Dr. Johnny Fever Signs Off
• Actor Howard Hesseman portrayed a wide variety of characters over the course his lengthy television and movie career, but none more iconic — or important to a generation of impressionable wannabe radio guys like me — and probably you — than Dr. Johnny Fever, the grizzled, well-travelled morning jock on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1978-1982 and earned him two Emmy nomination\
We were saddened to learn that Hesseman died Saturday, Jan. 29 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles due to complications from colon surgery he had undergone last summer. He was 81 years old. Hesseman’s death was confirmed to Variety by his longtime rep Robbie Kass, who noted, “Howard was a groundbreaking talent and lifelong friend whose kindness and generosity was equaled by his influence and admiration to generations of actors and improvisational comedy throughout the world.”
Hesseman got his start in the industry as member of the San Francisco improv troupe The Committee. Interestingly, he also worked in radio for several years, using the air name “Don Sturdy.” Hesseman was also well-known for his starring role as Charlie Moore on ABC’s Head of the Class, and played Sam Royer on One Day at a Time during the show’s ninth and final season. His other television credits include The Andy Griffith Show, Dragnet, Soap, Sanford and Son, The Rockford Files, Laverne and Shirley, The Bob Newhart Show and three Saturday Night Live hosting gigs. He also had a small role in This Is Spinal Tap.
Michael McKean, who played Spinal Tap’s lead singer David St. Hubbins — and a friend of Hesseman for 50 years, tweeted, “Howard’s character in Spinal Tap didn’t even exist until 24 hours before the shoot: we’d discovered that the musician we’d hired to play Duke Fame couldn’t improvise, so Rob [Reiner] said let’s give him a manager. I’ll call Howard. He blitzed it, of course.”
Robbie Kass’ statement also noted that in his spare time Hesseman enjoyed swimming and gardening — “although not simultaneously.”
• Last summer, upon the passing of Frank Bonner, who played the plaid polyester-suited sales manager Herb Tarlek, we ran this photo which was sent to us by Tom Cuddy, PD of WOR/New York, who had fond memories of a WKRP Reunion Cruise for charity held in 1995, when he was VP of Programming at WPLJ/New York, that involved taking 300 listeners on a three-hour cruise on the Hudson River with four of the lead actors from the show.
Pictured, (l-r): Richard Sanders (“Les Nessman”); Howard Hesseman (“Dr. Johnny Fever”); Tom Cuddy (“Tom Cuddy”); Gary Sandy (“Andy Travis”); and Frank Bonner (“Herb Tarlek”)
