John Ross "Jock" Ewing Sr. (1909–1982) is a fictional character in the American television series Dallas created by David Jacobs. Jock was played by Jim Davis in the show's first four seasons from 1978 to 1981, and as a young man by Dale Midkiff in the made-for-TV movie prequel The Early Years in 1986. Jock founded Ewing Oil in 1930 and was the patriarch of the Ewing family. Steve Forrest portrayed a character called Wes Parmalee who may or may not have actually been Jock who had survived the helicopter crash in 1982. The chopper crash storyline was necessitated by the death of Davis, but his body was never found, hence this storyline was played out in the prequel.