Dallas star Ken Kercheval dies

A representative for Ken Kercheval says the actor who played Cliff Barnes on the hit TV series Dallas has died aged 83.

Agent Jeff Fisher said Kercheval died on Sunday in the city of Clinton in his native Indiana.

The cause of death is being kept private by family, Mr Fisher said.

Kercheval’s character was a punching bag for Larry Hagman’s scheming oil baron JR Ewing on Dallas, which aired from 1978 to 1991.

Kercherval was also part of a series revival that aired in 2012 to 2014.

He made frequent guest appearances on TV, in series stretching from The Defenders in the 1960s to ER and Diagnosis Murder in the 1990s and 2000s.

Kercheval’s survivors include three children, his agent said.