'Dallas' Star Larry Hagman Diagnosed With Cancer
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) — Larry Hagman has been diagnosed with cancer.
The 80-year-old actor is world-famous for playing J.R. Ewing on "Dallas." The real-life son of actress Mary Martin ("Peter Pan") he first rose to stardom playing Maj. Tony Nelson on the 60s sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie."
Martin died of cancer in 1990 one month before her 77th birthday.
In a statement Friday, Hagman said: "As J.R. I could get away with anything -- bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer."
Hagman -- longtime resident of Malibu and a 43-acre estate in Ojai -- declined to specify what kind of cancer he's contracted, but said it's "a very common and treatable form." He plans to continue working on a new reboot of "Dallas" for TNT, which begins production Monday.
The new "Dallas" focuses on the Ewing offspring as they clash over the future of the family dynasty. The original prime-time soap opera aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. Hagman underwent a liver transplant in the mid-1990s.
Said Hagman: "As we all know, you can't keep J.R. down!"
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