Larry Hagman was

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by andress_jade

Yes Larry had his share of problems during IDOJ, but a lot of it was due to problems with his personal life. He had an alcohol problem, which caused him to act up on the set of the show. Despite that, he was always a professional and did his job. He knew he had a problem, and he eventually got help. He did love doing IDOJ, he just had some personal issues that he handled in all the wrong ways.
He and Barbara always remained friends even after the show, up until he died. She always spoke fondly of him, and he of her and she was devastated when Larry died. Barbara said of all the actors she ever worked with, she enjoyed working with Larry the most because she had a natural chemistry and rapport with him, they were just in sync with each other. Barbara even said that even though Larry had his problems back in the day, he was always a sweet, funny guy. Larry was never mean or cruel to her or his other co-stars, since they all speak fondly of him, he mostly had a problem with script issues and such. Barbara was one of Larry's biggest cheerleaders, helping to keep him on the show when one of the directors wanted to fire him. The director was the one that was fired and Larry got to stay.
Also, I don't think Larry only did those appearances because he needed the money, he really wanted to do it. He was finally able to embrace the years he spent on IDOJ, and said he would even watch old episodes and get a tear in his eye because he was so proud. He had grown and changed, especially after he had his liver transplant, it gave him a new aspect on life.
He just had a lot of personal issues back then that he allowed to seep into his acting career. But he spoke of IDOJ and his co-stars fondly before his death.
Whatever he did back then, doesn't matter to me. Everyone has their problems, nobody is perfect but at the end of the day, it's what they did and what they left behind that matters. Larry left behind a wonderful legacy, memories and a career that we will always love and remember. He will always be Major Anthony Nelson to me, and Tony and Jeannie will always have a special place in my heart.

I agree. Great post.

[Coffeecup]

I do think Peeing on the floor is odd thing to do. I could see screaming at the director, writer or a stage hand. I wonder who had to wipe the liquid? Maybe all that drinking, he just couldn't hold it!!

[king of comedy]

I'm sure he got help for his drinking.

[tcr1701]

What's interesting is that a lot of the physical humor was because of Larry. He noted that the scripts were often dialogue heavy ("talking heads" he called it). Sydney Sheldon and the directors would let Larry (and Bill Daily) plan out some funny physical bits and incorporate them into the shows.

Larry had a lot of personal issues and was indeed difficult on set a lot (which he owned up to), but there is no doubt that he made that show work. And he worked very hard to bring out the humor.

At one point he did go to the head of Screen Gems (Jackie Cooper) and asked for better scripts. Cooper said he could not give him better scripts but told Larry to ask for more money (from the production team) and gave him tips on how to do it. Larry got the raise.

Barbara Eden also stated that he taught her how to account for overtime on-set and to bill it back to the production team. He showed her one of his checks that he got and she started accounting for her time too.

Larry may have had some issues in his life at the time, but he was massively talented.

[Babalu]

Larry hated the show but not his fellow cast members. When I was about ten my cousin used to watch the show in reruns and I could never figure out what she saw in the show. I still can't, because she's a girl. But a few years later I saw the light.
Especially back in those days when Barbara Eden bouncing around in that costume was one of the few sexy things on TV.

[tcr1701]

I don't think hated the show per se. He hated the repetitive nature of the scripts. He spoke about it at some point a few years before his death and he said at the time he just didn't understand that in a sitcom (back then) you didn't change a successful formula.

Larry did work very hard to bring humor to the scripts. If he hated the show he probably wouldn't have cared. It was interesting that before the DVD marketing campaign (when he embraced IDOJ finally) he would have nothing to do with Jeannie. I think because it was a turbulent time in his past that he had moved on from.

Interestingly enough he told two stories about the first Jeannie reunion movie. One was that no one contacted him about appearing in the movie at all. The other was that when they called (telling him when to report for filming) he simply asked to be paid the same amount as Barbara, but they turned him down.

At his estate sale, though, was a copy of the I Dream of Jeannie 15 Years Later script. So he was sent it at some point.

[gopyle]

Hagman was fantastic in that show.