J. R. Ewing 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 tendencies, who is constantly plotting
Larry Hagman Hagman returned to New York City, where he appeared in the off-Broadway play "Once Around the Block", by William Saroyan. That was followed by nearly a year in another off-Broadway play, James Lee's "Career". His Broadway debut occurred in 1958 in "Comes a Day". Hagman appeared in four other Broadway plays, "God and Kate Murphy", "The Nervous Set", "The Warm Peninsula", and "The Beauty Part". During this period, he also appeared in numerous, mostly live, television programs. Hagman's first television role was as Kenneth Davidson in the 1957 episode "Saturday Lost" of the syndicated crime drama, "Decoy", starring Beverly Garland