Larry Hagman, the actor who played the scheming Texas oilman on the long-running (1978-1991) television show “Dallas,” is reprising his role as J. R. in an advertising campaign to promote solar energy and SolarWorld, a German photovoltaic module maker.
“In the past, it was always about the oil,” Mr. Hagman says in a TV commercial that was unveiled Tuesday at the Intersolar conference in San Francisco.
“The oil was flowing and so was the money. Too dirty. I quit it years ago,” he growls as he saunters past a portrait of a grinning J. R. in younger days and a TV showing images of an offshore oil rig and blackened waters.
Putting on a 10-gallon hat, he heads outside into the sunshine and gazes at a solar array on the roof of the house. “But I’m still in the energy business,” he says. “There’s always a better alternative.”
“Shine, baby, shine,” he says, ending the spot with his trademark J. R. cackle.
In real life, Mr. Hagman, 78, lives on an estate in the Southern California town of Ojai, where he installed a 94-kilowatt solar system, thought to be the world’s largest residential array, several years ago. The rooftop system, which includes SolarWorld panels, cost $750,000, although Mr. Hagman said he received a $310,000 rebate.
“I’m a manufacturer of electricity,” Mr. Hagman said in an interview this week. “I use all that electricity and return the extra to the grid.” – from NYTimes