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‘Dallas’ Star Dies

Apr 24, 2019  •  Post A Comment

One of the stars of the classic prime-time soap opera “Dallas,” which was a ratings juggernaut during its 14-season run on CBS from 1978-1991, has died. Ken Kercheval, who played oil baron Cliff Barnes on the series, died Sunday of pneumonia, according to media reports. He was 83.

Kercheval, whose character was an often bitter rival to Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing, was the only star of the series besides Hagman to appear throughout the show’s entire 14-season run.

Kercheval reprised the role of Barnes in a number of “Dallas” reunions and revivals, most recently in a TNT reboot that ran from 2012-2014.

Kercheval had a long and active career on the small screen, including multiple roles on “The Defenders” in the 1960s. His many later guest appearances included “Kojak,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “ER” and “Crossing Jordan.”

He survived lung cancer, having part of a lung removed in 1994.

Here’s a clip in which old enemies Cliff and J.R. meet up again after not running into each other in more than 20 years …

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