And there's reality.
The distinction between the twain that shall never meet in a moment.
(CNN) -- Actor Larry Hagman, who created one of television's iconic villains with the treacherous J.R. Ewing of "Dallas," died Friday, according to a family statement. He was 81.
Hagman died at a Dallas hospital of complications from cancer, said the statement posted on Hagman's official web site early Saturday.
"Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most," it said.
"Larry's family and close friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday. When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones. It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for. The family requests privacy at this time."
Hagman shot to television superstardom in 1978 with the role of J.R. Ewing, the scheming Texas oil tycoon, in the prime-time soap opera "Dallas." He was the villain viewers loved to hate.
In 1980, the show became a mega-hit with the "Who Shot J.R.?" plot line that left Americans guessing who pulled the trigger.
The answer came on November 21, 1980, in an episode dubbed "Who Done It?." More than 350 million viewers tuned in around the world to find out Kristen Shepherd, the sister of J.R.'s wife, shot him. It remains one of the most watched television episodes in history.
Ewing survived that shooting, and Hagman and the rest of the cast thrived for 14 seasons total before bowing out in 1991.
He reprised the role for TNT's reboot of the series "Dallas" in June 2012. Hagman filmed appearances for the show's second season, which is set to air in January. (Like CNN, TNT is a division of Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting.)
It was a role he clearly reveled, even developing a trademark laugh for the character. At one point, Hagman made up fake $100 bills emblazoned with his face and the words "In Hagman We Trust" to hand out to fans.
In one of his final interviews on CNN, Hagman appeared alongside original "Dallas" cast members Linda Gray (Sue Ellen) and Patrick Duffy (Bobby) on "Piers Morgan Tonight."
During the interview, Morgan described the character of J.R. Ewing as "the dark dealer of evil scheming."
"Moi?" Hagman said, breaking into a wide smile.
In a statement released Friday by Gray's publicist to KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, the actress described Hagman as "my best friend for more than 35 years."
"He was the pied piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the full and the world was a brighter place because of him," the statement said.
Hagman told Morgan when he was first approached about doing the "Dallas" remake, the first question he asked: "Are my friends going to be on the show?"
"I wouldn't be doing it without them," he said.
Word of Hagman's passing spread quickly late Friday and early Saturday, with everybody from celebrities to fans mourning his death.
"He was a wonderful human being and an extremely gifted actor. We will be forever thankful that a whole new generation of people got to know and appreciate Larry through his performance as J.R. Ewing," TNT said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time."
Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on the cusp of the Great Depression to actress Mary Martin and Ben Hagman, a lawyer.
He spent a year at Bard College in New York and then embarked on a life in theater in Dallas and New York, according to his official website.
He appeared onstage with his mother in "South Pacific" in England and even produced and directed several shows while in the U.S. Air Force. After getting married and leaving the service, Hagman returned to the United States and starred in a number of Broadway plays.
His family then headed to Hollywood, where Hagman earned roles in such television shows as "The Edge of Night" and "The Defenders."
Hagman's breakthrough role came in 1965, when he played astronaut Maj. Tony Nelson, or "Master," as he was known to the scantily clad, 2,000-year-old genie played by Barbara Eden in the hit comedy, "I Dream of Jeannie."
"I can still remember, that first day on Zuma Beach with him, in the frigid cold. From that day for five more years, Larry was the center of so many fun, wild, shocking and, in retrospect, memorable moments that will remain in my heart forever," Eden said in a Facebook post on Friday, shortly after hearing of Hagman's death.
"...I, like many others, believed he had beat cancer and yet we are reminded that life is never guaranteed."
Eden signed off, simply: "Goodbye Larry. There was no one like you before and there will never be anyone like you again."
Hagman kept busy after the show went off the air in 1970, appearing in guest roles in "The Streets of San Francisco," "The Rockford Files" and "Barnaby Jones." In the 1990s, he starred in the television show "Orleans."
Off screen, his drinking earned him unwanted attention from the tabloids, which chronicled his battle with alcoholism.
In recent years, he went public with his wife's battle with Alzheimer's.
He also suffered several health scares, including a bout with cirrhosis and a 16-hour liver transplant in 1995 that helped save his life.
Last year, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer, but at the time, Hagman called it "a very common and treatable form."
He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter and five grandchildren.
While obviously poignant for those of us who were aware of Larry Hagman since back in the days his career first got started, his passing represents, of course, yet another mile marker on our own roads to the end of the line.
To younger folks, of course, the passing of an eighty year old actor whose main claim to fame came along long before they did will register little more than a blip on their radar.
Or touch screen smart phone, as it were.
There is, though, something about this passing I think both connects the generations.
And draws a very clear, equally poignant, even ironic distinction between them.
The aforementioned twain that shall never meet.
And, given that this passing comes from the world of celebrity, it's perhaps even more ironic that the distinction comes from the world of reality.
There can't help but be something to be said for a celebrity whose primary fame resulted from his being known, world wide, for the better part of forty years, as a selfish, shallow, self absorbed, self centered, manipulating opportunist who never missed an opportunity to take what he wanted, when he wanted, regardless of cost to fellow man or even humanity in general.
And yet, upon his passing, is being sincerely remembered as a good and decent man, loving and caring, genuinely concerned about people and their welfare, a class act combination of first class husband, father and friend.
That he was totally believable as J.R. Ewing, the aforementioned selfish, shallow, self absorbed, et al opportunist is a testament to the skills of Larry Hagman the actor.
That he is being celebrated today as a good and decent man, loving and caring father, husband and friend, et al, is a testament to the character of Larry Hagman the man.
In a culture that has seen "reality television", if not legally, then most assuredly morally, usurp quality drama, comedy and variety shows, the irony becomes even more obvious.
In the day, when we turned off the tube and went about our lives, we knew, without having to even consider it, that J.R. Ewing's selfish, shallow, self absorbed, self centered, manipulating opportunism was nothing more than an incomparable job of pretending by a good and decent man, loving and caring, genuinely concerned about people and their welfare, a class act combination of first class husband, father and friend.
Today, when we turn off the flatscreen and go about our lives, we know, without having to even consider it, that the selfish, shallow, self absorbed, self centered, manipulating opportunism we are witnessing is the real deal.
And that's really sad.
There's reality.
And there's reality.
One is clearly harsh.
The other is being celebrated today by friends and family of a class act combination of first class husband, father and friend.
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