Larry Hagman - Personal Life

Personal Life

In 1973, stepfather Richard Halliday died, and Hagman reconciled with his mother, Mary Martin, soon after. The two became close until her death from colon cancer in 1990.

In 1954, Hagman married Swedish-born Maj Axelsson and they had two children, Heidi Kristina (b. 1958) and Preston (b. 1962). Longtime residents of Malibu, California, they then moved to Ojai, California. Hagman was a member of the Peace and Freedom Party since the 1960s. Hagman derided President George W. Bush, a fellow Texan, before the Iraq War. At a signing for his book he described Bush as "A sad figure, not too well educated, who doesn't get out of America much. He's leading the country towards fascism".

In 1969, Hagman's friend, musician David Crosby, supplied Hagman with LSD after a concert: "LSD was such a profound experience in my life that it changed my pattern of life and my way of thinking and I could not exclude it." Hagman was introduced to marijuana by Jack Nicholson, as a safer alternative to Hagman's heavy drinking. "I liked it because it was fun, it made me feel good, and I never had a hangover."

In June 1982, Hagman crowned Anna-Kari Bergström as Miss Sweden in Stockholm. She gave him a "Lapphatt", the traditional hat worn in her native northern Sweden.

In August 1995, Hagman underwent a life-saving liver transplant after he was diagnosed with liver cancer in July. He was also a heavy smoker as a young man, but the cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for him to quit. He was so shaken by this incident that he immediately became strongly anti-smoking. He recorded several public service announcements pleading with smokers to quit and urging non-smokers never to start. He was the chairman of the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout for many years, and also worked on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation.

In 2001, Hagman wrote his autobiography, titled Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales About My Life.

In a 2007 interview, Hagman discussed his support for alternative energy. On an episode of Living With Ed, Hagman and his wife showed actor Ed Begley, Jr. their solar powered, super energy efficient home and talked about their green lifestyle. In early 2010, the couple put their 43-acre Ojai estate (called "Heaven", which they purchased in 1991) up for sale; it was valued at $9.5 million.

Hagman appeared at the Dublin races in 2008 with his wife. That year Maj Hagman was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In June 2011, Hagman said he had stage 2 throat cancer. He commented, "As J. R. I could get away with anything — bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer. I do want everyone to know that it is a very common and treatable form of cancer. I will be receiving treatment while working on the new Dallas series. I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love."