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CNN Saturday Morning News
Story of Larry Hagman
Aired January 11, 2003 - 09:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The man who you probably know as J.R. Ewing nearly drank himself to death.
CNN's Kat Carney has the story of Larry Hagman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAT CARNEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1980, nearly 350 million fans tuned into see who shot Jr., but soon Larry Hagman, the man behind J.R., would face a real-life brush with danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "DALLAS," CBS)
LARRY HAGMAN, ACTOR: That bomb was meant for me, Sue Ellen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARNEY: When I caught up with Hagman at his home in Santa Monica, he recounted how he nearly drank himself to death.
HAGMAN: I was doing "Dallas." We worked for 13 years. And it was, like, you know, get up at 5:00, those wonderful hours that actors keep. Everybody thinks it's so exciting being an actor. It's just long, hard hours. But I'd start drinking about 7:30 after makeup, open a bottle of champagne, have a little orange juice with it, get my vitamins. And I'd consume about five bottles a day.
CARNEY: For years, Hagman never missed a beat on the set of his hit TV show, but the alcohol eventually took its toll. After suffering from an extreme lack of energy, the actor finally sought the advice of a doctor.
HAGMAN: Couple of days later he called me up and said, Larry, you having a drink? And I said yes. He says, Well, it better be your last, because you have chronic cirrhosis of the liver.
CARNEY: Cirrhosis of the liver occurs when scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver. This prevents the liver from performing crucial functions, like removing germs and bacteria from the blood. Cirrhosis of the liver is the eighth-leading cause of death in America, and it's irreversible.
HAGMAN: At first I said, Forget it. I've had 65 really good years. My wife said, You will have a liver transplant, if we can find one.
CARNEY: Around the time that Hagman needed his transplant, the median wait time for a new liver was 237 days. But in Hagman's case, the wait was only 36 days before he underwent a 16-hour liver transplant operation that saved his life. The actor remembers the day.
HAGMAN: And they wheeled me into the operating room, and they were playing the theme from "Dallas."
CARNEY: Today, almost seven years later, Hagman is out of the woods as far as organ rejection and has no regrets about the transplant procedure.
(on camera): How do you feel today?
HAGMAN: I feel wonderful. Don't I look wonderful.
CARNEY: You look great.
(voice-over): These days Hagman takes care of himself and his new liver by eating right and exercising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Larry Hagman!
CARNEY: He's also an active participant in the annual Transplant Games sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation.
CARNEY: My motto is, recycle yourself. I mean, we recycle everything else, aluminum, tires, glass, bottles, everything. Why not recycle yourself?
CARNEY: Kat Carney, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 11, 2003 - 09:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The man who you probably know as J.R. Ewing nearly drank himself to death.
CNN's Kat Carney has the story of Larry Hagman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAT CARNEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1980, nearly 350 million fans tuned into see who shot Jr., but soon Larry Hagman, the man behind J.R., would face a real-life brush with danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "DALLAS," CBS)
LARRY HAGMAN, ACTOR: That bomb was meant for me, Sue Ellen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARNEY: When I caught up with Hagman at his home in Santa Monica, he recounted how he nearly drank himself to death.
HAGMAN: I was doing "Dallas." We worked for 13 years. And it was, like, you know, get up at 5:00, those wonderful hours that actors keep. Everybody thinks it's so exciting being an actor. It's just long, hard hours. But I'd start drinking about 7:30 after makeup, open a bottle of champagne, have a little orange juice with it, get my vitamins. And I'd consume about five bottles a day.
CARNEY: For years, Hagman never missed a beat on the set of his hit TV show, but the alcohol eventually took its toll. After suffering from an extreme lack of energy, the actor finally sought the advice of a doctor.
HAGMAN: Couple of days later he called me up and said, Larry, you having a drink? And I said yes. He says, Well, it better be your last, because you have chronic cirrhosis of the liver.
CARNEY: Cirrhosis of the liver occurs when scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver. This prevents the liver from performing crucial functions, like removing germs and bacteria from the blood. Cirrhosis of the liver is the eighth-leading cause of death in America, and it's irreversible.
HAGMAN: At first I said, Forget it. I've had 65 really good years. My wife said, You will have a liver transplant, if we can find one.
CARNEY: Around the time that Hagman needed his transplant, the median wait time for a new liver was 237 days. But in Hagman's case, the wait was only 36 days before he underwent a 16-hour liver transplant operation that saved his life. The actor remembers the day.
HAGMAN: And they wheeled me into the operating room, and they were playing the theme from "Dallas."
CARNEY: Today, almost seven years later, Hagman is out of the woods as far as organ rejection and has no regrets about the transplant procedure.
(on camera): How do you feel today?
HAGMAN: I feel wonderful. Don't I look wonderful.
CARNEY: You look great.
(voice-over): These days Hagman takes care of himself and his new liver by eating right and exercising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Larry Hagman!
CARNEY: He's also an active participant in the annual Transplant Games sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation.
CARNEY: My motto is, recycle yourself. I mean, we recycle everything else, aluminum, tires, glass, bottles, everything. Why not recycle yourself?
CARNEY: Kat Carney, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
