J.R. Ewing

"JR" redirects here. For other characters named John Ross, see John Ross.

John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr. †
Occupation:	Former Owner of Southfork Ranch Former Co-President of Ewing Oil, alongside Bobby 35% Shareholder in WestStar Oil Former Founder and CEO of JRE Industries Former Chief Executive Officer and 25% Owner of Harwood Oil Former President of Ewing Oil Former Vice-President of Ewing Oil
Marital status:	Divorced twice
Spouse(s):	Sue Ellen Shepard Cally Harper
Other Relationships:	Vanessa Beaumont (affair) Julie Grey (affair) Kristin Shepard (affair) Louella Caraway Lee (affair) Marilee Stone (affair) Leslie Stewart Serena Wald (affair) Holly Harwood Afton Cooper Mandy Winger (affair) Angelica Nero (Dream Season Only, affair) Kimberley Cryder (affair)
Parent(s):	Miss Ellie Ewing (mother, deceased) Jock Ewing (father, deceased) Clayton Farlow (stepfather, deceased)
Sibling(s):	Bobby Ewing (brother) Gary Ewing (brother) Ray Krebbs (paternal half-brother)
Children:	James Richard Beaumont (Son with Vanessa Beaumont) John Ross Ewing III (Son with Sue Ellen Ewing) Unnamed son (with Cally Harper) Unnamed daughter (with unknown woman)
Other relatives:	Lucy Ewing Cooper (niece) Christopher Ewing (adoptive nephew) Lucas Krebbs (nephew and adoptive half-nephew) Margaret Krebbs (half-niece) Bobby Ewing II (nephew) Elizabeth Ewing (niece) Molly Whittaker (niece)
Played by:	Larry Hagman † (as adult) Kevin Wixted (as teenager)
Appears on:	Dallas as regular character Dallas (second series) (regular character) Knots Landing in guest appearances

“	Anything worth having is worth going for - all the way.	”
–J.R. Ewing

John Ross "J.R." Ewing, Jr. was the often times shrewd, ruthless, conniving Texas oil baron/tycoon who served as President and CEO of Ewing Oil in the hit U.S. television series Dallas (1978–91) and its spin-offs, including the revived Dallas series (2012–13) and two films, J.R. Returns and War of the Ewings. He is also the first son of Jock and Miss Ellie and the brother of Bobby, Gary and Ray Krebbs.

J.R. was portrayed by actor Larry Hagman from the series premiere in 1978 until his death in late 2012 and was the only actor who appeared in all 356 episodes of the original series. One of the show's most iconic figures, 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 subterfuges to plunder his foes and their wealth. J.R. is also well known for having numerous mistresses and affairs.

J.R. Ewing is considered one of television's most popular characters, with TV Guide naming him #1 in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.

Personality

“	Never tell the truth when a good lie'll do!	”
–J.R. Ewing

J.R. has a reputation as a really 'bad man', a villainous sort. J.R. thinks nothing of resorting to bribery and blackmail to get his way and appears heartless much of the time - indeed taking pride in his nefarious nature.

However, there are several instances where a more sympathetic and complex side to his character is portrayed, such as evidence of his love for his family, and his generosity to those less fortunate - for instance his giving of presents to his fellow sanitarium inmates in the final season. Also in the final season, there are glimpses of a depressive and contemplative nature when musing to Bobby during their cattle drive about how times were changing.  

J.R. at times, such as the afore mentioned, does indeed seem to show some redeeming qualities, as in the case of trying to find the whereabouts of Blackie Callahan (played by Denver Pyle) in the episodes "I Dream of Jeannie" and "After Midnight" in Season 13. In these episodes, J.R. seeks to reconnect with Blackie, an old friend of and wildcatter with Jock, who had helped J.R. find the drilling location where he had his first oil strike in the 1950s, as he was seeking to get his help and expertise again in surveying a site where he wound up striking it rich, again!!

In the season 14 episode "Fathers and Sons of Fathers and Sons", J.R. reveals, on the aftermath of Blackie's funeral, which J.R. attended, to Blackie's daughter Meg Callahan (Chris Weatherhead) that J.R., who was also a friend of Blackie, that he had been paying royalties to him for years, out of his own pocket.

Another instance is in the 2012 Dallas series, when Bobby is facing the fight for his life in his deciding to sell Southfork, due to his contracting a Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), where he must undergo life threating corrective surgery, J.R. seems to show a more humble side in visiting his brother in the hospital before and after the successful surgical procedure along the the rest of the family.

History

Early life

J.R. was born in 1939 on Southfork Ranch. In the beginning, he was just like any other little baby boy, except that he needed more love and affection from his parents than he ever got. Miss Ellie remembers: "J.R. was so shy, when I took him shopping I never had to look to see where he was. He had hold of my skirt so tight. I think Jock scared him at first. But when Gary came along, Jock just took over raising him. Make him a man's man, Jock said. I guess then I fussed over Gary too much, because Jock had J.R. and Bobby. We all spoiled him. Bobby was given everything J.R. had to fight for and Gary didn't bother with."

J.R..'s "man's man" training included, at the age of five, going to daddy's office at Ewing Oil and learning the business. He liked that fine. he'd watch his daddy, hang on his every word and emulate his every move, he`d do everything he could in order to please him, for to him, Jock was a perfect great big god whose boots were firmly stained with oil. J.R. had no interest the ranch or the Southfork way of life. He thrived on the exchanges in the business, the deals, the way his father's eyes lit up in delight when he got his way,when he closed a deal, when the well came in, when the oil commanded best price of the day. And it wasn't just the figures, the finances, although J.R. proved to be a wizard at them. There was also the thrill of pursuing the unspoken :if bigger was better than biggest was best.

Jock expected J.R. to succeed and gave him little attention until he did. And if J.R. made a mistake then god help him, Jock`d nail him.

From this relationship, J.R. learned the one word that would guide him for the rest of his life - win. To do this, J.R. took a shortcut in his early years. He relied on his lightning-fast reflexes, keen intellect, and beguiling charm to wheel and deal and bedazzle, and it worked. In later years, when he had gained all the practical knowledge concerning oil, he was, quite literally, unbeatable in most situations.

It was clear early on that J.R. also had a great flair for wheeling and dealing in another area - women. Since he was thirteen years old, J.R. had this almost spooky way with women of all ages. He charmed, flattered, and seduced women in no time, and if for some extraordinary reason he failed, then he just bought them in intricate ways that on the surface appeared to be something else. The ladies offered a great deal more attention than J.R. ever received at home.

As the eldest son, J.R. was expected to be a good big brother, but it wasn't easy. J.R. thought Gary was a wimp and bullied him in private every chance he got, not so much because he hated him, but because his mama gave Gary everything. She was always fussing over him, tending him, hugging him, taking him for rides and walks - none of which she did with J.R. And Gary did nothing to deserve it! When he wasn't having a tantrum, he was off moping somewhere. He was athletic but didn't like to play with anyone - he'd always quit and run to mama. J.R. did take his role with little Bobby seriously, though, and honestly loved the kid. Everyone did. J.R.'s parents lavished attention on. Bobby, but J.R. didn't mind so much, he was so little - ten years younger-and he was cute. And cute was no threat to J.R., because he wasn't competing in that category. However, it didn't pass his notice that both parents acted differently with Bobby. They were freer with him; for one, they always touched him. No one ever touched J.R, except to spank him. How was it that no one wanted to hug and kiss him like they did Bobby, and his mama did Gary? Why? He excelled at everything his daddy and mama wanted him to, but how was it that they didn't seem to care half as much about his accomplishments as they did about some diddly squat thing that Bobby did?

From the moment J.R. had brothers, he had a lifelong fight on his hands. Not for money, not for power, but for the love and affection and approval of his parents. It certainly wasn't too much to expect from one's parents, but it was the very thing J.R. couldn't bring himself to ask for outright. He thought his daddy would think him a sissy. And he thought he would probably be right.

In 1956, J.R. enrolled at the University of Texas and went off to Austin for four years. He was an excellent student, extremely popular fraternity brother, and a party goer and thrower extraordinaire. He had an enormous capacity for women, of course, and food and drink, Texas style. His drink of choice, bourbon and branch, became the illicit rage on campus.

After he graduated, Jock pushed him to do a stint in the Army as part of his "man's man" training - and was shipped off to South Vietnam in 1960.

Although he was a good soldier and won several medals in the field, he grew sick at heart at what he saw and was told to do, so he put his wheeling and dealing to use and got himself transferred to Japan, where he finished out the rest of his hitch.

J.R. returned home, and to Ewing Oil as a Vice President. Gary was gone - and would never, ever have a head for business anyway; and Bobby, at that time, was more interested in chasing skirts and cattle than being bothered with Ewing Oil, so J.R. had the field all to himself. He plunged right in with his father's blessing. Business boomed, along with the family's personal fortune, because of his efforts.

Marriage to Sue Ellen

Still, there was a void in his life. He saw scads of women, and his parents wondered out loud if he had thought about marrying, settling down, producing some heirs. J.R. assured them that he was looking, and indeed he was, but like everything else, J.R. Ewing was determined to bring home the best, and, more important, and most difficult, he wanted to love and be loved. Of the hundreds of women he dated, wooed, bedded, none fit the bill. Then, in July 1963, serving as a judge at the Miss Texas Pageant in Fort Worth, out came young Miss Dallas. As J.R. later said to Sue Ellen, "When it came to the bathing suit contest all the rest of the girls were strutting and trying to look sexy. You didn't try, but you sure looked sexy and. something else. you looked like a lady."

Sue Ellen Shepard won the pageant and J.R. Ewing's heart. It was quite a lengthy romance. Sue Ellen loved J,R. and he loved her, but he was hesitant about marriage. After all, every girl in the state was after him. How could he be sure Sue Ellen was the one? Unlike every other girl in the state, Sue Ellen flatly refused to go to bed with J.R. unless they were married, It made her all the more desirable, and the more he desired her, the more aloof she became. Then, finally, crazy in love with her, he convinced that she had to be the one he asked her to marry him. They had a huge wedding at Southfork in 1971.

The marriage was a great disappointment to J.R. Oh, he loved Sue Ellen, but he had trouble in the one place he had never had before - bed. It wasn't that Sue Ellen was exactly cold, it was just that she was so restrained, so ladylike, that J.R. was practically afraid to touch her. J.R. honestly believed that Sue Ellen was a lady, a great lady, and, based on their first time in bed together, he came to believe that true ladies weren't interested in such things and shouldn't have to be sullied that way. So he left Sue Ellen pretty much alone after the honeymoon. It wasn't that he wanted to, but it seemed to be what she wanted, although they never talked about it. So rather than debase his beautiful wife, J.R. discreetly took his desires elsewhere. (He found solace with his secretary, Julie Grey, who not only met his appetite in bed, but who also was a confidante, one who generously gave him affection. She would be more a wife to J.R. than Sue Ellen would be for several years.) The other disappointment that was related to this was that Sue Ellen didn't conceive, and J.R. very much wanted to have children.

When his daddy retired in 1977, J.R. was made President of Ewing Oil. It was a wise choice, for J.R. was a man of the times and his new ideas and ' ventures were highly successful-so long as he had absolute power. Though J.R. had wonderful business schemes, they were so intricate, often so cloak-and-dagger, that they required a great deal of secrecy and shooting from the hip. Their success depended on J.R. masterminding them, without any outside interference. One naive step could result in the undoing of months of ground work and could cost the company millions. Until 1978, J.R. had no such interference and the company was in blazing good health.

Life in Dallas

J.R. in the late 70s.

In late 1978, J.R.'s previously discreet sexual liaisons came home to Southfork to haunt him, and nearly kill him. J.R. and Ray Krebbs had gone on a weekend fling with a certain Wanda Frick and her friend Mary Lou Allen in the Tropicana Motel in Waco. It wasn't anything special, just a jaunt to blow off a little steam after a hard week's work. But Wanda's husband and Mary Lou's brother followed the men back to Southfork and held the family hostage during the great storm that fall. The incident, on the whole, turned out all right, though J.R. was shot in the arm and the entire family became wise to some of his activities on his "business" trips. Sue Ellen reacted bitterly, and their marriage started to rock.

That year also presented problems at Ewing Oil. After Bobby married Pamela Barnes (that was enough to test J.R.'s patience: Digger's daughter!), Bobby demanded a bigger executive role in the home office. J.R. was sorely tried by Bobby's interference, and this would mark the beginning of J.R.'s efforts to get him out of Ewing Oil altogether. It wasn't that he didn't think him bright. in fact he thought Bobby was better suited to running Southfork which was no easy job. But that he lacked qualities needed to do business in the oil industry: a sense of divine duplicity, for example. Bobby was just too naive, too soft.

J.R. was not thrilled at the return of his brother Gary, fearful for his leadership position at Ewing Oil, feeling that Bobby is enough to contend with. Valene's return merely spurs him on to remove them both from the ranch once again. J.R. resurrects a failed subsidiary of Ewing Oil and places Gary in charge, hoping to inspire his alcoholic tendencies when the company inevitably fails. Valene is immediately concerned after J.R. announces Gary's new position, and suggests the pair move to California. Gary dismisses Valene's concerns, firmly believing J.R. has changed. J.R.'s plan works however, and Gary cracks under pressure. Although coming close to drinking due to the stressful workload, Gary restrains himself and realizes he cannot make a future for himself at Southfork. He leaves the ranch once more, although he and Valene part on good terms. With history repeating itself, a furious Valene confronts J.R. over his treatment of both her and Gary as he drives her from the ranch a second time. J.R. engineers the situation to appear as though Valene has accepted a cash settlement in return for leaving the ranch, souring Valene and Lucy's newly reignited relationship. Valene would later write Lucy detailing what had actually transpired, which would cause Lucy to briefly run away from home in an effort to be with her mother. 

In 1979, after eight years of marriage, Sue Ellen announced that she was pregnant, JR was elated. His happiness was only momentary, however, for they were having horrendous problems in their marriage. Then J.R. found out that Sue Ellen was having an affair. And leave it to her to have it with the man whom J.R. hated most in all the world: Cliff Barnes. To top everything, Sue Ellen began drinking heavily, despite J.R.'s efforts to prevent this. Fearing that Sue Ellen was doing permanent damage to the unborn child with her round-the-clock drinking, J.R. was forced to place her in a sanatorium. Then, the final blow: Julie Grey was murdered. J.R. paid all of her funeral expenses and tried to put her to rest in his heart.

John Ross Ewing III was born with apparently no bad effects from Sue Ellen's drinking. That was the good news. The bad was that J.R. was informed that the baby was Cliff Barnes'. J.R. reeled! It just couldn't be! Sophisticated paternity tests were taken and J.R., to his utter joy, found out that John Ross was truly his flesh and blood. J.R. could not be with his son enough after that. He loved him, held him, talked with him, and touched him with tenderness. No matter how bad things got, J.R. would have this son to love.

On a dove-hunting trip with Jock, Bobby, and Ray Krebbs, J.R. was accidentally shot in the leg. He recovered quickly, and it was fortuitous, since the biggest deal of his life the purchase of offshore drilling leases in Asia was occurring. And so was the collapse of his marriage. Following John Ross' birth, Sue Ellen was seriously depressed, and it worried J.R. that she was virtually ignoring the baby. Then Sue Ellen started disappearing, staying out afternoons and nights, giving no explanation but sly smiles. J.R. was beside himself. He loved Sue Ellen, but she wouldn't come near him. Tired, lonely, under enormous pressure at work, he resigned himself to the fact that Sue Ellen must be having an affair. J.R. turned to Sue Ellen's sister, Kristin, for comfort.

Then J.R. got in a whole mess of trouble with his parents, which upset him more than the actual problem. He had been forced to mortgage Southfork to finance the Asian wells, and Jock and Ellie, outraged, lashed out at J.R., with Jock stepping back in to run Ewing Oil. The fact that the wells came in, as J.R. knew they would, that the venture for a period made Ewing Oil the richest independent oil company in the world, didn't seem to count for much. J.R. was not to be trusted by his parents for quite some time. Now, everyone seemed to be out to hurt him, And Sue Ellen, who had begun drinking again, openly declared her hatred of him and her desire for a divorce.

J.R. after getting shot by an unknown assailant.

Late one night in the spring of 1980, while working in his office at Ewing Oil, J.R. was shot twice. He nearly died. The bullets bruised a kidney and nicked his spleen and left him in the most horrible condition J.R. could imagine: paralyzed from the waist down. The situation brought one aspect of happiness however: Sue Ellen came lovingly to his side, He underwent a very dangerous operation to regain the use of his legs. As he began the long road to recovery, he was hurt to learn that his daddy had put Bobby in as President of Ewing Oil. And then came the ultimate betrayal: Sue Ellen was arrested as the prime suspect in the shooting. She hadn't come to him because she loved him, she only came because she thought she had shot him in a blackout and was feeling guilty. It turned out, though, that Sue Ellen was innocent: it was her sister who had done it. But the marriage was still in ruins. J.R. chose not to prosecute Kristin because she told him she was pregnant with his child. J.R. could not bear the thought of a child of his, or any child for that matter, being born in prison. He let her go and supported her financially throughout her pregnancy in California.

After intensive therapy and sheer persistence, J.R. regained the use of his legs. Back on his feet, he was back in full action, with one major problem to take care of: Bobby refused to step down from Ewing Oil. J.R, was alarmed by what he saw as Bobby's reckless leadership, and so he persisted in striking some kind of deal to get back into the power seat before the company was run into the ground. Bobby finally resigned in 1980, after J.R. agreed to set him up in a business of his own.

The year 1981 was the worst of J.R.'s life. Sue Ellen walked out on him and J.R. managed to wrestle John Ross from her. But Pam - that Barnes girl! -stole John Ross from Southfork and took him to Sue Ellen. Then Kristin showed up in Dallas, alone. She had gotten into trouble after the birth of her baby. She was on drugs, and after ingesting too much PCP, she fell from the second-floor landing of the main house into the swimming pool and died. J.R. was accused of murder by Cliff Barnes, but he was cleared of any wrong doing.

J.R. hardly cared, in comparison with the other loss he was feeling. Sue Ellen was shacking up with some cowboy in San Angelo - committing adultery - and she had his son with her. Sitting in John Ross' empty room at Southfork one night, J.R. broke down and wept. So what if Sue Ellen had fallen in love and run away with another man. So what if all was not well at Ewing Oil or with his family. What mattered to J.R., what he loved more dearly than any other thing in the world, was his little son. That child was a part of him, and to have him taken away was to tear out a piece of his heart.

J.R. became obsessed with getting him back. When he and Sue Ellen went to court, he was prepared to bring up her past: the drinking, the affairs, not giving a damn about the publicity, only wanting to get his son, but Miss Ellie restrained him. He tried to take John Ross off the Southern Cross Ranch by helicopter, and Miss Ellie stopped him again. J.R. tried to reason with the Farlows, get them to kick Sue Ellen off of the ranch; all to no avail. So finally, desperate, he embarked on the most risky and dangerous business venture of his life. Using Ewing Oil as collateral on a loan, he bought up all the oil that was being fed into Clayton Farlow's refineries. By glory, he'd make them give him back his son,

The plan failed, and put Ewing Oil on the brink of disaster. Miss Ellie stepped in. Backing off from her wrath, J.R. had to sit helplessly by as she sold the oil, at a loss, to Clayton Farlow. Then she lectured J.R. that she would be watching his every move and that, when the time was right, when she found someone else to run Ewing Oil, she was going to get the family to vote him right out of the company.

Sue Ellen left her cowboy at the Southern Cross and moved in to a Dallas town house. Thanks to Miss Ellie, the court had awarded her custody of John Ross, a huge settlement over and above alimony and child-support payments, and gave J.R. visitation rights only on alternate weekends. The money didn't bother J,R., that's not what he wanted, he just wanted to be with his son.

When his daddy died in South America in 1981, J.R. couldn't handle the loss and went into a deadly depression. He didn't have his son living with him, he had lost his wife, and Jock. His daddy, the man he passionately revered, the reason why he had done everything all his life-to make him proud of him - was gone forever. J.R. slumped into day long drinking and listlessly let Ewing Oil run itself. He just didn`t care anymore, it was all over, finished, a journey with no destination. He cried at times and wondered what to do, where to go. He went to a prostitute, Serena, for comfort, but found that he had lost all desire for sex. J.R`s world had come to a stop, and he felt like it was time to jump off.

J.R. had his brother Bobby to thank for bringing him out of it. Bobby forcefully reminded him that Jock had built an empire for them, and it was his and J.R.'s responsibility to preserve that empire for their sons. J.R. realized that Bobby was right, and his heart lifted at the thought of John Ross Ewing III. If J.R. couldn't go on living for himself, then he'd do it for John Ross. He went to Jock's office at Ewing Oil late one night and, talking aloud, said:

"I let you down for a while, Daddy, I know I did. I lost my backbone down at that lake when I saw you'd never be back. I'm coming back, though, and I'm coming back strong. You built Ewing Oil from the ground for your sons. I know that, and, Daddy, I'm gonna build it stronger for mine. You're gonna be proud of me again, Daddy. I'm gonna put such a lock on the company that nobody, nobody will ever take it away, not from you and me, and not from your grandson."

J.R. wanted his son back at Southfork, that was no secret, but it was a secret that he desperately wanted Sue Ellen back, too. There had been something about their separation - something had been restored in Sue Ellen that had been lost for many years - that stirred his heart. He had forgiven her, and his original feelings for her resurfaced. After all, they had been married for ten years, and Sue Ellen was still one of the most beautiful, and desirable women in all of Texas. And her affairs and the birth of their son had brought out a side of her that had long been hidden. Instead of being detached, cold, Sue Ellen was actually a loving, affectionate, and passionate woman.

It caused J.R. untold pain to find out that Sue Ellen was seeing Cliff Barnes again, and while everyone else said that J.R. was upset only because it was Cliff, that J.R. wanted John Ross back at Southfork because of his voting shares in Ewing Oil, the truth of the matter was that J.R. only wanted his family back, and that included Sue Ellen.

In 1982, J.R. learned that Christopher, the dear little boy whom Bobby and Pam were adopting, was his child by Kristin. J.R. had loved the baby the moment he saw him, before he had even known. But then he was crestfallen. It turned out that Kristin had miscarried his baby and that this child was someone else's. J.R. would have loved to have had another child and, although he was happy for Bobby, he would always play with Christopher a bit wistfully.

J.R. slowly made progress with Sue Ellen. No matter what they had done to each other and themselves, there was still an undeniable bond between them. If nothing else, they were survivors, they were the parents of John Ross, and Sue Ellen was, by this time, a Ewing at heart. The spark of the years before came back and their love rekindled. J.R.'s dream of having her back as his wife seemed to be realized when she agreed to marry him again. Meanwhile, though, J.R. had quietly aided Cliff Barnes greediness and watched as Barnes destroyed his own company. But to J.R.'s shock, Barnes then tried to kill himself. Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie held J.R. responsible, which J.R. didn't understand, since it was obvious that Barnes' own greed and stupidity had been his undoing, with little help from him. Sue Ellen put off their pending marriage while an angry Miss Ellie led the family in voting J.R. out of Ewing Oil.

Not to be left out in the cold for long, J.R. became the silent Chief Executive Officer of Harwood Oil, for a 25 percent interest in the company. The position had been offered by Holly Harwood, the beautiful young thing who had just inherited the company from her father, Al, and didn't know how to run it, So, J.R. had something to do until his father's will was read and he was reinstated at Ewing Oil to run half of the company in the yearlong contest with Bobby. Despite that workload, J.R. continued to run Harwood Oil until well into 1983.

On November 24, 1982, J.R. Ewing's dream came true and he and Sue Ellen were remarried at Southfork. This time, he pledged not only his love and devotion to her, but monogamy as well, and he meant it. He resisted the advances of Marilee Stone, whom he had tangled with before, and the pesky Holly Harwood, who was hell-bent on seducing him. But J.R. was completely in love with Sue Ellen, and how Sue Ellen loved him back! It was a wonderful period for J.R., being reunited with Sue Ellen and his son, and not having to fight his brother in the Ewing Oil contest alone. Sue Ellen was right there by his side every step of the way, and right there beside him in bed every breath of the night. He was deliriously happy.

Later when J.R. went into the cheap gasoline business and received 1,431 letters from people who had seen him on "Talktime," the local television talk show, saying they'd vote for him if he ran for a political office, it gave J.R. food for thought. Politics had always caught his fancy. However, being an oilman through and through, J.R. declined when a grass-roots organization tried to talk him into running for Dave Culver's U.S. Senate seat. 

As the contest with Bobby grew more complicated, one side and then the other vying for the lead in profits, J.R. remained confident. But Miss Ellie could not stand to see the personal repercussions of what was happening between her two sons. She took Jocks will to court to contest it, it break it, and the scene in the courtroom did not bring out the best in anyone, including J,R who was outraged at Pamela's interference in the matter.

• J.R: That make you feel good, Bobby? Your wife over there, comforting the opposition?
• SUE ELLEN: Opposition? J.R., that's your mother.

In 1983 while on a fact-finding trip to Cuba, J.R. was thrown in prison, but he soon emerged, unscathed, and with a consummated deal for an enormous oil sale. He made piles of money for Ewing Oil and pulled ahead in the contest. In the process, he alienated Holly Harwood, who began gunning for revenge. Holly set J.R. up, not realizing the tragic consequences of her actions. It took weeks to plan, but she finally succeeded in getting J.R. drunk and in bed. She timed it perfectly so that Sue Ellen would arrive and see them,

The incident was to cause a rift in their marriage that has yet to be fully repaired. J.R. tried to explain. He told Sue Ellen how much he loved her and pleaded with her to forgive him. Instead, Sue Ellen elected to start drinking. J.R. helplessly watched her self-destruction, so horribly reminiscent of her alcoholic rampage of years before, and it broke his heart to see little John Ross not understand what was the matter with his mother. J.R. did his best to shield John Ross and stop Sue Ellen, but to no avail.

J.R.'s half brother, Ray Krebbs, accidentally set fire to Southfork, J.R. was knocked unconscious and almost died, but he came to in time to grab John Ross and leap off the second-floor landing to safety in the pool, while Bobby pulled an unconscious Sue Ellen to safety. It was a narrow escape for J.R.'s little family, and it made J.R. redouble his efforts to patch things up with Sue Ellen. But she would have no part of it and demanded a separate bedroom.

At that time, after the fire, J.R. noticed that little John Ross was quiet, withdrawn. J.R. and Sue Ellen sent him to a camp where he could get special counseling. J.R. felt terrible; he knew his relationship with Sue Ellen had been partially responsible for John Ross' condition. There was just so much damage in general in the family as of late; J.R. had had his fill of all the unhappiness and got Bobby to agree to call off the contest and split the control of Ewing Oil between them. They did, and at least that front quieted down. 

John Ross was enthralled by a young counselor, Peter Richards. J.R. grew jealous of the young college man's close relationship with his son, but he refrained from interfering, hoping that John Ross would come back to him in the same loving, admiring way as before, Then J.R. noticed something else. At first he thought he imagined it, but then he really thought he saw it: Sue Ellen was attracted to this counselor, this boy. He grew more suspicious when Sue Ellen refused to let J.R. so much as touch her.

Things were not going well at Southfork. In fact, the whole family seemed to be coming apart. When Bobby brought up the subject of the 1983 Oil Baron's Ball, J.R. threw up his hands at the dinner table, saying, "Wonderful, the Oil Baron's Ball. Ray's gonna be in prison, Mama's off somewhere with Clayton Farlow, you and Pam divorced." And, too, he was thinking what a mess his own marriage was.

The night of the ball, however, Sue Ellen surprised and then elated J.R. by inviting him to bed. Afterward, though, when J.R. tried to hold her in his arms, happy that she had forgiven him, Sue Ellen haughtily said no, she just felt like using him. J.R. was hurt, and his hurt turned to anger.

Later, in 1984, after Sue Ellen was hit by a car, J.R. found out that she had miscarried, He was terribly upset. First of all, he hadn't known that she was pregnant. It had to have been from the night of the ball. To lose the child; he had wanted another so much. He also loved Sue Ellen still, but when he tried to comfort her, she was still cold to him, distant. One afternoon, J.R. happened to overhear Sue Ellen and Peter Richards talking at Southfork. He felt as though someone had plunged a knife in his heart. They were talking about their affair and that Peter could be the father of the lost child. It hurt J.R. in every vulnerable place. The betrayal was complete. Sue Ellen had rejected J.R. and his love to tramp around with a boy, It was a cruel return on the love and trust he had invested in her. And it was, in his mind, unforgivable. If Sue Ellen was going to act like a prostitute, then, hell, he figured she might as well be treated like one.

J.R. framed Peter for possession of drugs and then told Sue Ellen if she didn't move back into his bedroom, he would see that Peter went to prison, Sue Ellen chose to comply. Peter left the state, and although J.R. was relieved about that, he was miserable about his relationship with Sue Ellen. He didn't want to take advantage of her, he didn't want to use her, he wanted her to love him like he loved her.

What J.R. didn't know was that Sue Ellen did love him. It only took family misfortune to bring it out. After Bobby was shot at Ewing Oil and J.R. was nearly overwrought with concern for Bobby and finding the shooter, Sue Ellen's coldness slowly began to melt. Hoping against hope that the occasional look in her eyes was a glimmer of love and concern, J.R. tentatively tried sharing his worries with her. Slowly, with time, Sue Ellen started to grow closer. And then, at last, there she was, holding her arms out to him.

Their reconciliation was joyous, but short-lived, It ended the minute Jamie Ewing, the daughter of Jock's dead brother, Jason appeared in late 1984, J.R, smelled trouble. He was right. In no time Jamie had manipulated Sue Ellen into friendship and turned her against J.R, and on top of that, slapped a law suit agonist the Ewings for a third of Ewing Oil. Although J.R. was deeply distressed by Sue Ellen's rejection and outraged by his cousin's actions he remained calm, reminding himself: "As daddy used to say, the opera ain`t over til the fat lady sings".

So J.R. had another fight on his hands as his cousin Jamie joined forces with Cliff Barnes to take control of 60% of the company.

But then thanks to Jamie's brother Jack, the Ewings went to court and proved Jamie's document a fraud.

But meanwhile J.R.`s marriage to Sue Ellen was still on the rocks and a new woman came into his life in the shape of Mandy Winger, she was young and beautiful and J.R. wanted her. And what J.R. wants J.R. gets.

The two embarked on an affair. But this time J.R. went public with his new lover as he genuinely cared for the girl.

As Sue Ellen said to J.R. when she found out about his new love.

• Sue Ellen: Do you have to flaunt your little tart in public?
• JR: Mandy is no tart
• Sue Ellen: so Dallas`s renowned stud has been smitten

J.R. pushed Sue Ellen to the brink again, accusing her of being a bad mother and of causing anything else that went wrong in his life. Sue Ellen took back to drinking for comfort while J.R. found his comfort with Mandy.

But Sue Ellen's drinking didn`t last long as she built up her own business in Lingerie, using it has a ploy to get Mandy out of the way.

J.R. grew tired of Mandy and was impressed by Sue Ellen's scheme, J.R. was smitten with the new Sue Ellen and found a new attractiveness toward her which resulted in the reconciliation of their marriage.

But J.R.`s world was about to collapse. The oil world was in crisis as cheap Oil was being sent in from the Gulf. J.R. paid a missionary named B.D. Calhoun to start a war in the gulf so the oil would stop and American crude prices would rocket.

But unknown to J.R., the Justice department with the help of Jeremy Wendell from Westar were on to him. To save a long court battle and imprisonment the Ewings were forced to give up Ewing Oil, the building, the assets and even the name. Ewing Oil ceased to exist.

J.R. started his own buisness JRE industries. but he longed for Ewing Oil, the power and now revenge.

J.R. aimed his revenge at Westar and used the daughter of one of the main share holders to do this Kimberly Cryder.

Kimberly wanted J.R. and in exchange for marriage would make sure J.R. got the voting rights to take control. The two embarked on an affair.

When Sue Ellen found out she moved back into her old room and declared her marriage over but decided not to give J.R. a divorce yet.

J.R. ended up losing WeStar and was out on his own again. Sue Ellen divorced J.R. again and left Southfork. the marriage was now well and truly over.

J.R.`s relationship took another turn for the worse when in 1988, J.R. kidnapped John Ross and hid him at a private school. Sue Ellen was furious and with her new lover Nicholas Peace confronted J.R., J.R. and Nicholas got into a fight and Nicholas fell over the balcony to his death. In an irrational state Sue Ellen picked up a gun and shot J.R. 

But J.R. survived and dropped the charges against his ex wife.

In 1989 while out on a fishing trip with Bobby and their sons J.R. met a young beautiful waitress in the shape of Cally Harper. He fell for her sweet ways. He took advantage of her and that night she lost her virginity.

When her brothers found out they forced J.R. at gun point to marry Cally; which he did. He then escaped and headed back to Southfork hoping he'd never lay eyes on Cally again.

J.R. was back at Southfork and things continued as normal.

But then one day Cally Harper turned up claiming to be J.R.`s wife. J.R. denied any knowledge of this and treated the girl with contempt. 

But Cally was determined and made out she was pregnant. Another Ewing heir was on the horizon so J.R. accepted her as his wife and the two remarried at a glorious ceremony at Southfork. On their wedding night Cally confessed that she wasn't pregnant at all. J.R. just laughed as he didn't care as he was truly smitten with her.

Bobby had managed to get the Ewing name back and J.R. joined forces with him but this time Bobby was in charge and the top it all off Bobby made Cliff a partner.

Then a young man turned up at Southfork: James Beaumont, he revealed he was J.R.'s son. The result of J.R.'s affair years before with an English woman Vanessa Beaumont - his first love. The two did not hit it off and constantly would but heads but J.R. took him in as his own.

J.R.'s fidelity to Cally soon proved a strain and he began his flings again. The marriage to Cally was soon over and she left Dallas for good - pregnant with J.R.'s son. J.R. decided to leave her in peace, he felt he owed her that much.

In 1990 Bobby's new wife April was murdered. Bobby blamed the oil business and decided to sell the company which he did to Leanne De La Vega. J.R. was mortified he was about to lose his company again. 

Leanne took J.R. on as a partner and promised to sell him the whole company back. But she revealed that she bought Ewing Oil as part of her plan to get revenge on J.R. She reminded him how they had had an affair years before and she had been pregnant. When she told him about the pregnancy he had told her to get rid of it and called her "the village whore". The abortion left her unable to have children; since then she had been waiting to get revenge.

Leanne gave the company to J.R.'s enemy Michelle Stevens - the girlfriend of James and the sister of Bobby's dead wife April.

Eventually J.R. managed to get 50% of Ewing Oil back from Michelle when he helped her get off a murder charge but he was shocked to find that she had sold the other 50% to Cliff Barnes.

J.R. wanted out, he could not work with that Barnes man, so J.R. went after WeStar and was in the position to take it over.

Thinking he would be in control of the biggest oil company, he sold his 50% to Cliff. But unbeknown to J.R,, Dusty Farlow and Carter McCay had been plotting to stop J.R. and they managed it. J.R. had nothing. 

Not only did he not have a company. John Ross had left and moved to England with his mother and James had also gone.

The last scene of J.R. in Dallas.

Contemplating suicide, J.R. roamed the lonely Southfork with a bottle of bourbon and a loaded revolver. After an It's a Wonderful Life-like fantasy, J.R. is shown what life would have been like had he never been born. The series ended with a single gunshot and Bobby dashing into J.R.'s room, uttering "Oh my God!" at what he found. J.R.'s fate was not revealed.

The "Conundrum" cliffhanger was not resolved until 1996, with the first Dallas reunion movie, Dallas: J.R. Returns. It was revealed in the beginning of the movie that J.R. had not, in fact, shot himself, but had instead shot at the mirror where Adam was appearing to him (despite there being no sound of shattered glass when he pulled the trigger), and that Bobby's horrified reaction was simply in response to J.R. having shot his favorite mirror. The 2012 revival series did not acknowledge the reunion movie, so maybe J.R. really had attempted suicide that night.

However, when the revival series began, J.R. was still alive, so no matter what had happened, J.R. did survive that night. According to the Dallas Facebook page, J.R. had indeed shot the mirror, but unlike the Reunion film, he didn't flee to Europe to recover.

Knots Landing

J.R.'s cameo in Knots Landing.

J.R. made a cameo appearance in Knots Landing, a spin-off to Dallas focusing on J.R.'s brother Gary and his wife Valene, and their life away from Southfork Ranch. J.R. shows up to steal the prototype for the environmentally friendly car engine that Sid Fairgate is building in his garage.

J.R. visits Abby, who asks him why he feels so threatened by his ne’er-do-well middle brother. J.R.’s response is revealing. “That man is full of anger and frustration. Maybe even hatred, I don’t know. If he ever channeled all that energy well, it could make my life miserable,” he says. Abby asks J.R. to lend Gary $50,000 to pay off a debt. Later, Val is signing books in the hotel gift shop when she looks up and sees the next person in line is none other than J.R. “I bought it fair and square with the promise that you’d autograph it for me,” he says with mock innocence. Her hissed response: “You are disgusting.”

J.R.'s Returns and War of the Ewings

J.R. in the 1998 reunion film "War of the Ewings".

Two Dallas reunion TV movies were produced in the 1990s. Though these movies, at the time, continued the story of Dallas, they were later discarded for continuity purposes when the 2012 Dallas revival series was launched.

In the first reunion movie, Dallas: J.R. Returns, it was revealed that J.R. had shot the mirror in front of him and moved away to Europe for a few years. He returned and attempted to take back his empire, succeeding to an extent as he drove Cliff Barnes out of Ewing Oil, returning it to Bobby. J.R. was also elected chairman of WeStar Oil, a feat he had spent almost fifteen years fighting to achieve.

A second reunion movie, Dallas: War of the Ewings, saw J.R. as CEO of WeStar, try and fail to force a merger with Ewing Oil, but he did claim the consolation of conning $50,000,000 from Carter McKay.

Return to Dallas

An older J.R. from the 2012 Dallas series, which is a continuation of the original.

J.R. returns in the 2012 revival of the series, which focuses on J.R.'s son John Ross Ewing III and Bobby's adopted son Christopher Ewing. To J.R.'s delight, John Ross has become a carbon copy of him, in that he is more focused on oil, money and power. As the series begins, J.R. has spent the last few years in a nursing home, suffering from chronic depression and not speaking despite visits from Bobby. All the events of the two TV movies are ignored.

Bobby visits and tells J.R. that all of their fights over Ewing Oil and Southfork changed him in ways he doesn't like and that he wants Christopher and John Ross to be a real family and not be like them always fighting. When John Ross eventually visits him on Bobby's suggestion, he says that Bobby plans to sell Southfork and give the money from the sale to Christopher to fund Christopher's renewable energy project. John Ross also tells J.R. that he discovered a 2 billion barrel oil reserve under Southfork but Bobby has blocked the drilling. J.R. finally rouses himself to help his son fight the attempts to block his drilling for oil on the ranch and tells John Ross that Bobby was always a fool. He reveals that he is working alongside Marta Del Sol, the daughter of an old friend of J.R.'s, who owns millions of acres of land. Marta is supposedly offering a partnership to Bobby but it's J.R. pulling the strings when Bobby signs Southfork to Marta's conservatory, it'll really be going to J.R. John Ross is really working alongside Marta, with J.R. seeing them together but not seeming to mind. J.R. surprises everyone by showing up at a family gathering (acting as an invalid by using a walker) and apologizing to Bobby and Sue Ellen for his past actions. He later goes to Mexico to see Marta's father, Carlos Del Sol, but he knows nothing of any deal. He then introduces his daughter only she's not the woman J.R. knows as Marta. Realizing he's been fooled, J.R. tells Del Sol he's made a mistake and bites out that Marta should meet his son as "he's a chip off the old block."

J.R. eventually succeeds in getting Southfork from Bobby and doesn't waste any time in beginning to drill for oil on Southfork. He also cuts John Ross out of the partnership. However, he does give his son power of attorney to run his business ventures. J.R. is forced to return ownership of Southfork to Bobby when J.R. and John Ross' Venezuelan investor, Vicente Cano, turns violent against the Ewings when the loan isn't repaid. J.R. and John Ross are given immunity and sign confessions against Cano, who is sent to prison. Bobby keeps a copy of J.R.'s confession and warns him that he will send J.R. to prison if he uses any more dirty tricks. John Ross' fiancée Elena Ramos discovers John Ross' role in the plot, she breaks up with him and returns to Christopher. The first season ends with John Ross and J.R. joining forces against Bobby, Christopher and Elena, who have apparently reunited as a couple.

Death and legacy

J.R. moments before getting shot and killed.

At the start of the second season, J.R. is mentoring John Ross in business and dirty tricks and they are plotting to take control of Ewing Energies. J.R. also plots against his old rival Cliff Barnes and his daughter Pamela Rebecca Barnes, who is pregnant with Christopher's twins and is having an affair with John Ross. Bobby asks for J.R.'s help to take down Harris Ryland when it's revealed Ryland kidnapped Bobby's stepdaughter Emma and let Bobby's wife Ann think her daughter was dead. J.R. assures Bobby that he will take Ryland down. In the episode "The Furious and the Fast", J.R. talks to John Ross by phone about a "master plan" to defeat Cliff Barnes and Harris Ryland and to help John Ross take control of Ewing Energies, saying it will be his "masterpiece" when somebody walks into the room and shoots twice, killing him.

J.R.'s memorial service.

J.R.'s memorial was held at the Dallas Petroleum Club where many guests from his past attended. J.R.'s favorite drink, bourbon and branch was served. Guests included J.R.'s half-brother Ray Krebbs, niece Lucy Ewing, brothers Gary Ewing and Bobby Ewing, ex-wives Sue Ellen Ewing and Cally Harper Ewing, ex-mistress Mandy Winger, adopted nephew Christopher Ewing, Elena Ramos and her brother Drew Ramos and J.R.'s son John Ross Ewing III. Other notable guests included Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. J.R.'s funeral was held at the family cemetery plot on Southfork Ranch. Ray, Lucy, Gary, Christopher, Elena, Sue Ellen, and Bobby all spoke. J.R. was buried next to the graves of Jock and Miss Ellie. At his funeral, Sue Ellen read the letter that J.R. had written to her before he was murdered where he stated that he wanted another chance with her. Sue Ellen referred to J.R. as "the love of my life". Since J.R. had been a war veteran, his coffin was draped in a U.S. Stars and Stripes flag and was handed folded to John Ross because he was his son and next-of-kin.

At the end of the funeral J.R.'s private investigator Bum Jones arrives at the gravesite. In the office at Southfork, Bum tells Bobby, John Ross, and Christopher that J.R. was in Abu Dhabi closing a deal to buy some oil leases but that his real reason for being in Abu Dhabi was because for the last several months he was trying to find Christopher's adoptive mother and Bobby's ex-wife Pamela Barnes Ewing. Bum gives Christopher some papers that would tell why it was important for Christopher to find Pam. Bum reveals that J.R. was in Nuevo Laredo following a lead to take down Harris Ryland using the quail hunt as a cover story. John Ross assumes that Ryland was behind his father's murder but Bum says that J.R. was killed by a random mugger. John Ross is given a box containing a pistol and a note from J.R. telling John Ross that now that he is dead, Cliff Barnes and Ryland will join forces to take down the Ewings. The note also says John Ross should use the contents of the box "to take from them what they want to take from us" and that afterwards "Bobby will know what to do." J.R. ends the note by telling John Ross not to forget that he is J.R.'s son "from tip to tail". Bum gives a letter to Bobby. Bobby reads the letter but doesn't reveal what it says and tells John Ross and Christopher that it is between J.R. and him for the time being. Bobby and Bum talk outside the office where Bobby tells Bum to pay off whoever he has to in order to make everyone believe that J.R. was killed by a mugger and when the time is right the Ewings will handle the situation as a family. Bobby goes to J.R.'s bedroom and drinks some of J.R.'s trademark bourbon. Bobby, imagining talking to J.R., says that he knew J.R. would have one final card to play and it was a good one. Bobby says he loves J.R. and he breaks down crying. Bobby, John Ross and Christopher continue working together on the plan and they realize how important it is to find Pam, because she owns one-third of Barnes Global shares along with Katherine and Cliff. With Katherine dead it only leaves her. It was said she entered Abu Dhabi with her husband in 1989. Bobby finally reveals that J.R's master plan was to frame Cliff for his death "from beyond the grave". He reveals that J.R., knowing that he only had days to live from terminal cancer, had Bum steal Cliff's pistol. J.R. knew that Cliff went to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico every year for a fishing competition. J.R. had Bum meet him there and kill him. His plan was to have the Ewing family plant the pistol and J.R.'s trademark belt buckle in Cliff's car and safety deposit box.

In the final scene of the series, John Ross asks Bum to find his sister who he had only just found out about earlier in the episode from a secret file from Emma. This is obviously quite important with Bum saying that J.R. is still "saving his ass from the grave". John Ross then hangs up, pours himself a glass of J.R.'s trademark bourbon, before smiling with the scene cutting to black and J.R.'s laugh echoing in the background to end the series.

Relationships

Marriages

J.R. was married to Miss Texas beauty queen Sue Ellen Shepard in 1971, and he had a large amount of extramarital affairs, which culminated in their divorce in 1981; then again from 1982-1988). He was extremely cruel to his nemesis, Cliff Barnes, whom his wife had an affair with. He had a son with Sue Ellen, John Ross, whom he chose as his favorite son. He had a third child with his second wife Cally Harper (1988-1991).

Affairs

Afton Cooper: Late 1980s.

His eldest son, named James Richard Beaumont (Sasha Mitchell), came from an affair in France, with Vanessa Beaumont (Gayle Hunnicutt), a former secretary of his, with whom he would rekindle a romance, albeit briefly in Season 12 of the original series.

Quotes

"I underestimated the new Mrs Ewing. Well, I surely won't do that again."

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"I never forget those who do me a favour, and I never forget those who don't!"

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"What difference does it make? Whoever it is has got to be more interesting than the slut I'm looking at right now." (J.R. to Sue Ellen after asking him which slut he'll stay with tonight)

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"Well Sue Ellen, where did you spend the night, in a brewery!?"

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"I'm sure Ray will be great in the ranching business momma; he might even be able to tell one end of the horse from the other!"

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"The world is littered with the bodies of people that tried to stick it to ole J.R. Ewing!"

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"Don't be so glum Lucy; rich folks are always happy!"

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"Look up the word cheap in a dictionary, and you'll see his picture there!" (J.R. about Cliff Barnes)

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"A marriage is like a salad: the man has to know how to keep his tomatoes on the top!"

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"The day I start living by the rules my wife set for me will be the one when Dallas Cowboys make it to the SuperBowl!"

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"When your holding a double barrel shotgun, use both barrels." (J.R. to Sly)

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"You know, Sue Ellen, I do believe you're going ninety miles an hour toward a nervous breakdown. We're going to have to do something about your ravings."

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"Like my daddy always said: If you can't get in the front door, just go around to the back."

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"Never tell the truth when a good old lie'll do!"

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"Revenge is the most satisfying feeling in the world!"

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Gallery

Trivia

• Originally Bobby and Pamela Ewing were going to be the two leading protagonists of Dallas, with J.R. filling the role as the main antagonist. But when the writers found that J.R. and Sue Ellen were far more popular with viewers, J.R.'s role was upgraded and he became one of the leading characters, acting as the protagonist villain of the series instead. As such, his role in the revival series was one of the better received aspects of his run.
• Larry Hagman is the only actor to appear in every episode from the original Dallas. He appears in the two reunion films and every episode of the revival series until Episode 7 of the second season, due to Hagman's real life passing.
• The Dallas Facebook Page which was created to coincide with the New Dallas in 2012 was written from the point of view of J.R detailing events of the original series and the 21 year gap from the end of the original show to the new one. After J.R was killed off the page was written from the point of view of J.R's son, John Ross.
• Larry Hagman became seriously ill and his role had to be downplayed during the first series of the 2012 Dallas. After his passing during filming the second series in 2012, he had only filmed 5 out of the 15 episodes. Unused footage from earlier episodes where used to extend the character's life and he made his final appearance in Episode 7, where editing was used to create a proper final scene showing J.R in his hotel room prior to getting shot. This scene was originally filmed on Southfork but unused, but was edited to give the illusion he was in a different location and reacting to the gunman who was about to shoot him. This scene was used as a flashback in the season finale when revealing his killer.

External links

• J.R. Ewing article at Wikipedia