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  Actor Larry Hagman, "Maj. Nelson," (1931-2012)

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Author Topic:   Actor Larry Hagman, "Maj. Nelson," (1931-2012)
Robert Pearlman
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posted 11-23-2012 10:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Larry Hagman, who played astronaut Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson on the TV series "I Dream of Jeannie" and the conniving J.R. Ewing on the TV show "Dallas," died Friday (Nov. 23) at a Dallas hospital. He was 81.

Hagman died at Medical City Dallas Hospital from complications of his recent battle with cancer, members of his family said.

Rob Joyner
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posted 11-23-2012 10:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rob Joyner   Click Here to Email Rob Joyner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Godspeed, Major Nelson.

space1
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posted 11-23-2012 10:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for space1   Click Here to Email space1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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413 is in
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posted 11-23-2012 11:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 413 is in   Click Here to Email 413 is in     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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LM1
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posted 11-24-2012 01:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM1   Click Here to Email LM1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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KSCartist
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posted 11-24-2012 01:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I loved "I Dream of Jeannie" as a kid. I wanted to be just like Major Nelson. Have a beautiful woman madly in love with you and be an astronaut.

Well at least one of those things came true.

R.I.P. Major Nelson and J.R. Ewing. Thank you for taking such joy in your work and sharing it with the world.

minipci
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posted 11-24-2012 04:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for minipci     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Jay Chladek
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posted 11-24-2012 04:58 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jay Chladek   Click Here to Email Jay Chladek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is a pity as Hagman has survived a lot of health related problems over the past three decades. I was beginning to think that nothing could kill him as he had a liver transplant as a result of his heavy drinking and I believe also had an early cancer scare due to his heavy smoking habit.

I got the sense though that regardless of whether he played a slightly aloof character thrown into some crazy situations that demanded physical comedy (Major Nelson) or a really nasty back stabbing oil tycoon, he did seem to have a heart of gold.

GACspaceguy
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posted 11-24-2012 05:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Greggy_D
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posted 11-24-2012 07:42 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Greggy_D   Click Here to Email Greggy_D     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Best TV villain ever. RIP

bwhite1976
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posted 11-24-2012 08:10 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for bwhite1976   Click Here to Email bwhite1976     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Scott
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posted 11-24-2012 08:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott   Click Here to Email Scott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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GoesTo11
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posted 11-24-2012 08:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GoesTo11   Click Here to Email GoesTo11     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
I got the sense though that regardless of whether he played a slightly aloof character thrown into some crazy situations that demanded physical comedy (Major Nelson) or a really nasty back stabbing oil tycoon, he did seem to have a heart of gold.

Some years ago, I had a colleague who once recounted a story of his days as a volunteer firefighter near LA. At one point, during an unusually rainy season, he was spending day after day sandbagging residences in the Malibu area against mudslides. He specifically mentioned Larry Hagman as one of the homeowners they assisted, and said that Hagman couldn't have been more of a gentleman. He repeatedly expressed his gratitude for their assistance, and at the end of a long, hard day the volunteers had a catered spread including "all the beer we could drink, and it was a lot" (my co-worker's words) waiting for them courtesy of Mr. Hagman.

Godspeed
.

mach3valkyrie
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posted 11-24-2012 09:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for mach3valkyrie   Click Here to Email mach3valkyrie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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capoetc
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posted 11-24-2012 09:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for capoetc   Click Here to Email capoetc     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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NavySpaceFan
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posted 11-24-2012 09:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for NavySpaceFan   Click Here to Email NavySpaceFan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Tykeanaut
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posted 11-24-2012 12:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tykeanaut   Click Here to Email Tykeanaut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I recently bought the complete boxed set of "I Dream I Jeannie". I used to love watching it during the seventies when I believe it first ran in the UK?

RIP Mr. Hagman, I always thought you were terrific as Maj. Anthony Nelson and "JR".

randy
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posted 11-24-2012 12:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for randy   Click Here to Email randy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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GoesTo11
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posted 11-24-2012 12:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GoesTo11   Click Here to Email GoesTo11     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Tykeanaut:
RIP Mr. Hagman, I always thought you were terrific as Maj. Anthony Nelson and "JR".
I was a service brat living in England from '86-'88... do I correctly recall the Brits being obsessed with "Dallas" (and "Dynasty")? It seems like I remember arguments over whether to watch those shows instead of "Eastenders."

sts205cdr
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posted 11-24-2012 04:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for sts205cdr   Click Here to Email sts205cdr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Joel Katzowitz
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posted 11-24-2012 04:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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dss65
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posted 11-24-2012 07:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dss65   Click Here to Email dss65     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Gilbert
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posted 11-25-2012 08:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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jasonelam
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posted 11-25-2012 07:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jasonelam   Click Here to Email jasonelam     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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lm5eagle
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posted 11-26-2012 08:42 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for lm5eagle   Click Here to Email lm5eagle     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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history in miniature
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posted 11-26-2012 09:07 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for history in miniature   Click Here to Email history in miniature     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Wehaveliftoff
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posted 11-27-2012 11:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Wehaveliftoff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Cliff Lentz
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posted 11-27-2012 12:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cliff Lentz   Click Here to Email Cliff Lentz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Larry was also one of the great environmentalist. Strange for being known as an Oil Baron! It' s shame that he will always be remembered for the part that he played on a crappy soap opera. His role in FAIL SAFE was a preview of a great talent!

mjanovec
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posted 11-27-2012 08:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Cliff Lentz:
It' s shame that he will always be remembered for the part that he played on a crappy soap opera.

I believe Hagman was proud of the role he played on Dallas and was happy with the legacy that program created for him. Indeed, he signed up for the new series of Dallas and continued to film for the series while battling cancer.

Delta7
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posted 11-28-2012 03:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Delta7   Click Here to Email Delta7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Dave Clow
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posted 12-14-2012 04:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dave Clow   Click Here to Email Dave Clow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Didn’t see this thread until now, and belatedly I’d like to add a personal remembrance of Larry Hagman.

You might know that Larry built himself a remarkable home in Ojai thanks to his stint on "Dallas." It was sort of a five-star hotel/survival compound built on a bluff overlooking protected land with a view towards Oxnard and the Pacific. I was there in my capacity as a writer for Southern California Edison--yes, they had writers--because Larry was, at the time, proud owner of the single largest residential solar electricity installation in the state. I wanted to know more, and drove to Ojai using directions supplied by Larry's assistant. They were titled "Directions to Heaven," and so they were.

If Western civilization ever fell, trust me, you'd have wanted to go to Larry's to ride it out. The place was 23000 square feet on 43 acres, but there wasn't an inch of it you'd compare with the callow crassness of Beverly Hills. Larry and his wife Maj designed it all with energy efficiency in mind, so for example, there wasn't any air conditioning. They could open big panels in the ceiling and slide open the French doors and catch the ocean breeze. There wasn't a big pool, just a lot of ornamental water whose primary purpose was as a fire reserve. The driveway had to have cost a solid million, hugging the canyon wall with two winding lanes and a guard rail. And the solar--three very big arrays to catch 14-16 hours of sunlight so Larry could pump water from 450 feet down to grow his own vegetables. He had six months of rice and beans stored there too; between the garden and the reserves and his off-grid capability and (he hinted) major armaments, he was ready to pull up his drawbridge, pour a drink and let the city fall.

I was family the second I arrived thanks to a little good luck. I happened to get there just as Larry's wife Maj was coming home with groceries, and doing what a gentleman does, I carried them in for her. Larry was a chivalrous knight himself so he loved that. Thereafter I was "Day-vud" or "Boy," as in "**** fire, Boy!" On the house tour he showed me items I learned were later auctioned off--the genie bottle from I Dream of Jeannie, an oil painting of Jock Ewing from the TV show, the sterling silver parade saddle. Fun, but he was much prouder of his home-grown garlic. He loved being challenged--I asked him flatly if all this solar was just Hollywood bullshit, and his response was to show me solar panels big enough to park cars under, and a bill for $3.00--that's three dollars--which was his connection charge to the Edison grid. He was grid-positive and actually generating a surplus. That's not BS anywhere.

I've met plenty of entertainment people, and many nice ones, but none more warm, real and easygoing than Larry Hagman. I loved Maj too--they were both really down to earth regarding their luxuries, both of them having seen want and hardship in their lives. Larry was very much the Weatherford, Texas farm kid, Mary Martin notwithstanding. He remembered the electrification of Texas under Roosevelt and the effect it had on the lives of small down folk. Maj had been a little girl in Scandinavia when the Nazis took Europe, and she knew what it was like to be cold and hungry through bitter winters. All that day they made me feel like I was welcomed as a friend.

Jay Chladek
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posted 12-16-2012 02:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jay Chladek   Click Here to Email Jay Chladek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow, excellent story Dave. Sounds to me like while LH wasn't an astronaut, he sure knew how to make productive use of space age technology and his environmental surroundings. He had that sense of "Lets get it done" that so many of the younger generations seem to lack and I admire that.

GoesTo11
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posted 12-16-2012 02:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GoesTo11   Click Here to Email GoesTo11     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Dave, that's just awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Tykeanaut
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posted 12-18-2012 03:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tykeanaut   Click Here to Email Tykeanaut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hey Jay, I thought he had been an astronaut?

Cliff Lentz
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posted 12-18-2012 03:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cliff Lentz   Click Here to Email Cliff Lentz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Dave, thanks for confirming all of this. I had read over the years about this and later saw a visit on the Ed Begley show.

Dave Clow
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posted 12-19-2012 01:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dave Clow   Click Here to Email Dave Clow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I appreciate all your comments about that story and I ought to add a footnote from Larry Hagman. He told me about an East Texas farmer whose county got its first electrical connection during the New Deal. A government inspector came by after the hookup to see that all was well and the farmer told him, "Now that we have electricity we're eating better than ever!"

The inspector asked, "What's electricity got to do with eating?"

The farmer said, "We tied a shotgun to the top of the utility pole and hung a string down from the trigger. When a flock of doves comes to sit on the wire we just pull the string."

Jay Chladek
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posted 12-19-2012 03:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jay Chladek   Click Here to Email Jay Chladek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
ROFLMAO!!!! Whether a true story or made up, THAT is funny (it's a Texas thing).

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