By Breaking Celebrity News Staff

TV legend Larry Hagman delayed cancer treatment to continue – and that’s what cost him his life, according to the National Enquirer.

Hagman, who passed away on November 23 aged 81, filmed six of the 18 episodes planned for season 2 of the TNT series before he became too weak, says the report.

And it was all because he was desperate to continue playing villainous oil tycoon J.R. Ewing.

“Larry Hagman didn’t have to die!” a source close to Hagman told the Enquirer.

“He could have sought aggressive treatment earlier, but he was so determined to finish as many episodes of Dallas as he could that he hid his condition from producers and continued filming.

“He wanted to be J.R. to the very end.”

Award-winning writer Harry Hurt III, who was a close pal of Hagman, also unveils some startling revelations, including that the gutsy actor died of complications from leukemia – not from his battle with Stage 2 tongue cancer.