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Howard Hesseman
Hesseman in 2014
Born	(1940-02-27)February 27, 1940 Lebanon, Oregon, U.S.
Died	January 29, 2022(2022-01-29) (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	University of Oregon
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1968–2018
Known for	WKRP in Cincinnati Head of the Class
Spouses	Cаtherine Mаison ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1974)​ Caroline Ducrocq ​ (m. 1989)​

Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockeyDr. Johnny Fever onWKRP in Cincinnati and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore onHead of the Class. He appeared regularly on television and in film from the 1970s to 2010s, with his other noteworthy roles including Sam Royer (the husband of lead character Ann Romano) in the last two seasons ofOne Day at a Time and a supporting role as Captain Pete Lassard in the filmPolice Academy 2: Their First Assignment. (1985)

Hesseman was born inLebanon, Oregon, on February 27, 1940.^[1] His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather, a police officer.^[2] He graduated fromSilverton High School in 1958.^[1] Hesseman attended theUniversity of Oregon, and was later a founding member of the San Francisco-basedimprovisational comedy troupeThe Committee with fellow actorDavid Ogden Stiers. Early in his acting career, he used the alias Don Sturdy, the name he also used as a radio DJ^[2] on underground FM stationKMPX in San Francisco in the late 1960s.^[3]

Under the alias of Don Sturdy, Hesseman made his first television appearances, including the episode "Public Affairs: DR-07" of the showDragnet in 1968. He portrayed a hippie named Jesse Chaplin, the editor of an underground newspaper. In thisDragnet episode, his character was a panelist on a TV show opposite Sgt. Friday and Officer Gannon.

He played abit part in two final-season episodes ofThe Andy Griffith Show. In the episode "Sam for Town Council", Hesseman played a character named Harry, who has an exchange with Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman), who is running for town council againstSam Jones, played byKen Berry. Harry complains to Emmett how poor the fishing has been at a nearby fishing spot. Emmett promises to stock the pond with bigperch in exchange for Harry's vote. Harry agrees and wears a campaign button supporting Emmett in the race. In the episode "Goober Goes to an Auto Show", Hesseman, also credited as Don Sturdy, played the counter boy, serving hot dogs and root beers to Goober and his old trade-school rival Roy Swanson, played byNoam Pitlik.

On July 18, 1969, he appeared with the improvisational comedy group The Committee in several sketches onThe Dick Cavett Show, including one with guestJanis Joplin. Hesseman also appeared in a number of skits as part of The Committee in the 1971 classic filmBilly Jack.

Hesseman made several appearances as Mr. Plager, a member of the group therapy ensemble onThe Bob Newhart Show; Mr. Plager eventually came out asgay. Hesseman became a playwright in the sixth season of the show, writing a play about the characters in the group. In several other episodes ofThe Bob Newhart Show, Hesseman's voice can be heard as a TV announcer.

Hesseman is best known for his role as DJ John "Dr. Johnny Fever" Caravella on the television sitcomWKRP in Cincinnati from 1978 to 1982, a role Hesseman prepared for by working as a DJ in San Francisco atKMPX-FM for several months. He was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1980 and 1981 for his portrayal of Fever. He reprised the role in nine episodes ofThe New WKRP in Cincinnati, and also directed several episodes of the 1991-93 series revival.

He portrayed Sam Royer, the man who married Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) on the sitcomOne Day at a Time from 1982 to 1984.

In 1986, he appeared in the Disney filmFlight of the Navigator as NASA research facility scientist Dr. Louis Faraday.

Hesseman played teacher Charlie Moore on the ABC seriesHead of the Class for four seasons from 1986 to 1990.^[4]

In 1994, Hesseman introduced lost footage of Janis Joplin in a documentary onWoodstock. He made three appearances onSaturday Night Live, one in which he paid tribute to, and told jokes about, the recently deceasedJohn Belushi and the other in which NBC showed a picture of U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan, which Hessemanmooned off-camera. He also encouraged the viewing audience to moon the picture and send pictures in to NBC.^{[citation needed]} In 1995, Hesseman played the role of theMarquis de Sade inQuills at theGeffen Playhouse inWestwood, California, which included one scene in which he was fully naked. In 2001, Hesseman had a role on three episodes ofThat '70s Show.

In 2006, he played the unorthodox Judge Robert Thompson in three episodes ofBoston Legal, and also appeared in an episode ofHouse. During his appearance as Judge Thompson, Hesseman paidhomage to his role as a teacher in his earlier ABC series by hearing a court case while sitting atop the judge's bench, just as the character of Mr. Moore taught his class atop his desk. In 2007, he played The Chemist onHBO'sJohn From Cincinnati. He guest-starred as an announcer at a horse track onPsych, in the episode "And Down the Stretch Comes Murder.” Hesseman guest-starred on the 2007 season premiere of NBC'sER, playing a man tripping onmagic mushrooms who may or may not have been anorthopedist from another hospital. Hesseman starred inThe Sunshine Boys at the New Theatre Restaurant inOverland Park, Kansas, from September to November 2010. In February 2011, he portrayed Dr. Elliot D. Aden in the 11th-seasonCSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Dead.” Dr. Aden was head of Department of Defense project called Stonewall at WLVU, which did research in fringe psychological concepts such asextrasensory perception andout-of-body experiences.

Hesseman was married to Cаtherine Mаison from 1965 until 1974.^[5] He was later married for 33 years to actress Caroline Ducrocq. He died from complications ofcolorectal surgery in Los Angeles, California, on January 29, 2022, at age 81.^[6]

• Howard Hesseman atIMDb 
• Howard Hesseman at theInternet Broadway Database
• Howard Hesseman discography atDiscogs

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