Southeast Missouri State University - Sagamore Yearbook (Cape Girardeau, MO)

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America ' s favorite guessing game He ' s a sly and scheming scoundrel with an up-to-no-good grin, but J. R. Ewing of TV ' s Dallas enthralled millions of prime-time viewers who tuned in every Friday night to see the continuing saga of the Ewing family. Along with other Dallas fans from all over the world, many SEMO students found themselves wrapped up in the weekly adventures at the Southfork Ranch. Planning their Friday nights around the show, many students refused to do anything until after 10 p.m. on Friday evenings. Men as well as women were guilty of becoming caught up in the Dallas mania. Perhaps the mysterious guessing game of Who shot J.R.? helped to prompt the popularity and the impor- tance that the show played in the lives of many people. Dallas and J.R. Ewing became big business, as everything from I shot J. R. T-shirts to J. R. for President buttons to the novelty J. R. beer hit the market. After the eventful night of the shooting in March of 1980, Dallas has not been the same. The Dallas craze stretched out to people in more than 50 countries. In London, bookies laid odds on each character and their motive in the shooting, as thousands made bets on their favorite suspect. Major suspects included Sue Ellen Ewing, alcoholic wife of J. R. whom he was about to commit to a sanitarium; Alan Beam, a political wheeler-dealer whom J. R. was going to have charged with rape; Cliff Barnes, a constant rival of the Ewing family whom J. R. had cheated out of $500,000 in oil profits; and a whole host of other suspects. Producers of the show promised that the guilty person was a character that had been seen and that the suspect would have an unexpected motive. The mystery ended November 21 when America finally learned that Kristin Shepard, sister-in-law and ex-mistress to J. R., pulled the trigger which started the major controversy. Her motive — J. R. promised to marry her, but instead threatened to have her charged with prostitution and gave her 24 hours to get out of Dallas. Because her contract ran out only five weeks into the new season, many guessed that Kristin was the culprit, but the clever Dallas writers could not let America off that easily. The twist — Kristin was carrying J. R. ' s baby, so he refused to have her arrested. With 1980 an election year, Amer- icans had plenty to keep them guessing. While Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter liked to think they stole the 1980 spotlight, SEMO students knew better. With a sigh of relief, campaign ' 80 came to a close and students could get back to the vear ' s favorite guessing game — Who shot J. R.? NOT ONLY DOES HE exercise power over a major Dallas oil company, but J. R. Ewing of TV ' s Dallas also corners the market on many novelty items. Photo by John Learman. Student L 17

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16 J. R. Ewing by Tom Sawyer

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MARCHING DOWN BROADWA Y IN the chilly autumn air. the Golden Eagles perform a number for a dry Homecoming crowd. Most of the bars along Broadway were closed during the parade, and the city ' s new public drinking ordinance was strictly enforced. DURING THE HOMECOMING FOOTBALL game against Lincoln ' s Blue Tigers, Indian Ed Hotz prepares to punt. With a 57-3 victory for the Indians, the game broke the tribe ' s losing streak. ii w n I ' jI 1 1 ' I ' a P I Hw 1 ml ] 18 Homecoming