J. R. Ewing personalized license plate "EWING 3". J. R. Ewing John Ross "J. R." Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series "Dallas" (1978–91) and its spin-offs, including the revived "Dallas" series (2012–14). The character was portrayed by Larry Hagman from the series premiere in 1978 until his death in late 2012, and Hagman was the only actor who appeared in all 357 episodes of the original series. As the show's most famous character, J.R. has been central to many of the series' biggest storylines. He is depicted as a covetous, egocentric, manipulative and amoral oil baron with psychopathic
A House Divided (Dallas) was so strong that actor Larry Hagman had a 10-day holdout in which he demanded $100,000 (equivalent to $ in ) per episode, while Lorimar Productions offered $55,000 (equivalent to $ in ). After 10 days, Hagman agreed to work filming the subsequent season for $75,000 (equivalent to $ in ) per episode. Hagman had been working for $25,000 (equivalent to $ in ) per episode. The episode earned Fred W. Berger an American Cinema Editors Eddie Award for Best Edited Episode from a Television Series and earned Irving J. Moore a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing