Linda Gray Recalls Peanut Butter Kiss With Larry Hagman During 'Dallas' Auction

Linda Gray feels ready to kiss and tell about her time on the set of "Dallas." The actress, best known for playing Sue Ellen Ewing, stepped into the spotlight again by teaming up with Julien's Auctions for a special sale called "Ladies of the '80s." This event goes live on August 12. Bidders will get a chance to own costumes, props, personal archives, and other rare memorabilia from some of the decade's most beloved television stars. Among the items up for grabs are two of Gray's original scripts from the episodes surrounding the infamous "Who Shot J.R.?" saga.

Ahead of the auction, Gray looked back on her years playing Sue Ellen, including the less-than-romantic kissing scenes she shared with her on-screen husband, Larry Hagman. Hagman died in 2012 at age 81. When asked about their first kiss, the actress told Fox News Digital that he had a mouthful of peanut butter. She thought, "Oh no." She had to keep going with the kiss while the camera didn't know what was happening. She almost killed him with it. She called him out for being so bad and very inappropriate. He just kept laughing because he thought it was funny.

Then there were the onions. The 85-year-old actress recalled kissing him with peanut butter, onions, or whatever else he could find in a jar. On camera, it looked pretty good, but that wasn't her reality at all. It certainly wasn't some romantic moment. Gray later discovered that Hagman wasn't a fan of on-screen kisses. Rather than endure the awkward moments, he turned them into practical jokes. He told her quite honestly that he didn't like kissing scenes. She thought they were going to be kissing a lot. When there was a scene, Larry would cringe. He did not like it. Gray believes the pranks were his way of getting over the anxiety of having to kiss her on camera.

The "Dallas" set was notorious for its practical jokes, and everyone got caught in the crossfire. It was a daily prank if you can imagine. You never knew who it was going to come from. But it was mainly Larry. He was the prankster. Gray remembers one episode where Sue Ellen was in the hospital. She was attached to all kinds of tubes on her wrists, arms, and nose. Larry came in to talk to Sue Ellen, but she wasn't speaking. That was great for Gray because she could react safely.

Larry sat beside the bed and started telling Sue Ellen how much he loved her using very soap opera dialogue. He said, "Oh, Sue Ellen!" Gray lay there with her eyes closed, rolling them underneath her eyelids. Then the door opened again. She thought someone new was in the scene she didn't know about. It was Patrick Duffy. He stood next to Larry and asked if he knew this was in the scene. Would it help if they sang that old song they used to sing? Larry said yes. The two of them started singing a very inappropriate song. Gray couldn't even repeat the words to you. She burst out laughing. The tube flew out of her nose. She was totally blindsided. She thought she had ruined the scene, but everyone just started laughing hysterically. That was just how it was every day.

Hagman's practical jokes were one thing. Facing Texas women in real life was another altogether. Gray recalled being at a Dallas hotel for an event. She went to the ladies' room to put on lipstick. Next to her was a lovely lady with a little Judith Leiber bag. The woman opened it to put on her lipstick. Gray glanced down and there was a gun in her purse. That was all she had in it: a gun and lipstick. Gray thought, "Oh boy, I'm in Texas. Who carries a gun around?" So she said, "Excuse me, is that a gun?" She admitted it was really stupid of her to ask, but the woman replied, "Of course, darling.

This is Texas!" The exclamation set the tone for Linda Gray's first trip to Dallas, a place she had never seen before in her entire life. Upon landing, everything looked beige and flat compared to California. She decided right then that she needed to know the women there. Where do wealthy Texans go? Neiman Marcus was the answer, specifically for hair appointments. That is exactly what she did. Gray saw huge hair unlike anything back home. These women dressed a certain way, their shoes were always very stylish, and yes, they carried guns in tiny evening bags.

Gray received a crash course on Texas high society during one unforgettable lunch. "One woman invited me to lunch, and she wore a special outfit just for it," Gray said. She noted that no friends in California would have done such a thing. During the meal, the host checked her watch and apologized, saying she had to leave immediately. Her excuse was that she had to go home to fluff and fold towels. Gray thought laundry at first. That was wrong. The woman had to fluff her hair, put on makeup, and transform into the version of herself her husband expected.

If learning those customs felt intimidating, keeping the show's biggest twist under wraps was terrifying. The "Dallas" Season 3 finale ended with one of television's most famous cliffhangers: J.R. was shot by an unseen gunman. Viewers waited eight months to find out not only who pulled the trigger but if he survived. Gray recalled that the writers were searching for a jaw-dropping way to end the season with a bang when one of them blurted out, "Let's just shoot the bastard." After a brief silence, everyone agreed: "What a great idea. We'll shoot him."

As "Who Shot J.R.?" became a worldwide obsession, Gray found herself fielding that question everywhere she went. This included an interview with David Hartman. "I was not very smart, but I said, 'Yes, I do,'" Gray recalled when asked whether she knew the shooter's identity. She added, "'I know, and one of my children knows.'" After that moment, she thought, "Oh my God, I just opened Pandora's box." She worried everyone would call her house. If one of her kids answered the phone and revealed who it was, everything would be over.

The moment the interview ended, Gray rushed to call home. She told her kids, "Somebody's going to call you, and they're going to ask you who shot J.R. You cannot answer." Her heart raced because the whole thing could have been ruined. Fortunately, nobody called. Decades after "Dallas" first captivated audiences, Gray said the memories were meant to be shared. "I don't look at it as letting these items go," she said about the auction. "I look at it as sharing. There are a lot of people who still feel very connected with the show. And it feels good to share.