childhood
that was lavish and glamorous and full of problems. His father was
a tough, smart, wealthy Texas lawyer (sound familiar?), his mother
Broadway's most beloved leading lady, and the young Larry Hagman
was torn between their two very different worlds. After his
parents' marriage ended, he was shunted from one boarding school to
another, trying to satisfy his father's expectations by working as
a cowboy, hunting, and raising hell and still to live up to his
mother's expectations in the world of the theater.
In the end, theater won out, and, following his mother's example,
he began to pursue a career as an actor. Following a stint in a
soap opera, he got his big break with "I Dream of Jeannie, " and
from that came instant fame and celebrity, from which he never
looked back. Weaving hilarious (and often scandalous) stories about
his early years in show business into a personal story that is
breathlessly engaging, Larry Hagman shares his behind-the-scenes
life with the reader, his star-studded cast of characters including
Linda Gray, Victoria Principal, Barbara Eden, Jean Arthur, and Joan
Collins, not to mention George C. Scott, Burgess Meredith, Joshua
Logan, Jack Nicholson, Sidney Lumet, and Valerie Perrine, to name
only a few.
But with the success came many temptations, a few of which Larry
Hagman succumbed to, and about which he writes candidly and
unsparingly in this memoir, including his battle with drugs and
alcohol and his subsequent recovery.
It was as J.R., however, in the phenomenally successful series
"Dallas" (the second longest-running TV drama in history), that
Hagman earned his greatest fame. Taking the reader behind the
scenes, he shares many stories of ego clashes, offscreen
relationships, and flamboyant behavior durning his work on that
series -- and the pain he experienced as drugs and alcohol began to
take their toll. In fact the greatest drama in Larry Hagman's life
-- after his long, loving, and successful marriage to his wife, Maj
-- came when he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and
entered into a race against time to find a liver donor.
The "recovery" side of his story is not something he takes for
granted, having overcome two addictions as well as undergoing a
liver transplant in 1995 and a subsequent near-fatal motorcycle
accident. His account of these difficulties is at once
unflinchingly courageous and matter-of-fact and will be a source of
inspiration to many readers. Despite problems that would have
stopped most people, Larry Hagman continues to work on television
and in film (he made a brilliant appearance in Mike Nichols's film
about presidential ambition, "Primary Colors)" and enjoys life
hugely.
Dishy, witty, frank, and unsparing of Larry Hagman himself and of
others, "Hello Darlin'" is, like its author, destined for
international fame -- a rare memoir by a show-business celebrity
that not only makes us laugh, applaud, and cry, but also leaves us
with respect and admiration for a man who can not only tell a good
story about others, but reveal something of himself.
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