Who shot J.R.?

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Who shot J.R.? was a media-manufactured open question in 1980. In the CBS television series Dallas, the character of J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was shot by an unknown assailant in the final scene of its 1979-1980 season, which aired on March 21, 1980 and was entitled A House Divided.

Viewers had to wait all summer, and most of the fall due to a Hollywood actors' strike, to learn whether J.R. would survive, and which of his many enemies was responsible.

During the summer of 1980, the question, "Who shot J.R.?", was asked in everyday conversations across America and worldwide. T-shirts printed with such references as "Who Shot J.R.?" and "I Shot J.R.!" became common over the summer.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ultimately, the person who pulled the trigger was revealed to be the character of Kristin Shepard (played by Mary Crosby) in the "Who Done It?" episode which aired on November 21, 1980. Kristin was J.R.'s scheming sister-in-law and mistress, who shot him in a fit of anger.

Spoilers end here.

It was, at the time, the highest rated television episode in US history. It now sits second on the list, beaten in 1983 by the final episode of M*A*S*H.

The great success of this 1980 stunt helped usher in the practice of ending a television season with a cliffhanger.

[edit] Trivia

  • A session of the Turkish parliament was even suspended to allow legislators a chance to get home in time to view the Dallas episode.
  • Betting parlors worldwide took in massive amounts of money. People were placing bets as to which one of the 10 or so principal characters had actually pulled the trigger that shot J.R.
  • Security was tightened at the Lorimar studios where Dallas was filmed.
  • The episode was written by Loraine Despres, now a novellist and author of The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc and The Bad Behaviour of Belle Cantrelle as well as a companion book The Southern Belle's Handbook.

[edit] In popular culture

  • The TV series The Simpsons has made several references to "Who shot J.R.?", such as:
    • Homer watching the "Who Done It?" episode and responding with shock when it is revealed.
    • In I Married Marge , Homer gets very angry and rips off his trademark white shirt, from which underneath it is another white shirt with I Shot J.R. written on it.
    • There is a mock of "Who Shot J.R." in the two-part episode Who Shot Mr. Burns? when Homer's boss (Montgomery Burns) is shot in a cliff-hanger episode to end Season 6. The Season 7 opener reveals the assailant to be Maggie Simpson.
  • In the TV series Friends when Chandler was becoming used to being unemployed, we see him watching the scene in which J.R. was shot. He is shocked and begins to ask loudly to no one "Who Shot J.R.? Who Shot J.R.?"
  • In Father Ted, unstable Craggy Islander Tom always wears an "I shot J.R." t-shirt (presumably over 15 years old by the show's 1996 debut).
  • In Eastenders there was a version done entitled "Who shot Phil?"
  • In an apparent tribute to "Who Shot J.R?", the second season of House ends with House being shot, apparently by the husband of a former patient.
  • British comedy folk band The Wurzels had a hit single in 1980 with a song entitled 'I Shot JR'.
  • The Jeffersons lampooned the "Who Shot J.R." coverage in an episode where Florence submitted a script for a contest.
  • In the South Park episode "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut," the episode begins with a voice-over announcer asking, "Who is Cartman's Father?" which was the cliffhanging question from "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut." In the beginning of the episode, Mephesto is shot, leading the voice-over to ask "Who shot Mephesto?" The episode continues with the voice-over announcer asking similar "who..." questions based on various events in the episode.
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