Kristina Hagman has revealed her father's struggles with alcohol and drugs in her new book, 'The Eternal Party.'
Larry Hagman found fame and fortune playing one of TV's most iconic villains — J.R. Ewing on Dallas, but his daughter alleges he had a lot in common with the rogue he played.
Kristina Hagman was the star’s only daughter. In her new book, The Eternal Party, she details life with the legendary actor.
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“My dad was all about having fun,” she told Inside Edition. “He never apologized about anything.”
Hagman first hit it big with I Dream Of Jeannie in 1965. When that show came to an end five years later, it was tough on the family.
“He had a hard time getting that next big hit,” she said. “We would have to rent our house out and go camping around America to live for free.”
The family had a trailer attached to their car where they stayed.
(Kristina Hagman)
But in 1978, their lives changed when Hagman was cast in Dallas.
"J.R. was a minor character. It was all about Bobby and Pam, it was this Romeo and Juliet story, two feuding oil barons houses. J.R. was a side character — not for long,” she said.
The show was a phenomenon and Hagman became one of the highest-paid actors on TV. But behind the scenes, he battled a serious alcohol problem.
“He drank from early morning until night,” she said. “He just needed that buzz."
The actor once admitted he drank 9 bottles of champagne a day. He once invited his daughter to smoke pot and take acid with him.It all caught up with him in 1995, when he got a liver transplant. But, even then, he never quit drinking.
"To be with him, you had to be on board," she said. "Dad was not one of those people who would talk seriously. He was one of those people who really enjoyed life. Taking LSD with him was funny and fun."
It all caught up with him in 1995, when he got a liver transplant. But, even then, he never quit drinking.
Throughout those difficult times, his wife Maj Axelsson, stood by him. They were married in 1954 and are often lauded as one of Hollywood’s most enduring unions, but according to their daughter, it wasn't what it seemed.
Kristina Hagman writes of her father's womanizing ways, and reveals numerous girlfriends he had.
In the end, as he lay dying from leukemia in 2012, the actor asked his family for forgiveness.
“In his last hours, in his last words, he was saying ‘Forgive me, forgive me,’ over and over again,” his daughter recalled.
Click Here to Download a PDF and Read an Excerpt From 'The Eternal Party'
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