It was spoofed in an episode of The Jeffersons ("As Florence Turns"), when Florence writes a soap opera based on characteristics of The Jeffersons characters. [ citation needed] Pat said he wondered if the younger generation would get how funny his iconic ‘I shot J.R. t-shirt worn by Tom on the series. Dusty Farlow ( Jared Martin), Sue Ellen's former lover, was the original 6-to-4 favorite, despite the character's disappearance and presumed death in a plane crash. Miss Ellie Ewing ( Barbara Bel Geddes), J.R.'s patient and long-suffering mother, was deemed most unlikely to have committed the act and remained at 25-to-1 odds throughout.

a b c Bierly, Mandi (April 16, 2013). "Dallas season finale recap: J.R.'s Masterpiece Unveiled". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 24, 2023. Rettenmund, Matthew (1996). Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV. St. Martin's Press. p.143. ISBN 978-0-312-14436-4. When I did the audition for Tom, I was thinking what kind of a character would he be and I loved Tommy’s accent so I kind of used a bit of Monaghan… that’s kind of how I based the accent. Half Monaghan, half Tipperary.”Weinman, Jaime (December 8, 2008). "Why we still care who shot J.R." Macleans . Retrieved February 4, 2019. Every actor and crew member—even Hagman himself—was filmed shooting J.R. to keep secret the identity of the actual shooter. [7] International oddsmakers created a set of odds for the possible culprits: [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] J.R. himself stood at 20-to-1; given the character's reputation, it was not impossible he staged the shooting himself. His odds were later lowered to 15-to-1.

a b c d Robertson, Ed (March 21, 2005). "Ultimate cliffhanger: Who shot J.R.?". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011 . Retrieved April 7, 2012.The Talking Ted podcast is released on Friday with a new edition every fortnight. Read More Related Articles

In Larry Hagman's final episode of the 2012 sequel, Dallas, which aired on March 4, 2013, J.R. was shot again, this time fatally. In the 2013 season 2 finale it was revealed that J.R. asked Steve "Bum" Jones to shoot him so his "masterpiece" could play out, framing Cliff Barnes for his murder. [27] The main reason he had himself killed was because doctors told J.R. that he had only days to live; he was dying from cancer (as was actor Larry Hagman in real life). [27] In his letter to Bobby he reveals all of this and that he wanted to die helping his family end the Ewing–Barnes feud once and for all. As J.R.'s son John Ross said "The only person that could take down J.R.—was J.R." [27] He said: “It’s the one thing I get asked around the world is do I have the original t-shirt. Of course not,” he said laughing.I got quite a slating I remember in the Irish media because there was a previous sitcom in Ireland called Leave it To Mrs O’Brien… it wasn’t that well received, and they were kind of associating me to that. a b Corliss, Richard; Willwerth, James (August 11, 1980). "TV's Dallas: Whodunit?". Time. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013 . Retrieved September 1, 2010. In 2003, RTÉ approached Shortt to create a comedy series, Killinascully. [2] Shortt elaborated on his work with D'Unbelievables, again playing Dan Clancy and a number of other characters. The programme ran for five seasons, with six Christmas specials. It was a brilliant character. At the time myself and Jon had done a programme on Rte… it was made around Tom and Gerry – the two characters we both had – and I worked with Tommy McArdle who was a Director in Rte. He was from Monaghan.

In 2014 Shortt appeared in Episode 3, Season 2 of the Sky 1 programme Moone Boy. In the episode the main character Martin Moone and his friend Padraig float down the River Boyle on a raft. They land on an island in Lough Key where Shortt's character, the caretaker, entertains them and helps them to return to the mainland. J.R. Ewing was a villain on the series who regularly double-crossed business associates, plotted against his own family, called his wife Sue Ellen ( Linda Gray) a " slut", and had her committed to a sanatorium so he could take custody of their infant son John Ross. Essentially all the other characters on the show were suspects. [6] A House Divided". tv.com. CBS Interactive Inc. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020 . Retrieved March 21, 2014. Who shot J.R.?" was later spoofed in a 1995 The Simpsons episode entitled " Who Shot Mr. Burns?" which similarly provided many characters with motivation to kill Mr. Burns, and similarly ended on a cliffhanger. In the second part, it was revealed that Maggie Simpson had accidentally shot Mr. Burns in a struggle over a lollipop. Homer Simpson wears a shirt with the phrase "I shot J.R." written on it in the 1991 episode " I Married Marge". Who shot J.R.?" is an advertising catchphrase that American network CBS created in 1980 to promote the television series Dallas. [1] It referred to the fictional mystery surrounding a murder attempt against arch-villain J.R. Ewing ( Larry Hagman) in the show's third-season finale " A House Divided". The mystery and its catchphrase became a global phenomenon, with international odds-makers setting odds for the culprit. The mystery was not resolved until the fourth episode of the fourth season titled " Who Done It" which aired eight months later, with an estimated 83 million American viewers tuning in, one of the most watched television broadcasts of all time. The catchphrase has a strong legacy in pop culture and the format helped popularize the cliffhanger ending for television series. [2] Plot [ edit ]Shortt and his wife Caroline have two children. In 2020, he and his daughter Faye, an actress who trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, began creating sketches for social media. Faye Shortt subsequently co-wrote and performed in a sketch for RTÉ Does Comic Relief. Between 2020 and 2021, Pat and Faye Shortt co-wrote and performed two live stream shows, before going on tour with their live comedy show, "Well". In the final scene of the 1979–80 season, J.R. Ewing ( Larry Hagman) hears a noise outside his office, walks out to the corridor to look, and is shot twice by an unseen assailant. The episode, titled " A House Divided", was broadcast on March 21, 1980, [3] and was written by Rena Down and directed by Leonard Katzman. Viewers had to wait all summer to learn whether J.R. would survive, and which of his many enemies was responsible. [4] [5] Marilee Stone ( Fern Fitzgerald), a woman widowed when her husband committed suicide after J.R. swindled him in a bad investment, also at 16-to-1. The great success of this 1980 stunt helped popularize in the United States the practice of ending a television season with a cliffhanger. [23] In addition, the episode is credited with helping CNN, which began airing in June 1980, to get off the ground. [4]