How it Happened

Picture this: the year is 1980, and on March 21, television screens are fixated on the gripping drama unfolding in the season finale of the hit TV series Dallas. In the final scene, the notorious J.R. (John Ross) Ewing, portrayed by the iconic Larry Hagman, is shot twice by an unseen assailant. The episode, aptly titled "A House Divided," left viewers on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting answers. But they would have to wait, as the summer stretched on with no resolution in sight. Who would dare to take a shot at the villainous oil tycoon?

A Bit of History

For those not completely familiar, CBS debuted the first five-episode pilot season of “Dallas” in 1978; it went on to run for another 12 full-length seasons.

The first show of its kind, “Dallas” was dubbed a “primetime soap opera” for its serial plots and dramatic tales of moral excess.

The show revolved around the relations of two Texas oil families: the wealthy, successful Ewing family and the perpetually down-on-their-luck Barnes family. The families’ patriarchs, Jock Ewing and Digger Barnes, were former partners locked in a years-long feud over oil fields Barnes claimed had been stolen by Ewing. Ewing’s youngest son Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Barnes’ daughter Pam (Victoria Principal) had married, linking the battling clans even more closely. The character of J.R. Ewing, Bobby’s oldest brother and a greedy, conniving, womanizing scoundrel, was played by Larry Hagman.

In an interview with CBS anchor Katie Kouric, Hagman was asked to look back on the cliffhanger that kept everyone guessing. "The whole 'Who Shot J.R.?' concept was kind of a happy accident," Couric asked Larry Hagman, who portrayed J.R. Ewing. "Oh, absolutely," Hagman replied. "We had done, I think 22 shows, and CBS was making so much money they wanted to extend it for four. And our producers said, "Let's just shoot the SOB and figure it out later."

The "Who Shot J.R.?" frenzy was front-page news - gracing the covers of magazines from TV Guide to TIME.

"At this point, what was bigger, your ego or your paycheck?," Couric asked.

"It was about half and half," Hagman replied.

But both were about to get bigger. Seeing an opportunity to renegotiate his contract, Hagman left Los Angeles for London - threatening not to return.

Hagman made sure he was photographed a lot in London. "We were presented to the Queen Mother. And she says, 'I don't suppose you could tell me who shot J.R?' I said, 'no ma'am not even you.'"

When the show moved to Friday nights, Hagman saw it as a boon. “You’ve got to realize that there was kind of a recession going on during that period of time and people couldn’t afford to go out,” he told Larry King in 2000. “They couldn’t go out to movies and get a babysitter and stuff like that. They had to stay in and watch something. So we were on.” 

The $Value of Hagman

Larry Hagman's portrayal of J.R. Ewing catapulted him from a secondary character to the star of the show. The intrigue surrounding the shooting incident didn't just captivate audiences—it made Hagman incredibly valuable. Advised by friend Carroll O’Connor (Archie in All in the Family) to leverage his newfound worth, Hagman demanded a raise. His negotiation tactics paid off, securing him a hefty paycheck of $100,000 per episode, along with royalties from J.R. Ewing merchandise. The shooting incident not only shook up the fictional world of Dallas but also transformed the real-life fortunes of its lead actor.

Interestingly, while negotiating with the actor, CBS prepared to replace him by having J.R. receive facial reconstructive surgery (despite having received the bullet in his stomach). Production for the 1980–81 season began in June 1980 without Hagman. He returned to work ten days later with the new contract.

Hagman would eventually go on to earn a reported $250,000 per episode and play J.R. Ewing for 11 more years.

He said he "never" got tired of playing the character. "It was always a challenge, always fun. And being at work that long - how many actors get a chance to do that?"

Pop Culture Hype

The phrase "Who shot J.R.?" became more than just a plot point—it became a cultural phenomenon. T-shirts emblazoned with the tantalizing question popped up everywhere, and media outlets held contests to speculate on the culprit. The hype extended beyond television screens, infiltrating politics and music. Parody songs, campaign buttons, and even presidential jokes kept the mystery alive in the public consciousness. From the airwaves to the campaign trail, everyone seemed to be asking the same question: Who pulled the trigger on J.R. Ewing?

In the build-up to the 1980 presidential election, Republicans produced badges reading: “A Democrat shot JR”, while President Jimmy Carter also joked that he would be able to finance the campaign if he knew who did it.

It was also not an easily solvable question. J.R.’s unsavoury behaviour – The New York Times once described him as “the nastiest man on television” – meant that any of the show’s characters could have had the motive to stage the attack.

Suspects

In the world of Dallas, nearly every character had a motive to take a shot at J.R. Ewing. From scorned lovers to bitter business rivals, even Hagman himself who was filmed shooting J.R. (to help keep the identity of the actual shooter a secret) - the list of suspects was long and tangled. Viewers were left guessing as international oddsmakers set odds for each potential culprit, turning speculation into a global betting frenzy. As the tension mounted, fingers pointed in every direction, but the truth remained elusive.

For fans of the show, let’s break down the odds as bookies had placed them back in 1980:

·         J.R.'s beleaguered wife Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), who had spent most of her marriage competing with J.R.'s infidelities and her own increasing alcoholism, was originally ranked as an outsider at 25-to-1; however, after her fingerprints were discovered on the gun, her odds were slashed to 3-to-1.

·         Dusty Farlow (Jared Martin), Sue Ellen's former lover, was the original 6-to-4 favorite, despite the character's disappearance and presumed death in a plane crash.

·         Vaughn Leland (Dennis Patrick), a prominent Dallas banker J.R. swindled in a business deal, at 4-to-1.

·         Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby), J.R.'s sister-in-law, mistress and alleged mother of his child, also at 4-to-1, which was later lowered to 3-to-1.

·         Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), J.R.'s younger brother, with whom he often butted heads over their business and personal lives, was placed at 5-to-1.

·         Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton), J.R.'s niece, who blamed him for her parents' exile from the family and the collapse of her recent engagement, at 8-to-1.

·         Jock Ewing (Jim Davis), J.R.'s father and founder of Ewing Oil, disliked the way J.R. conducted his business, at 12-to-1.

·         Alan Beam (Randolph Powell), a political fixer and former fiancé of Lucy's whom J.R. had run out of town, also at 12-to-1.

·         Dr. Simon Ellby (Jeff Cooper), Sue Ellen's psychiatrist, stood at 16-to-1.

·         Marilee Stone (Fern Fitzgerald), a woman widowed when her husband committed suicide after J.R. swindled him in a bad investment, also at 16-to-1.

·         Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), longtime Ewing family rival whom J.R. took particular pleasure in defeating during business deals, was placed at 20-to-1.

·         Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), Bobby's wife and Cliff's sister, whom J.R. had openly hated since her arrival at Southfork, also at 20-to-1.

·         J.R. himself stood at 20-to-1: given the character's reputation, it was not impossible he staged the shooting himself. His odds were later lowered to 15-to-1.

·         Jordan Lee (Don Starr), another businessman swindled by J.R., ranked at 25-to-1.

·         Miss Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes), J.R.'s patient and long-suffering mother, was deemed most unlikely to have committed the act and remained at 25-to-1 odds throughout.

The only characters never considered suspects were Lucy's parents, middle Ewing brother Gary (Ted Shackelford), and his wife Valene (Joan Van Ark), who were featured prominently in California-based spin-off series Knots Landing at the time of J.R.'s shooting, making it impossible for either to be responsible. Similarly, ranch hand Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) had no established motive for the shooting and was not considered a suspect by oddsmakers.

Real-life Suspects

The intrigue didn't stop with fictional characters. Oddsmakers took playful jabs at real-life personalities, placing unlikely suspects like football coach Tom Landry and disc jockey Terry Wogan in the lineup. From sports legends to radio hosts, everyone became a potential perpetrator in the eyes of the public. The line between reality and fiction blurred as speculation ran wild.

Highest Ratings Ever

On November 21, 1980, 350 million people around the world tuned in to find out who, in fact, had done the deed and shot J.R. The episode solved the mystery, identifying Kristin Shepard, J.R.’s wife’s sister-in-law and his former mistress, as the culprit.

When the moment of truth finally arrived in the episode titled "Who Done It?" it shattered records and captivated audiences like never before. With a staggering Nielsen rating and an estimated 83 million U.S. viewers tuning in, the reveal became the stuff of television legend. It wasn't just a TV show; it was a cultural event that transcended borders and united viewers around the world in anticipation.

It is said that in the UK, it was such a huge deal that it caused a brownout on the electrical grid. Why may you ask? Because as is traditional, after the reveal millions of people got up to make a cup of tea. Millions of electric kettles turned on in unison pulled 2.2 gigawatts from the grid, dimming lights country-wide. Hydroelectric stations now take up the slack when similar huge TV events occur again.

Legacy

Decades later, the legacy of "Who shot J.R.?" endures as a testament to the power of storytelling. The cliffhanger that gripped a nation not only revolutionized television but also left an indelible mark on popular culture. From parody songs to political jokes, its influence can be felt across generations. As other shows have paid homage to the iconic mystery, the legend of J.R. Ewing lives on, reminding us that sometimes, the most unforgettable stories are the ones that keep us guessing until the very end.