Dallas fans stopped by Southfork Ranch this weekend to leave flowers in memory of Larry Hagman, who played the notorious oil tycoon J.R. Ewing.

Hagman died Friday in the city of Dallas, after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.

Southfork, which is the Ewing family home in both the original series Dallas as well as the new 2012 version, has been open for tours since the mid-1980s. More than 100,000 guests visit the ranch, located north of Dallas, annually.

Dallas fan Barbara Quinones of Albuquerque, N.M., was among who made the visit to Southfork on Saturday.

'We loved him because he was so ruthless...This is a sad day, but I'm glad we're here'

—Dallas fan Barbara Quinones

"We loved him because he was so ruthless," she said of Hagman's iconic character J.R. Ewing. "This is a sad day, but I'm glad we're here."

Peterborough, Ont., visitor Linda Sproule recalled watching the original Dallas, which ran from 1978 to 1991.

"I remember on Friday nights we watched it and J.R. was bigger than life in some ways," she said after taking the Southfork tour.

"This ranch is beautiful. Being here is kind of emotional in a way."

Southfork appears in exterior shots in the original Dallas, though the show wasn’t filmed there. The new Dallas uses the ranch as a film set.

J.R. Ewing’s room had a card for visitors to sign and flowers in memory of Hagman, who reprised his role as the ruthless oil baron in recent revival of the TV soap about rival members of the ambitious Ewing family.

Meanwhile, creators of the new series said fans can expect to see some scenes of Hagman in the upcoming season, which begins in January.

The screenwriters are incorporating Hagman's death into subsequent new episodes, producer said. However, no details were released.

"Larry Hagman was a giant, a larger-than-life personality whose iconic performance as J.R. Ewing will endure as one of the most indelible in entertainment history," Dallas executive producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael M. Robin said in a statement released Saturday.

"He truly loved portraying this globally recognized character and he leaves a legacy of entertainment, generosity and grace. Everyone at Warner Bros. and in the Dallas family is deeply saddened by Larry’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time."

Private, invitation-only services will be held for Hagman in Dallas and Los Angeles this week, according to his manager John Castonia.

With files from The Associated Press