[.ca] Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales About My ... (ISBN 0743221818)

From Amazon.com:
Larry Hagman's autobiography is as entertaining as an episode of Dallas, and he seems a whole lot nicer than J.R. Ewing, his second star TV role (the first was as Barbara Eden's "master" in I Dream of Jeannie); he's candid about the drugs and drinking that led to a 1994 liver transplant. The emphasis, however, is on good times and friends ranging from Keith Moon to Carroll O'Connor. He was born in Fort Worth in 1931, when his mother was only 17. Mary Martin soon divorced his father and departed to claim the stardom she was destined for. Hagman is frank but nonjudgmental about the fact that he had a cool relationship with his mother until after the death of her second husband and manager, Richard Halliday, who gets the book's only hostile portrait. Generally, the mood is sunny as he relates adventures like shooting deer with Dad ("three cases of hard liquor, thirty cases of beer, and something like forty packs of cigarettes ... were the most important ingredients of a good hunt"); military service in London, where he met Swedish clothing designer Maj Axelsson (his wife of 45 years); and a respectable Broadway career in the '50s and TV fame in the '60s. Hagman is refreshingly unpretentious about his place in the scheme of things. "I help keep \oTV audiences\c sedated," he remarks, "and at the same time I help sell cars, aspirin, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products. So far I've been pretty good at it." --Wendy Smith

THIS book has it ALL! 5 stars!:
This book has it all. I could not put it down. It takes you from the Larry Hagman who had about 30 cents in his pocket, to the wheeling & dealing of his contract on "Dallas". It is funny, it is sad. It is the closest you can get to knowing the man without being married to him. It is full of advice & philosophies that I feel will enhance my own life. It truly is an intimate look at the life of one of the greatest actors and entertainers that ever lived. When I closed the last page of the book, I realized that without knowing it, I was reading a love story. In Hollywood where stars change spouses like the seasons, Larry Hagman has been married to his wife "Maj" for almost 50 years! After reading the book, upon reflection, I remembered how Larry was advised by his wife, how he has always treated her with respect & admiration. You can still see the sparkle in his eye when reading the words he writes about his wife. Their relationship is truly one of equals. It is heartwarming to see a man who is wise enough to know that nothing can replace the love of one good woman, and a best friend for life. The book is written in his own words and style, and you can tell by reading it that it was not done by some ghost writer looking to make a buck. The only problem with the book is that when I finished it, I wanted to pick up the phone, call Larry, and say "Hey let's go fishing". He truly seems like an old friend by the end of the book!

Now, who can play HIM in the movie version?:
With rumors abounding about the casting in the in-the-works big screen adaptation of the hit series "Dallas", I summit that the life of star Larry Hagman is more enticing than any episode of the landmark series. Hagman, along with co-author Todd Gold, has written a thoroughly fascinating autobiography of a man that is a complex as any ever to be a Hollywood mainstay. Like his birthplace of Texas, Hagman is wide and vast and most intriguing. Telling of his beginnings as the offspring of Broadway legend Mary Martin and his lawyer-father, the actor reveals his many highs and lows in his ascent to the heights of iconic status. He lets us in on his "experiments" with drugs, his "lean" years as a struggling actor, his marriage to his beloved Maj, his television successes (both "I Dream of Jeannie and "Dallas", as well as the many featured roles in big and small screen films), and his interactions with the famous and not-so-familiar. With a wry wit and genuine humility, the star comes across as a man at peace with himself and so self-assured that he can alternately and honestly tell of his strengths and shortcomings. He may have never won an award for his distinctive television characters but to his legion of fans, he is a winner.

If you like Larry Hagman you'll love this book:
Larry Hagman's Autobiography, "Hello Darlin'" is not one of those bios of boring facts. It's an entertaining, hysterical at times, intelligent, and honest account of the guy we know as Major Nelson and/or J.R. It's really incredible all the experiences described here which are pretty much at the center of the acting world. Larry's mother was Mary Martin (Peter Pan, Sound of Music, etc.) and we get good anecdotes about her and the hundred plus other stars Hagman lived his life with. From his early Broadway work with George C. Scott, his "Jeannie" years in which he did LSD with the likes of Peter Fonda to his experiences with neighbor Burgess Meredith and his trips to Eastern Europe where "Dallas" was a force that helped end communism. Also covered is his drinking, his health problems, and his bouts of pre- and post- fame poverty, all delivered with good humor and a healthy outlook on life. And why not? He had a great one. I do wish though the "Jeannie" years were covered more indepth as that was one of my favorite shows and really part of my consciousness. You'll finish the book feeling like you know Larry personally, and know he's someone of a lot more depth than his TV and movie characters.

EXCELLENT "Light & Easy" READ:
I loved this book...but I may be a little prejudiced, cuz I love Larry Hagman! I was lucky enough to have met him when he autographed my copy. I must say, he's very personable, not one bit stuck-up. He also signed my 1980's can of JR Beer and couldn't believe someone still had a full JR Beer from the 80's!!! A real genuine kind of guy...which I imagine is a little rare of such a long-time celebrity. I only regret his wife, Maj wasn't there...I'd have loved to meet her too. She must be SOME LADY to have put up with Larry all these 45+ years! If you want a good, funny, light-hearted read about some of Larry's antics thru his life, this is the book for you! My only negative about the book? I wish it had been longer...I couldn't put it down and finished it in two bedtime reads. THUMBS UP!

And the Wall Came Tumbling Down:
Larry Hagman was born September 21, 1931 in Forth Worth, Texas. His 17 year old mother, Mary Martin, was a perpetual Peter Pan, who did not want to grow up. After a stint as a TV astronaut with a Jeannie in a bottle, Larry finally made it over to Dallas. Here's what he says about his autobiography: "In this book I'm going to describe how I did my best. A lot already has been said about me. I've been described as the Mad Monk of Malibu, the kooky actor in the caftan who led flag parades up and down the beach, didn't speak on Sundays, and occasionally roared up to the grocery store on a Harley while dressed in a yellow chicken suit. It's also no secret that I'm a recovering alcoholic whose life has been prolonged by a liver transplant. It's all true, but there's more to say, lots more. Some of it's funny, some of it's serious, and some contains the wisdom that comes from discovering that having it all doesn't mean you *actually* have it all. In writing this book, I decided to throw all that mumbo in the gumbo, to stir in the stories, the little-known details, and the lessons I've learned, and I wanted to do it before I couldn't remember it anymore or we destroy the planet, whichever comes first." Larry Hagman shines through and co-writer Todd Gold doesn't get in the way. "As I see it, I've spent much of my life in the business of crowd control. Each night, millions of people are at home staring at a box, and I'm inside it. If they weren't watching TV, they'd be outside rioting in the streets, breaking windows, and overturning police cars. I help keep them sedated, and at the same time I help sell cars, aspirin, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products. So far I've been pretty good at it. ... I even take a little credit for helping bring down the Eastern bloc." That's not all faux bravado. As an amateur philosopher/sociologist, the "man in the hat" does a pretty fair job that'd make Marshall McLuhan proud.. While filming episodes of *Dallas* on-location in Moscow, Larry, a/k/a J. R. Ewing, "Walked around the city unrecognized. It felt great to be anonymous again. I walked leisurely through museums and churches without being stopped once for an autograph. All of us actors remarked on a similar experience. But then we ran into a group of East German tourists who picked up television signals from West Germany and they were fanatical *Dallas* fans. Our guide, a pretty little girl, had no idea why four hundred people suddenly went nuts seeing us. ... 'That's J.R.!' they screamed. 'J.R., we love you!' Our guide didn't understand and called for security. 'But you're just an actor.' She kept saying . ... Nine months later, I watched CNN's coverage of the Berlin Wall being torn down and realized that *Dallas* had impacted that side of the world. Pop music also had an effect, but ideas combined with pictures were even more powerful. Every time people in Hungary, Poland, and East Germany watched *Dallas*, they saw what they didn't have - the beautiful clothes, the big homes, the abundant food, and the lifestyle. Eventually, enough people began to say, 'Wait a minute, I want that stuff too! And why don't we have it?' ... When the people from the Eastern bloc countries saw what they were missing, they realized what a farce communism was." How much did the Ewing family mean to Larry Hagman? Remember the oil painting of Jock Ewing (Jim Davis) that hung over the mantle at Southfork? It's the first thing one sees when entering Hagman's house. This is an entertaining celebrity bio that gets its points across - the good, the bad, the happy and the sad.