An Evening with Larry Hagman
April 14-18, 2010, Texas
When we arrived in Houston on Wednesday evening, Barbara spotted NASA merchandise in one of the airport shops. It hadn't occurred to either of us that we would be so close to Johnson Space Center. Events involving Barbara's two big interests, NASA and Larry, always seem to occur around the same time, and now they were converging again. The space shuttle was on a mission while we were on this trip! We decided, since we had an extra day before Larry's show, to visit NASA.
Kimberlee arrived later that night, and agreed to our NASA plans. We headed there on Thursday, taking the Tram Tour of the facility. We saw the old (1960's) mission control, and passed the current mission control, active with the shuttle mission, on the way up the stairs. We also were able to see the training center and "Rocket Park", with rockets and engines on display.
We headed for Lufkin later that day, laughing as we passed "JR's Party Barn" on the way! It seems everything we do reminds us of Larry! We stayed at a new Marriott, so new they didn't have all the items listed on the menu of their coffee shop! No matter - we found a great restaurant, recommended by locals, called Manhattan, located in the basement of an office building. We didn't expect much in this small town, but were in for a surpise. It turned out to be a very elegant restaurant with delicious food at reasonable prices!
We headed for Larry's show, just down the road from our hotel, that evening. He drew a good crowd, filling the theater. He was, as usual, funny and entertaining - just wonderful! Larry, handsome in a gray suit, blue shirt and red tie, sat on a tall chair, hat resting on a table next to him, with a vase of beautiful yellow roses in front of the table. The show is a multimedia presentation combined with Larry's live narration and storytelling.
Larry told of his childhood in Weatherford Texas, his mother, Broadway star Mary Martin, his early years as an actor, and meeting his wife of 55 years, Maj, in London. He commented on many actors he worked with at the beginning of his career including George C. Scott, June Havoc, Henry Fonda and Candice Bergen. Larry then showed scenes from I Dream of Jeannie. He followed that up with a clip of Barbara Eden saying "I enjoyed acting with Larry more than anyone I've ever worked with," jokingly claiming he paid her to say that! He said she still looks the same and showed a photo of the two of them from the TV Land Awards a few years back. Larry showed clips from Dallas as well as hilarious bloopers from the show. He told of the crazy times after J.R. was shot and the renegotiation of his contract. His 1995 liver transplant was covered, with Larry eager to show a photo of his scars! He wrapped it up by showing a video of his Ojai home, Heaven.
After the presentation, Larry expertly fielded questions from the audience. I was impressed when he inoffensively answered a question from a woman pushing her religious agenda.
Larry was asked if he was ever tempted by his leading ladies. He talked about Barbara Eden not being able to show her navel on I Dream of Jeannie and the answer to the three most common questions he gets about the show: "Barbara is as beautiful off screen as on, she does have a navel, and no, we never did." Larry then commented that Linda Gray is like a sister to him, so it would have been a little inscestuous!
A woman from East Germany described the impact of Dallas on her country. Larry also got to talk about the way Dallas helped lighten the image of it's namesake city, so long under a cloud due to the Kennedy assassination. A standard question came up when Larry was asked how his marriage lasts so long. Two Bathrooms! It wouldn't be the same if someone didn't ask that one! Larry was asked about the Actors Studio by a theater student. He said he was there at the time Marlon Brando was involved in it, but he hated it. Larry likes to work from the outside (put on a hat and become a character) rather than the inside. Larry was asked who he liked the most among the people he worked with and he said Linda Gray, who he sees every few weeks, and Patrick Duffy, describing them as his finest (still living) friends and referring to the group as "The Three Musketeers." At the conclusion of the question and answer session, Larry received a standing ovation from the clearly pleased audieance!
After the show, Larry signed his autobiography, "Hello Darlin'" as well as photos and theater programs. He had a nice long line. Larry was very happy to see us, and we were, of course, thrilled to see him!
It was raining the next day when we left, but cleared up as we neared Houston for a day of relaxation before our flights home. Or so we thought. Texas is hard to navigate, with multiple highways intersecting every which way, and no signs until right before exits. Still, we managed to find an Outback Steakhouse in time for dinner. When we were about to leave, a fight broke out nearby, with a man grabbing a knife and attempting to stab a woman. His friend grabbed his wrist just in time! A policeman stting at a table across from them took over from there, and they headed outside. We stuck around a little bit longer, just to be safe, then left. There were several police cars and two arrests.
No Quality Inn: What Happened to the Wake-Up Call?
We headed back to the Quality Inn, which was anything but. Broken telephones, a funny smell, suspicious people carrying a big screen TV into the hotel..... We all made it out of that place, safely returning home to await our next adventure!
For the complete story of a series of Larry Hagman events, see About This Site.