Who Snubbed J.R.? Emmy, That’s Who

Give the devil his due

Emmy has always been one of the few gals capable of resisting J.R.’s charms, so it should come as no surprise to learn Larry Hagman won’t be honored with a special tribute during this year’s ceremony. And yet it does. I’m shocked, actually.

I figured if anyone would receive extra recognition during the Emmy broadcast’s traditional “In Memoriam” segment, it would be Hagman. His death last fall ended a five-decade television career that includes two of the medium’s most enduring franchises, “Dallas” and “I Dream of Jeannie,” and one of pop culture’s defining moments: the “Who Shot J.R.?” phenomenon.

But I was wrong. Yesterday, the producers of this year’s Emmy show, which CBS will air Sunday, announced they’ll highlight four performers during the memorial segment — James Gandolfini, Cory Monteith, Jean Stapleton and Jonathan Winters — along with Gary David Goldberg, who created and produced “Family Ties.”

I have no problem with these five people receiving special treatment. I’ve enjoyed their work. But why couldn’t Hagman be honored too? Presumably, he’ll be included in a clip reel of other notable deaths from the past year — but that’s not enough. He deserves much more.

This wouldn’t be so galling if it wasn’t part of an unfortunate pattern with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which seems to go out of its way to ignore Hagman. He was nominated twice for his role as J.R. during the 1980s, losing both times. This year, Hagman was a contender for a supporting actor nomination for his work on TNT’s “Dallas” revival, but he failed to make the cut.

And now Emmy has snubbed him again.

I’ve written before about how much Hagman has meant to me, but that’s not what this is about. I don’t need to see him win a trophy or receive an awards show tribute to validate my affection for him.

No, this is about what Hagman has meant to television. When J.R. Ewing entered our living rooms in 1978, prime-time dramas were populated with characters like Kojak, Quincy and Pa Ingalls. J.R. was unlike anyone we had encountered before, and Hagman did a masterful job capturing all of the character’s complexities and contradictions. His performance taught the industry that the good guys needn’t always win, that audiences could find immense satisfaction in stories about humanity’s darker impulses.

So isn’t it a shame that on the night the industry comes together to celebrate its achievements, Hagman’s contributions will probably be reduced to a few seconds during a clip reel?

Earlier this week, as I watched the latest episode of “Breaking Bad” — as thrilling an hour of television as any I’ve witnessed — I thought: This is “Dallas’s” legacy. I’m not suggesting J.R. ever came close to being as monstrous as Walter White. J.R. was a scoundrel; Walt is a sociopath. But do you doubt for a minute that Walt would exist if J.R. hadn’t come first?

From what I’ve read, Hagman wasn’t much bothered by the fact that he never won an Emmy. But I am, and so I hope the academy’s bigwigs will change their minds and add a special tribute to him during the Emmy show. For that matter, I also hope they’ll induct Hagman into the academy’s Hall of Fame next year.

I mean, come on. Isn’t it time for Emmy to finally give J.R. a shot?

Do you feel Larry Hagman deserves Emmy recognition? Share your comments below and read more opinions from Dallas Decoder.