Mr. Hagman died at 4:20 p.m. Friday at Medical City Dallas Hospital after being diagnosed with cancer, according to the Morning News.

In a statement in 2011, he had said: "As J.R. I could get away with anything - bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer."

Hagman declined to specify what kind of cancer he's contracted, but said it's "a very common and treatable form." He continued working on a new reboot of "Dallas" for TNT.

The new "Dallas" focuses on the Ewing offspring as they clash over the future of the family dynasty. The original prime-time soap opera aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. Hagman underwent a liver transplant in the mid-1990s.

Said Hagman in 2011: "As we all know, you can't keep J.R. down!"

He was also on the 60s TV series "I Dream of Jeannie."

(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation with The Associated Press)