Major Achievement

Larry Hagman has died.  All the obits talk about his performance as the villainous J.R. on Dallas, by far his most famous role.  I'll let you in on a secret.  I've never seen a second of the show.  To this day I don't know who shot J.R.

As a young actor Hagman performed on Broadway and did a fair amount of TV.  He'd go on to appear in such movies as Fail-Safe, The Group, Harry And Tonto, Mother, Jugs & Speed and S.O.B.  But it was as Major Anthony Nelson in the sitcom I Dream Of Jeannie that he really left an impression on me.  For those of you who don't remember much about the show, here's a refresher course:



The show was not great, and the main attraction to most viewers, I think, was sexy Barbara Eden, but Hagman was the one who held it all together.  It was one of the more impressive performances of the era.  No matter how outrageous the action got, he anchored the show with the gravity that farce demands. On top of which, he had true chemistry with Eden.  I still marvel at how much he was able to do with so little.