8 Celebrities Who Fraternised With Dictators
4. Larry Hagman And Nicolae Ceaucescu
The Dictator: Nicolae Ceausescu, leader of Romania from 1967-1989 The Celebrity: Larry Hagman, star of TVs Dallas The Friendship: During the 80s, when Nicolae Ceausescus economic policies drove millions of Romanians to starvation, he and his wife Elena liked nothing better than to kick back and watch a few episodes of Dallas. So moved was Ceausescu by the assassination and subsequent revival of the villainous JR Ewing that he invited his portrayer, Larry Hagman, to the Socialist Republic. And therein lies a tale as unlikely as the average Dallas storyline. The dictator believed that Dallas was excellent anti-capitalist propaganda and wanted to erect a giant portrait of the actor in a public space to remind the proletariat of it. Hagman, presumably thinking it was all a dream, agreed, provided that a bag of money be left for his wife in a ladys toilet. In so doing, Ceausescu unwittingly brought about the end of his regime. At least according to the impartial observer, Larry Hagman. Hagmans reasoning was that Dallas, far from being seen as a critique of Western decadence, was embraced by oppressed Romanians as a vision of the life they could have. Eager to strut about in Stetsons and shoulder pads, said oppressed launched an uprising in 1989 that felled the dictator and utterly destroyed Romanias Communist Party. Or it might have had something to do with the crippling austerity measures and clampdown on internal dissent. Whatever. They say history is written by the victors- even if the victor is a man most famous for playing another man who got shot and wore a hat.