ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280015
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SALT LAKE CITY
SOURCE: BOB MIMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
A year ago, a liver transplant snatched Larry Hagman from death's door - but not before the actor put one foot into what he has become convinced was the hereafter.
A 15-hour, $350,000 operation saved his life. But it was his ``spiritual'' experience that revitalized it, says the television star best known as the villainous Texas oil man J.R. Ewing on ``Dallas.''
``I was able to look over the edge. I got a little glimpse into what was the next step,'' says Hagman, in town to preside over the medals ceremonies at the U.S. Transplant Games at the University of Utah.
The 64-year-old grandfather of five and self-described former heavy drinker was suffering from advanced cirrhosis and cancer of the liver when he underwent surgery at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Aug. 23, 1995.
Sometime during the operation, or in the hours of recovery - he's not sure which - Hagman believes he brushed up against death.
``I didn't see a light some people see, but I had a wonderful feeling of bliss and warmth,'' says the son of Broadway star Mary Martin. ``The bottom line was love. That sounds so corny, [but] it was just lovely, uplifting.''
Hagman says it turned out he got two gifts when he underwent the surgeon's scalpel: a healthy liver and the inspiration to make the most of his new lease on life.
The past year has been a busy one, as he has tried to make each moment count. His summer has included hunting and fishing expeditions and a five-day stint on his Harley motorcycle in the Colorado 500. He's traveled extensively, too, angling in Oregon, visiting Europe twice and Texas a half-dozen times.
It was in the Lone Star State that Hagman revisited his J.R. character in filming a sequel to ``Dallas,'' a prime-time soap that ran from 1978 to 1991. The new two-hour CBS movie will air in November.
Since the transplant, Hagman also had a cameo role in Oliver Stone's ``Nixon,'' and most recently starred in the TV pilot ``Orleans.'' He will portray the patriarch of a powerful Southern family in that mid-season replacement series.
But it is off the screen where Hagman tries to repay some of the enormous debt he feels he owes. He has become a zealot for the organ donor cause, both in public and private.
In addition to being national spokesman for the National Kidney Foundation's transplant games, he volunteers at St. Vincent's Hospital in Los Angeles, consoling frightened patients.
``I counsel, encourage, meet them when they come in for their operations, and after,'' he says. ``I try to offer some solace, like `Don't be afraid, it will be a little uncomfortable for a brief time, but you'll be OK.' ''
While recovery from his own transplant has gone smoothly with no rejection episodes, Hagman still has his health hurdles. He remains a diabetic and, despite four years of sobriety, the specter of alcoholism is never far away.
``I was never a violent drunk or had blackouts, things like that,'' he says. ``But I stayed a little [inebriated] all day long. ... Toward the end, it got down to pure vodka with a little juice.''
A month ago, the old Hagman visited him in the night. The actor saw himself standing as an island in the swirl of a Hollywood party. Then came the horror.
``I looked down and I had an empty champagne glass in my hand,'' he says, anger slipping briefly into his voice. ``I thought, `What the [expletive] are you doing?!'
``I woke up, and I WANTED to wake up, too.''
Hagman was placed on Cedars-Sinai's transplant waiting list on July 19, 1995, after doctors discovered a tumor on his liver. He received his replacement organ about six weeks later.
He is convinced it was just luck, not celebrity, that surgeons found a match for him in time.
``You just go on the list as a number. I would hate to believe otherwise. It wouldn't be fair,'' he says.
``There are 46,000 people waiting around for livers [and other organs]. And there's so many livers kickin' around, if people would just sign those donor cards and make sure your loved ones agree to that.''
Hagman practices what he's been preaching. His California driver's license lists him as an organ donor.
``They can have whatever they want,'' he says with a laugh, then adds: ``Except for the liver. They don't do that twice.''
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB