WEATHERFORD -- The rest of the world may remember actor Larry Hagman as the conniving J.R. Ewing of Dallas, but not people who knew him in Weatherford and Parker County.
"I knew Larry for 20 years and knew his funny side," shop owner Sherry Watters said this week. "He was a hoot."Roy Grogan said he had known Hagman since high school."We were with him just three weeks ago," Grogan said. "We always enjoyed Larry; he was a lot of fun."Hagman, who spent several years as a child and teenager in Weatherford, died Friday.Almost immediately, people began to float ideas about how to honor him. Watters, owner of Something Special Boutique, and Donna Tillman say they will ask the City Council to rename a street in Hagman's honor.Hagman's mother, Broadway star Mary Martin, was a Weatherford native who is commemorated with a bronze statue in front of the Weatherford library. She is shown in her signature role as Peter Pan.Hagman was born in Sept. 21, 1931 in a Fort Worth hospital to Martin, then 17, and Ben Hagman, a Weatherford accountant. They divorced in 1935.Hagman lived in Weatherford only until age 5 and then moved away as his mother pursued her career in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He returned to Weatherford for high school, graduating in 1949.Judy Moughon remembers walking to school with Hagman except that he "would walk on the other side of the street.""I was a year ahead of him, and when he first came to Weatherford, he was very shy and quiet so I never got closely acquainted with him," Moughon said. "But he came out of that shyness, evidently."The last time she spoke to Hagman was at a reunion about 10 years ago, Moughon said"He was so gracious and very humble and easy to talk to," she said.Parker County Judge Mark Riley recalled how in 1986 Hagman graciously autographed a photo for Riley's mother, who was having brain surgery, and wished her well."I think it advanced her recovery by weeks," Riley laughed. "A few years later, I had the opportunity to interview him and personally thank him, and you would have thought he knew her."In 1994, the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce named Hagman its Citizen of the Year.This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.Lance Winter, 817-594-9902
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