Larry Hagman, who played J.R. the conniving, villainous head of the Ewing clan on the TV series Dallas, died today at a Dallas hospital, sources close to the actor told the Dallas Morning News. He was 81.

Here’s the really strange part:

Among those confirming the death were co-star Linda Gray’s agent, Jeffrey Lane, who said the actress was at Hagman’s bedside when he died. Lane said another co-star, Patrick Duffy, was also present.

Like what’s up with that?

He’s already filmed part of the second season of the Dallas revival. How are the producers ever going to replace him? No one could make you hate him like Larry Hagman.

Click the link above for the full obit at Deadline Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES — Legendary comedian Phyllis Diller has died. Diller died at her L.A. home, surrounded by family. She was 95.

Click the link above for the complete KTLA obit.

Click this link for the NPR Obit

William Windom, who won an Emmy Award playing an Everyman drawn from the pages of James Thurber but who may be best remembered for his roles on “Star Trek” and “Murder, She Wrote,” died on Thursday at his home in Woodacre, Calif., north of San Francisco. He was 88.

Click the link for the full NY Times obituary

In case you missed it, Bob Beckel slipped yet again on The Five and dropped the F-Bomb. TV Newser said, “It’s probably a good thing cable news content isn’t regulated by the FCC, otherwise Beckel would have generated enough indecency fines to put the network out of business.”

It was just a slip, but it says that whatever penalty FNC imposes for such slips just isn’t serious enough to get Beckel’s attention.

Judith Crist was a regular on the Today show from 1963 to 1973.

Click the link above for the complete LA Times obit (with a photo from the Today show era). The New York Times also has an extensive obit with a current photo.

The Playbill obit is one of the most extensive, listing Hamlisch’s accomplishments, but one it omits, as do all the rest, is that Hamlisch composed the original theme song for Good Morning America in 1975.

Click the link above for the complete Playbill obit.

The gaffes just keep coming from the Numbskull Broadcasting Company’s tape-delayed London Olympics coverage.

Read the full item at Deadline.com by clicking the link above.

Wow! That was excellent! I just saw the premier, and if you didn’t see it, it’s repeated on USA several more times this week. It’s worth checking out.

From Zap2it - Follow the link above for the full not-always-so-generous review:

“Political Animals” premieres Sunday, July 15 on USA, starring Sigourney Weaver as former First Lady, former Presidential candidate and current Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond.

How could anyone think they are worth $17 million for a year’s work on a one-hour tv show for 15-weeks work?

Jennifer Lopez says it was her choice to leave “American Idol” — but the singer was actually dumped by Fox when she asked for a $2 million raise in salary to $17 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told TheWrap.

Fox also opted not to pick up Steven Tyler’s option, the person said. Tyler announced his departure Thursday, saying he had decided to devote his energies to his first love, Aerosmith. Lopez said she wanted to focus on other aspects of her career and her children.

Click the link for the complete article.

Way to go, Nancy! This is #2.

A woman killed herself by setting herself on fire Saturday after she was the subject of a segment on the HLN program “Nancy Grace.” The woman, Toni Medrano, was charged with manslaughter last month over the death of her daughter, who she was accused of smothering after she passed out due to her drinking. Grace dubbed Medrano “Vodka Mom” on the segment, which aired June 11.

Medrano is the second woman to kill herself after being featured on a segment of Grace’s HLN show. In 2006, another mother that Grace accused of killing her child shot herself after she taped an interview with the HLN host. The family of that woman sued Grace and HLN for the death. The two sides would eventually settle.