During the 1980s, when J. R. Ewing reinforced the stereotype of the Texas oil man as a conservative, unprincipled rogue on the long-running television series Dallas, another Texas oil man named J.R. - —in this case, J. R. Parten - —was quietly concluding a remarkable career that spanned most of the twentieth century. Although J. R. Parten shared some characteristics with the fictional J. R. Ewing - —he was a highly successful and tough-minded entrepreneur - —Parten was a quiet gentleman, loyal to his friends, and a man of honor and principle. Little known during his lifetime, he remains a relatively anonymous figure despite the fact that he played a number of historically significant roles in Texas and the nation, and counted numerous bigger-than-life characters as colleagues, associates, and friends: Huey Long, Sam Rayburn, John Henry Faulk, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Harry Truman, among others.