wpainterw

I've had a thread on this before so this is sort of a P.S. I see that last Friday Larry Hagman, famous as "J.R." in the "Dallas" series, passed away. Appropriately he was in Dallas when he died. People usually thought that this series was about oil (It was a hit in 57 countries- one episode, "Who Shot J.R.?" was viewed by an estimated 350 million people all over the world tuning in for the answer). Also it's likely that people as far away as Tibet assumed that all Americans were womanizers, blackmailers, homicidal, smiling liars wearing Stetson hats and cowboy boots. That assumption is probably false, along with the assumption that "Dallas" is all about oil. It's only superficially about oil. It's really about booze. Of course everyone realizes that "Digger" Barnes, bless his soul, was a drunk. "Digger's" son, Cliff, takes to the bottle when he's consumed by adolescent self pity. And Sue Ellen was often stashed in a rehab by J.R. when he wanted to make out with another woman. But the real guy in hopeless denial is J.R. himself, who literally can't walk into his office or the living room at home without heading for the bar and pouring himself a stiff one, 24/7, day or night. "Bourbon and Branch!" he'd say. Mornings even. He's never hung over, has what they call a hollow leg (unlimited tolerance). Nothing stops him. He even risks WWIII by arranging the bombing of Arab oil fields in order to increase the price of crude. He's got a notebook full of phone numbers of mercenaries and hit men to do his bidding, as well as a file cabinet full of dirty intelligence to bribe government officials.
Hagman's mom was Mary Martin, later to be famous in shows like "The Sound of Music", "Peter Pan" and "South Pacific". His parents were divorced when he was five.
Was J.R. an "entrepreneur?" Did he provide "jobs"? Did his millions "trickle down"? Would Ayn Rand have approved of him? Well, I've said enough. Larry Hagman, bless his liver haunted soul, is no longer with us. "Now he belongs to the ages", as was said of someone quite different and certainly less colorful.


W.

sugarbear1

another human who suffered from alcoholism, yet he died sober with approximately 20 years of continuous sobriety....he quit when he was told his liver was failing and his money allowed him to have a transplant, which worked well enough until the various cancers grabbed him.....

Delilah1

That is why we need to enjoy every sober day, none of us knows how much time we have. I am 41 and want to look back when I am 100 and think, "wow, those last sixty sober years were awesome!!!"

Yes, I am an optimist, I plan on living to see triple digits.

Anna

I remember seeing Larry Hagman do an interview after he received his liver transplant, and it was quite inspiring. He was very grateful for the chance at a new and sober life.