Larry Hagman was born on September 21, 1931 in Fort Worth, Texas. His mother was actress Mary Martin and his father Ben Hagman, was an attorney.

Larry Hagman is best known for his roles in the television series "Dallas" and television sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie."  In 1980, over 350 million fans in the world tuned into "Dallas" to find out who shot J.R.  This is still the second highest rated show in TV history.

After graduating from Bard College in New York, Hagman decided to follow his mother's footsteps and pursue an acting career.  Hagman moved to England as a member of the cast of his mother's big stage hit, "South Pacific," and stayed for five years.

In 1954, he joined the US Air Force and also married Maj Axelsson who was a young Swedish designer.  After completing his military career, Larry returned to New York to do Broadway plays.

After eight years in New York, Hagman picked up his young family, which included and son and daughter and moved to Hollywood.

Hagman's first taste of stardom was in the 1965 comedy series "I Dream of Jeannie."  Hagman starred with actress Barbara Eden as
an astronaut whose life is plagued by a beautiful blonde genie, played by Eden.

The show ran for five years and Hagman continued to do other television series in the early 1970's.

Hagman's career really took of when "Dallas" came along in 1977 and with his wife pushing him to do the series.  The show ran for an incredible 13 seasons and revolved around the story of a rich Texas family.

What has Hagman been up to since Dallas went of the air?

In 1995, Hagman's trainer noticed that he did not have as much energy as he used to and after taking routine blood tests, his doctor told him that he was in need of a liver transplant immediately or he would die.

On August 23, 1995 Hagman received a liver transplant that saved his life and took over 16 hours to complete.

Following this near death experience, Hagman served as the National Spokesperson for the 1996 U.S. Transplant Games in 1996.  He was presented with the National Kidney Foundation's "Public Service Award" for his efforts in promoting the importance of organ donation.

During this same year in November 1996, Hagman starred in "Dallas: JR Returns", two-hour movie which was a ratings blockbuster for CBS.

A second "Dallas" reunion movie was filmed and Hagman served as the Executive Producer.

These days, Hagman enjoys spending time with his family on their ranch in Ojai, California but also divide their time between a
home in Santa Fe and a condominium in Santa Monica.  Hagman also has his biography in bookstores titles "Hello, Darlin".