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Topic: Actor Larry Hagman, "Maj. Nelson," (1931-2012)
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-23-2012 10:30 PM
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 Member Posts: 1308 From: GA, USA Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 11-23-2012 10:52 PM
Godspeed, Major Nelson. |
space1 Member Posts: 853 From: Danville, Ohio Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 11-23-2012 10:52 PM
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413 is in Member Posts: 628 From: Alexandria, VA USA Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-23-2012 11:58 PM
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LM1 Member Posts: 667 From: New York, NY Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-24-2012 01:52 AM
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KSCartist Member Posts: 2896 From: Titusville, FL USA Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 11-24-2012 01:53 AM
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 Member Posts: 365 From: London, UK Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 11-24-2012 04:57 AM
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Jay Chladek Member Posts: 2272 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 11-24-2012 04:58 AM
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 Member Posts: 2474 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 11-24-2012 05:37 AM
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Greggy_D Member Posts: 977 From: Michigan Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 11-24-2012 07:42 AM
Best TV villain ever. RIP |
bwhite1976 Member Posts: 281 From: Belleville, IL Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 11-24-2012 08:10 AM
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Scott Member Posts: 3307 From: Houston, TX Registered: May 2001
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posted 11-24-2012 08:39 AM
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GoesTo11 Member Posts: 1309 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 11-24-2012 08:48 AM
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 Member Posts: 719 From: Albany, Oregon Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 11-24-2012 09:06 AM
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capoetc Member Posts: 2169 From: McKinney TX (USA) Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 11-24-2012 09:23 AM
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NavySpaceFan Member Posts: 655 From: Norfolk, VA Registered: May 2007
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posted 11-24-2012 09:41 AM
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Tykeanaut Member Posts: 2212 From: Worcestershire, England, UK. Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 11-24-2012 12:01 PM
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 Member Posts: 2176 From: West Jordan, Utah USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 11-24-2012 12:20 PM
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GoesTo11 Member Posts: 1309 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 11-24-2012 12:51 PM
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 Member Posts: 649 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Jun 2001
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posted 11-24-2012 04:15 PM
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Joel Katzowitz Member Posts: 808 From: Marietta GA USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 11-24-2012 04:49 PM
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dss65 Member Posts: 1156 From: Sandpoint, ID, USA Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 11-24-2012 07:37 PM
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Gilbert Member Posts: 1328 From: Carrollton, GA USA Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 11-25-2012 08:19 AM
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jasonelam Member Posts: 691 From: Monticello, KY USA Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 11-25-2012 07:57 PM
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lm5eagle Member Posts: 429 From: Registered: Jul 2007
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posted 11-26-2012 08:42 AM
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history in miniature Member Posts: 600 From: Slatington, PA Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 11-26-2012 09:07 AM
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Wehaveliftoff Member Posts: 2343 From: Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 11-27-2012 11:57 AM
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Cliff Lentz Member Posts: 655 From: Philadelphia, PA USA Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 11-27-2012 12:01 PM
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 Member Posts: 3811 From: Midwest, USA Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 11-27-2012 08:18 PM
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 Member Posts: 1505 From: Bluffton IN USA Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 11-28-2012 03:26 PM
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Dave Clow Member Posts: 236 From: South Pasadena, CA 91030 Registered: Nov 2003
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posted 12-14-2012 04:09 PM
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.
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Jay Chladek Member Posts: 2272 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 12-16-2012 02:20 PM
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 Member Posts: 1309 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 12-16-2012 02:33 PM
Dave, that's just awesome. Thanks for sharing. |
Tykeanaut Member Posts: 2212 From: Worcestershire, England, UK. Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 12-18-2012 03:21 PM
Hey Jay, I thought he had been an astronaut? |
Cliff Lentz Member Posts: 655 From: Philadelphia, PA USA Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 12-18-2012 03:59 PM
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 Member Posts: 236 From: South Pasadena, CA 91030 Registered: Nov 2003
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posted 12-19-2012 01:26 PM
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 Member Posts: 2272 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 12-19-2012 03:03 PM
ROFLMAO!!!! Whether a true story or made up, THAT is funny (it's a Texas thing). |