Larry Hagman, whose portrayal of JR Ewing, the alpha male raised to the highest art, the slick, cunning, evil, and ominously intimidating oil tycoon on the TV series Dallas who enthralled millions upon millions of viewers around the world, died on Friday from complications from throat cancer, according to The Chicago Tribune. He was 81.

Hagman certainly made his mark on American television, with two successful shows which were decidedly different genres. His portrayal of Major Anthony Nelson on the long-running sitcom I Dream of Jeannie was a success and the ridiculous premise of a bachelor who discovers a genie in a bottle (played by Barbara Eden) hit paydirt during a Vietnam War-weary nation looking for escapism in the 1960s.