WKRP In Cincinnati Actor Howard Hesseman Dies At 81
Anyone in the radio business, should have heard of the TV show WKRP In Cincinnati. It ran for 4 seasons from 1978-1982. The actor known for the role of Dr Johnny Fever, Howard Hesseman has passed away at age 81.
This television show is a accurate depiction in my opinion on how radio stations work. There certainly are characters in radio that can be a wild as Johnny Fever. But this show also featured great music. If you like Rock and Roll. I hope the show ends up on a streaming services will pick up this show in reruns.
Hesseman died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles of complications from colon surgery he first had last summer, his wife, actress and acting teacher Caroline Ducrocq, told The Hollywood Reporter.
I was surprised to find out that Howard was an improv actor and a former radio DJ himself. Hesseman also was known for his stint as out-of-work actor turned history teacher Charlie Moore on the ABC comedy Head of the Class. This is another show I would like to see be picked up by a streaming service. I also enjoyed Howard when he was on That's 70's Show as a radio program director.
Hesseman received Emmy nominations in 1980 and ’81 for his work on CBS’ WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran for four seasons (1978-82). With his shades, moustache and slouch, he became a countercultural icon.
Hugh Wilson, a former sales executive at a Top 40 radio station who created WKRP (the fictional station’s call letters were a pun on “W-crap”), based the rock DJ on “a guy I knew in Atlanta called Skinny Bobby Harper,” he once said. “That was funny, because he was the morning guy, so Skinny had to get up at 4 in the morning to get in there. But he also loved being in the bars at night. He was like Fever.
The Hollywood Reporter did a nice write up on Howard and you can read that HERE. He will be missed. Thank you for Dr Johnny Fever, Howard. Give it to me straight. You were good, and very funny.