Jock Ewing

John Ross "Jock" Ewing Sr. (1909–1982) is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas created by David Jacobs.

Jock was played by Jim Davis in the show's first four seasons from 1978 to 1981, and as a young man by Dale Midkiff in the made-for-TV movie prequel The Early Years in 1986.

Digger had a unique ability to smell oil underground and with Jock's business skills they began making a fortune.

Jason eventually left Texas to wildcat in Alaska, marrying a woman named Nancy Shaw, with whom he had a son, Jack, and a daughter, Jamie.

Jock served in World War II, where he and an old army buddy, Tom Mallory, were shot down in a mission in Holland.

During his term in Britain, Jock had an affair with an Army nurse from Emporia, Kansas, named Margaret Hunter.

Jock came to heavily rely on J.R. in the management of Ewing Oil giving J.R. "the fever for big business" but "never taught him when to stop".

Jock, for the most part, ignored his second son Gary, whom Jock considered weak and lacking the Ewing character, as Gary ran away from responsibility, began drinking excessively to handle the pressures of being a teenage husband and father and couldn't stand up to J.R.'s bullying.

However, Bobby was often emotional, short-tempered and lacked the intelligence, drive, and focus to succeed in the oil business preferring football, women, ranching and enjoying the social benefits of being a Ewing, which was earned by the hard work of Jock and J.R.

While flying back from Venezuela to Texas, the helicopter Jock was in collided with a small plane and crashed into a lake.

In a storyline during the 1986–87 season of the show, a man named Wes Parmalee (portrayed by Steve Forrest) came to Dallas, where Clayton and Ray hired him as ranch foreman on Southfork.

Wes then claimed to be Jock Ewing, and that he had survived the helicopter accident, which necessitated plastic surgery and rehab in a South American hospital.

Bobby flew down and talked with the doctor who had treated Jock for a severe fever while he was in South America.

Ultimately, viewer reaction to this storyline was mixed but not favorable, as Miss Ellie had found happiness with her re-marriage to Clayton Farlow (Howard Keel) and that the actor contracted to play Wes/Jock, Steve Forrest (then at 61), was sixteen years younger than his predecessor, Jim Davis.

Despite dyeing Forrest's hair white to make him look older (similar to Jim Davis), the Lorimar producers reluctantly yielded to viewers and reneged on the original outcome of the storyline, which would have restored the character of Jock Ewing back on the show.

After Jim Davis' death, artist Ro Kim painted a portrait of the actor in his role as Jock Ewing.

[2] The painting hung in the home of Dallas star Larry Hagman, who played antagonist J.R. Ewing for many years until he decided to sell the portrait at auction in spring 2011.