Larry Hagman – Dallas Decoder

Knots Landing Scene of the Day: ‘I’m Not Afraid of You, J.R.’

June 5, 2012 by Chris Baker 2 Comments

Sunny with a chance of courage

In “Knots Landing’s” first-season episode “Community Spirit,” J.R. (Larry Hagman) approaches Gary and Valene (Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark) on the beach, moments before Gary is supposed to speak at a rally against J.R.’s offshore drilling project.

VAL: [Slaps a coin purse in J.R.’s hands] Here.

J.R.: Well, what’s that? What is that?

VAL: A couple dollars in change.

J.R.: That’s very kind of you, Valene. What’s it for?

VAL: To call Lucy with.

J.R.: I meant what I said yesterday. [To Gary, but staring at Val] Tell your little woman not to toy with me.

GARY: We know you meant it, J.R.

VAL: Go on. Call her. Call Lucy and tell her. We were gonna tell her soon anyway. But if that’s what you have to do, do it. It’ll hurt her. And it’ll do you no worldly good at all, but we’re all strong. I mean, she’s strong. We’ll all get over it. And whatever pain it causes, it’s better than letting you have your way with us now. So go on, J.R., call Lucy.

J.R.: That’s no reason to upset the little girl.

GARY: No, especially not since Mom and Dad will come down so hard on you for it.

J.R.: Well, that’s figured in my thinking. I’ll admit it. What’s in the envelope, Gary?

GARY: Oh, a few reference notes for our debate.

J.R.: I know you found something snooping around in my office yesterday. And I know I’ve been had by that pretty girl Karen, but –

GARY: First time I’ve ever seen the beauty of being named a Ewing.

J.R.: Give me the envelope.

GARY: I’m not afraid of you, J.R. Not here.

J.R.: Well, you better be afraid for your near and dear because I’m gonna use every ounce of my power to break you, Gary. I swear it.

GARY: The surveys you did and the discovery of an alternate drilling site onshore, out of the way.

J.R.: Do you realize how much money that’s gonna cost us?

GARY: So you make 15 million the first five years instead of 20.

J.R.: That’s Ewing money. It’s your mother and your father’s.

GARY: I think they can get by on 15 million. Cut a few corners.

He begins walking away. J.R. grabs his arm and faces him.

J.R.: Gary, don’t use that survey.

GARY: I’m gonna. Nothing short of a rainout is gonna stop me. And J.R., it never rains in Southern California.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Community Spirit, Joan Van Ark, Knots Landing, Larry Hagman, Ted Shackelford

Critique: ‘Knots Landing’ Episode 2 – ‘Community Spirit’

June 5, 2012 by Chris Baker 11 Comments

He lied with his boots on

Part of the fun of watching “Dallas” comes from imagining what it would be like to be a Ewing – to wear those clothes, to drive those cars, to live in that house. For those who also wonder how the Ewings would fare in our world, there’s “Community Spirit.”

“Knots Landing’s” second episode brings J.R. to the Southern California cul-de-sac to squelch the neighborhood’s protest of a major Ewing Oil offshore drilling project. The episode is a hoot, not just because it’s fun to see J.R. out of his element, but also because we get to live vicariously through the “Knots Landing” suburbanites as they use J.R.’s own tricks against him.

“Community Spirit’s” smallest moments are among its best. In one, a frazzled Valene telephones Gary from their kitchen while cool-as-a-cucumber J.R., standing over her shoulder, pulls a book off a shelf and begins leafing through it. “I just love cookbooks,” he says.

In another tiny-but-great moment, J.R. takes a bite of the white-bread sandwich Val has served him.

“Hey, that is good. What do you call this?” he asks.

“Tuna fish,” she hisses.

I also like seeing Gary one-up J.R. at the end of the episode, even if his final line (“J.R., it never rains in Southern California”) is pretty corny.

As good as Larry Hagman’s exchanges with Joan Van Ark and Ted Shackelford are, my favorite moments in “Community Spirit” are J.R.’s scenes with Karen Fairgate, “Knots Landing’s” resident doyenne. We’re used to seeing J.R. interact with Gary and Val at Southfork, so watching him trying to charm Karen reminds us we really aren’t in Dallas anymore.

I particularly love when Karen visits J.R.’s hotel room and pretends to be interested in him, only to skip out at the last minute because she has to pick up her husband Sid’s suit at the cleaners. Has anyone ever left J.R. high and dry for a reason so mundane?

I don’t necessarily buy J.R.’s attraction to Karen, but Hagman and Michele Lee look like they’re having a ball working together. For me, the real joy of watching these old pros comes in hindsight: Hagman is the only actor to appear in every “Dallas” episode, and Lee is the only actress seen in every “Knots Landing” installment during its 14-season run.

This makes “Community Spirit” a meeting of two prime-time soap opera giants. I can’t watch it without smiling.

Grade: A

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Worlds collide

‘COMMUNITY SPIRIT’

“Knots Landing” Season 1, Episode 2

Airdate: January 3, 1980

Audience: 17.8 million homes, ranking 14th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Elizabeth Pizer

Director: James Sheldon

Synopsis: Gary reluctantly helps his neighbors protest Ewing Oil’s plan to drill offshore near Knots Landing. J.R. visits and pressures Gary to back off, but Gary refuses, forcing J.R. to switch to a costlier alternative site.

Cast: Robert DoQui (Joseph Whitcomb), Danny Gellis (Jason Avery), Joseph Hacker (Chip Todson), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Michele Lee (Karen Fairgate), Claudia Lonow (Diana Fairgate), Constance McCashin (Laura Avery), Don Murray (Sid Fairgate), John Pleshette (Richard Avery), Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing), Steve Shaw (Eric Fairgate), Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing)

“Community Spirit” is available on DVD. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Community Spirit, Joan Van Ark, Knots Landing, Larry Hagman, Michele Lee, Ted Shackelford

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 42 – ‘Mother of the Year’

May 30, 2012 by Chris Baker 17 Comments

Dallas, Linda Gray, Mother of the Year, Sue Ellen Ewing

Prodigal mother

Larry Hagman directed “Mother of the Year,” and despite his limited experience behind the camera (Hagman’s most notable pre-“Dallas” directing credit: “Beware! The Blob”), he makes this episode the third season’s most inventive entry.

Consider the moment J.R. learns he’s struck oil in the Pacific. Hagman opens the scene with J.R. staring at his office telephone, awaiting news from Hank Johnson, his man in Asia, while Kristin massages his shoulders.

The phone rings. Kristin answers.

“It’s the Associated Press,” she announces. “They want to know something about an oil well.”

J.R. takes the receiver, tenses his shoulders, rises from his chair.

“What? Well, now, I, I haven’t got a confirmation on that yet,” he stammers.

Another line buzzes. Kristin answers. It’s Hank.

J.R. puts the AP on hold, takes Hank’s call.

“Where the hell have you been?” he demands.

In the background: A drumbeat begins building – slow, steady.

Bum.

“What?” J.R. asks Hank. “Yee-ha! We hit!”

Folksy strings join the drums as J.R. switches back to the other line.

“Yes, that’s a confirmation,” he says. “Absolutely. A strike in the Pacific – maybe the biggest one ever yet! Yeah, you can quote me. J.R. Ewing!”

The scene is clever because Hagman constructs it like an oil strike: The news about J.R.’s “hit” trickles in over the phone lines – slow but steady – before finally producing his joyful rupture.

I also appreciate Hagman’s attention to detail. He is an honest-to-goodness Texan and has a good ear for how these people talk – or at least how we expect them to.

Before Sue Ellen arrives for the Daughters of the Alamo luncheon, Hagman allows us to eavesdrop as the socialites gossip around the buffet table (“I can hardly believe what she was wearing to that formal dinner party!”).

Hagman also proves to be generous with his fellow cast mates. Barbara Bel Geddes, Jim Davis, Ken Kercheval and Victoria Principal all have nice scenes here, although “Mother of the Year” is mostly a showcase for Linda Gray.

Sue Ellen gets two – count ’em, two! – scenes with Dr. Elby, and when she finally picks up baby John at the end of the episode, it’s a powerful moment.

By the time the closing credits roll, there’s no doubt: Sue Ellen might be “Dallas’s” mother of the year, but director-of-the year honors go to Larry Hagman.

Grade: A

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Someday his wells will come in

‘MOTHER OF THE YEAR’

Season 3, Episode 13

Airdate: December 14, 1979

Audience: 19.6 million homes, ranking 7th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Rena Down

Director: Larry Hagman

Synopsis: To prevent Ewing Oil from having to drill on Southfork, Jock decides to sell the Asian leases. Before the sale, the company hits a gusher. J.R. stops funding Cliff’s campaign. After fighting with Cliff, Sue Ellen shows interest in her baby, leaving Pam feeling as if she has “lost” another child.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Jocelyn Brando (Mrs. Reeves), Jeff Cooper (Dr. Simon Elby), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Joan Lancaster (Linda Bradley), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), Dennis Patrick (Vaughn Leland), Randolph Powell (Alan Beam), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing)

“Mother of the Year” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Barbara Bel Geddes, Jim Davis, Ken Kercheval, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Mother of the Year, Victoria Principal

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 40 – ‘The Heiress’

May 25, 2012 by Chris Baker 9 Comments

Charlene Tilton, Dallas, Heiress, Lucy Ewing

Fickle finger

“The Heiress” focuses on Lucy, and it’s one of the weakest entries during “Dallas’s” third season. This isn’t a coincidence.

At this point during the show’s run, the producers can’t decide who they want Lucy to be. Sometimes, she is a troublemaking teenager who blackmails Pam (“Lessons”) and runs away from home (“Runaway”). At other times, she is a sweet young woman who deals gracefully with a broken engagement (“Royal Marriage”) and struggles to forgive her deadbeat mama (“Secrets”).

In “The Heiress,” Lucy is all over the place. We see her seduce Alan Beam, which is a pretty grownup thing for a college freshman to do, but we also see Jock ground her for getting too many speeding tickets, which is not. Lucy’s zig-zagging from childhood to adulthood and back again is dizzying.

I don’t blame Charlene Tilton. She’s a spirited actress, and when she’s given good material, she’s one of “Dallas’s” most charismatic performers. I admire Tilton’s work in many episodes, especially “Royal Marriage.”

But in “The Heiress,” Tilton is given a weak script and bad direction. When I watch the episode, I get the feeling she’s trying her best, but there’s only so much she can do.

Consider the scene where Lucy goes to Alan’s office to flirt with him. At one point, Tilton fixes an unblinking gaze on Randolph Powell and rests her chin on her left index finger. I suppose director Leslie H. Martinson thought this would be seductive, as if Lucy is sizing up Alan and imagining what it would be like to sleep with him, but it comes off looking like an exaggerated gesture out of a Mae West movie.

Later, when Alan takes Lucy to a swanky piano bar, Tilton delivers her lines with such girlish enthusiasm, the scene takes on a creepy tone. It’s almost as if Powell’s character is robbing the cradle – in the most prurient sense. Not helping matters: the “Dallas” makeup artists pancake Tilton’s cherub face in this scene, making her look like a child playing dress-up.

“The Heiress” also leaves me feeling embarrassed for other “Dallas” cast members, including Larry Hagman and Jim Davis, who are each given sitcommy scenes involving faked phone calls in the Southfork foyer.

Of course, both actors are given lots of great scenes in future episodes. Tilton’s opportunities are much more limited, which is a real shame. She deserves better.

Grade: C

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Charlene Tilton, Dallas, Heiress, Jim Davis, Jock Ewing, Lucy Ewing

Call a script doctor!

‘THE HEIRESS’

Season 3, Episode 11

Airdate: November 23, 1979

Audience: 17.7 million homes, ranking 8th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Loraine Despres

Director: Leslie H. Martinson

Synopsis: Lucy pursues and seduces Alan after witnessing another staged fight between him and J.R. Cliff moves closer toward running for Congress and vows to win back Sue Ellen. Bobby learns about Ewing Oil’s Asian venture but J.R. won’t reveal his financing.

Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Joe Bratcher (Harry Shaw), Charles Cooper (Harry Shaw), Jeff Cooper (Dr. Simon Elby), Karlene Crockett (Muriel Gillis), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Walker Edmiston (Roy Tate), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Eugene Jackson (Pianist), Laura Johnson (Betty Lou Barker), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Joan Lancaster (Linda Bradley), George O. Petrie (Harv Smithfield), Randolph Powell (Alan Beam), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Marcus Wyatt (Jimmy)

“The Heiress” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Charlene Tilton, Heiress, Jim Davis, Larry Hagman, Leslie H. Martinson, Randolph Powell

The Art of Dallas: ‘The Dove Hunt’

May 18, 2012 by Chris Baker Leave a Comment

J.R. (Larry Hagman) comes under fire during a hunting trip in this 1979 publicity shot from “The Dove Hunt,” a third-season “Dallas” episode.

Filed Under: Art of Dallas, Art of Dallas (Classic), Features Tagged With: Dove Hunt, Larry Hagman

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘I Owe You, That’s All’

May 18, 2012 by Chris Baker 1 Comment

Dallas, Dove Hunt, Jim Davis, Jock Ewing, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman

Down and out in Land Down

In “The Dove Hunt,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, an injured Jock and J.R. (Jim Davis, Larry Hagman) come face to face with Tom Owens (Robert J. Wilke), the man who attacked their campsite, and Owens’ son Dan and friend Ben Masters (Thomas Callaway, Stefan Gierasch).

JOCK: What do you want?

OWENS: You still don’t remember, Ewing. You steal a man’s farm, wipe him out, you still don’t remember.

JOCK: Now you look, mister –

OWENS: Owens.

JOCK: Owens, I do business with a lot of people.

OWENS: Thirty-two years ago, you came to my farm, personally. We stood as close as we are right now. You tried to get me to sell. When I wouldn’t, you spread some money around – and suddenly, nobody would buy my crops.

JOCK: All right, maybe I did lean on you too hard. But it seems to me you’ve waited a hell of a long time to get revenge.

OWENS: I didn’t want revenge. I wanted to spit in your eye.

JOCK: Then what’s all this?

OWENS: You crushed me like a bug – and after 32 years, you don’t even remember my name. You’re gonna pay for that. [Cocks his gun] My boy and I had to start all over again from nothing in Land Down.

MASTERS: Mr. Owens has made a lot of friends around here, you –

JOCK: The kind of friends that ambush people.

DAN: They all know my father’s story and who ruined him in Texas. Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for whatever happens here.

JOCK: So that’s it? You’re gonna kill me in cold blood, huh?

J.R.: Maybe we could make a deal, sir.

JOCK: No, J.R. [Leans forward] All right, Owens. Come on. If you’re gonna do it, do it!

OWENS: [Aims his rifle at Jock, holds it for several seconds, then lowers it] I can’t. I’m not a killer. When I thought you were gonna shoot my boy, I was gonna kill you. You got away with it. Give the devil his due.

Bobby and Ray (Patrick Duffy, Steve Kanaly) arrive and aim their guns at Owens’ group.

BOBBY: All right, drop your guns! We’ll blow you away! [The other men lower their guns; Bobby and Ray run toward them.]

RAY: Back up, both of you. Come on!

BOBBY: You all right, Daddy?

JOCK: I’m OK, Bobby.

J.R.: You bring a sheriff?

BOBBY: There’s no law in Land Down – and damn little help.

RAY: Forget that two-bit town. Let’s run these jokers down to state police.

JOCK: No need to involve the law here. I’m not bringing any charges.

BOBBY: Daddy, they tried to kills us.

J.R.: They should be put away, Dad.

JOCK: Just a hunting accident. Happens all the time.

OWENS: What are you trying to pull?

JOCK: Nothing. I owe you, that’s all. Back in those days, I ran roughshod over a lot of people. I don’t remember you, Owens. But I should have. Because you got a lot of pride. And when you get right down to it, that’s all a man can take to his grave. You made me think, Owens. Maybe this business has become too impersonal. J.R., we get back to town, there’s some records we’re going to go over. There might be some housecleaning we’ve got to do.

J.R.: Dad, you’re gonna need some rest, after you’ve been tended to. You lost a lot of blood.

JOCK: I’ll manage, J.R. Ray, Bobby, give them back their guns.

OWENS: This ain’t gonna buy you a place in heaven, Ewing.

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Dove Hunt, Jim Davis, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Robert J. Wilke, Stefan Gierasch, Steve Kanaly, Thomas Callaway

The Art of Dallas: ‘The Kristin Affair’

May 17, 2012 by Chris Baker Leave a Comment

Kristin and J.R. (Mary Crosby, Larry Hagman) flirt with each other in this 1979 publicity shot from “The Kristin Affair,” a third-season “Dallas” episode.

Filed Under: Art of Dallas, Art of Dallas (Classic), Features Tagged With: Kristin Affair, Larry Hagman, Mary Crosby

Critique: ‘Dallas’ Episode 34 – ‘The Kristin Affair’

May 17, 2012 by Chris Baker 7 Comments

Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Kristin Affair, Kristin Shepard, Mary Crosby

Eyes on the prize

“The Kristin Affair” is quintessential “Dallas.” This isn’t the show’s best episode, but it might be the episode that best captures “Dallas’s” essence during its heyday. Almost everything we love about the series is here.

J.R. is “The Kristin Affair’s” center of attention. We see him clash with Bobby, snipe with Sue Ellen and plot Cliff’s ruin, all while pursuing Kristin, who becomes his secretary at the top of the hour and his mistress by the time the closing credits roll.

“The Kristin Affair” also offers a rollicking Southfork dinner scene, some nice location shots at the ranch and in downtown Dallas, and another great score from Bruce Broughton. My favorite music during the episode: the ominous piano tune heard during the darkly lit scene where J.R. agrees to mortgage Southfork.

Notably, “The Kristin Affair” also shows the Ewings in the costumes they’re wearing in one of “Dallas’s” most famous cast shots, when the actors posed on Southfork’s front lawn. This photo – which is probably remembered as the one with Victoria Principal in the maroon dress, Linda Gray in the yellow blouse and Charlene Tilton in pigtails – is undoubtedly burnished in the minds of many “Dallas” fans, so watching “The Kristin Affair” is like seeing the picture spring to life.

Of course, no “Dallas” episode is perfect and “The Kristin Affair” is no exception. Ray is nowhere to be found here, Jock and Miss Ellie don’t have a meaningful scene together and it appears Pam has once again misplaced her backbone.

But “The Kristin Affair” has so much good stuff – and so many good J.R. scenes in particular – I’m willing to overlook its flaws.

My very favorite moment is very brief. It comes at the end of the scene where J.R. meets with his government mole and learns how much money he’ll need to win the bidding for the Asian drilling contract. “That’s a tidy little sum. Woo-wee!” J.R. says.

Larry Hagman delivers the dialogue under his breath, making me wonder if he ad-libbed it. Improvised or not, the actor seems to be having a ball playing J.R. In this episode, I have a ball watching him.

Grade: A

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Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Kristin Affair, Larry Hagman

Having a ball

‘THE KRISTIN AFFAIR’

Season 3, Episode 5

Airdate: October 19, 1979

Audience: 18.2 million homes, ranking 10th in the weekly ratings

Writer: Worley Thorne

Director: Irving J. Moore

Synopsis: J.R. secretly mortgages Southfork to finance a risky oil deal in Asia, plots with his protégé Alan Beam to lure Cliff into a no-win congressional race and sleeps with Kristin, who becomes his secretary. Pam tells Bobby she is pregnant but doesn’t mention her genetic disease.

Cast: Robert Ackerman (Wade Luce), Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard), Jim Davis (Jock Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Hugh Gorrian (Lowell Hansen), Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing), Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing), Ken Kercheval (Cliff Barnes), Jeanna Michaels (Connie), Dennis Patrick (Vaughn Leland), Randolph Powell (Alan Beam), Victoria Principal (Pam Ewing), Martha Scott (Patricia Shepard), Paul Sorensen (Andy Bradley), Don Starr (Jordan Lee), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Keenan Wynn (Digger Barnes)

“The Kristin Affair” is available on DVD and at Amazon.com and iTunes. Watch the episode and share your comments below.

Filed Under: Critiques, Critiques (Classic), Opinion Tagged With: Bruce Broughton, Charlene Tilton, Kristin Affair, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Victoria Principal

Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘It Won’t Work Anymore, J.R.’

May 16, 2012 by Chris Baker 3 Comments

Dallas, Joan Van Ark, Secrets, Valene Ewing

No tell motel

In “Secrets,” a third-season “Dallas” episode, Valene (Joan Van Ark) answers a knock on her motel room door. It’s J.R. (Larry Hagman).

J.R.: Hello, Valene. I never thought I’d see you back here again.

VAL: How’d you find me?

J.R.: [Enters, closes the door behind him, looks around the room] Oh, it wasn’t too hard. Once I heard you were back in town, I just had some of my friends check out some of the cheaper motels. Figured you’d be living you’ve been accustomed to and sure enough, here you are.

VAL: [Opens the door, stands next to it] Get the hell out of here.

J.R.: Now, what do I have to do to get you to stay away from us? I warned you not to come back to Dallas.

VAL: [Steps away from the open door] I just wanna see Lucy.

J.R.: I bet you do. I’ll bet you I know why, too.

VAL: Oh, no. You would never understand why. Not in a million years.

J.R.: [Sits on the edge of the bed] Well, I do understand that you and that drunken brother of mine would do just about anything to live in Southfork again. Get a slice of the pie, before it’s too late.

VAL: You think money’s the answer to everything, don’t you?

J.R.: I think it’s an answer to you. And I think you’re using Lucy to get at it.

VAL: Well, I don’t care what you think – because you’re wrong! And I’m not leaving here until I do see Lucy!

J.R.: No, honey. You’re wrong. You’re leaving here before nightfall.

VAL: Get out of here, J.R. I swear I’ll call the police if you don’t!

J.R.: [Grins] Well, I like your sense of humor. Now, go on, pack your little bags. You’ll be out of here in about five minutes.

VAL: All right. And if I don’t?

J.R.: Well, if you don’t, I’ll have a friend of mine escort you out of town and keep you out. Permanently.

VAL: It won’t work anymore, J.R. I have run from you for the last time. There’s nothing left for you to do to me. I’ve got nothing left to lose – except Lucy, and I’m not gonna lose her again!

J.R.: You’ve already lost her. You just don’t know it.

Bobby and Lucy (Patrick Duffy, Charlene Tilton) appear in the doorway.

BOBBY: I don’t think so, J.R.

J.R.: [Stands up] I was doing it for you, Lucy. I couldn’t stand to see her hurt you again.

LUCY: Thank you for standing up to him, Mama. [Walks to Val, embraces her]

BOBBY: Lucy, you just stay and talk to your mama as long as you want. When you’re done, you can bring my car home. [Tosses keys on the bed] J.R. will be glad to take me home. We have a lot of things to talk about, don’t we, J.R.? [Grabs him by the arm, moves him out of the room, shuts the door behind them]

Filed Under: Dallas Scenes of the Day, Dallas Scenes of the Day (Classic), Features Tagged With: Joan Van Ark, Larry Hagman, Secrets

The Art of Dallas: ‘Whatever Happened to Baby John? Part 1’

May 11, 2012 by Chris Baker Leave a Comment

J.R. and Sue Ellen (Larry Hagman, Linda Gray) are seen in this 1979 publicity shot from “Whatever Happened to Baby John? Part 1,”“Dallas’s” third-season opener.

Filed Under: Art of Dallas, Art of Dallas (Classic), Features Tagged With: Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Whatever Happened to Baby John? Part 1