Who shot J.R.? was an advertising catch phrase that American network CBS created in 1980 to promote the television show Dallas. In the final scene of the 1979-1980 season, the character J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was shot by an unknown assailant.

The episode, titled A House Divided, was broadcast on March 21, 1980. Viewers had to wait all summer, and most of the autumn because of a Hollywood actors’ strike, to learn whether J.R. would survive, and which of his many enemies was responsible.

During the summer of 1980, the question “Who shot J.R.?” was asked in everyday conversations around the world. T-shirts printed with such references as “Who Shot J.R.?” and “I Shot J.R.” became common over the summer. Betting parlors worldwide took bets as to which one of the 10 or so principal characters had actually pulled the trigger. A session of the Turkish parliament was suspended to allow legislators a chance to get home in time to view the Dallas episode.

Ultimately, the person who pulled the trigger was revealed to be Kristin Shepard who was played by Mary Crosby in the “Who Done It?” episode which aired on November 21, 1980. Kristin was J.R.’s scheming sister-in-law and mistress, who shot him in a fit of anger.

The great success of this 1980 stunt helped usher in the practice of ending a television season with a cliffhanger.