RIP: Doctor Johnny Fever, Howard Hessman, 81

[thewayne]

[Updated to add Rolling Stone and HuffPo links and some other info and refreshed the posting date]

Possibly his best known performance was as the amazing disc jockey on WKRP In Cincinnati on CBS from 1978 to 1982, Hessman appeared on a wide variety of shows and a few movies. He was also a stage performer before making his break on TV.

One show he appeared on that this People obit does not mention is Soap, a delightful comedy spoofing soap operas. In it he played a defense attorney brought in to defend the Tates against murder charges. It was a wonderful role. WKRP, like Soap, had some truly great writers.

I had forgotten about his role in Spinal Tap. Apparently the actor playing the rocker couldn't improvise, so they brought in Hessman. Good call.

He was taken from complications from colon surgery, I only hope it wasn't peritonitis. Hessmqn actually had colon cancer, and surgery from that.


https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/howard-hesseman-wkrp-in-cincinnati-head-of-the-class-dead-obit-1292607/

https://people.com/tv/howard-hesseman-dies-81-wkrp-in-cincinnati-actor-colon-surgery/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/howard-hesseman-star-of-wkrp-in-cincinnati-dies-at-81_n_61f6ee87e4b094ce54ac1e30

Comments

[kathmandu]

Coincidentally, Soap and WKRP are both shows I only recently discovered, watching with friends over Zoom as quarantimes entertainment. They are indeed funny and quirky, and I liked his Johnny Fever portrayal.

[thewayne]

While they are somewhat dated in style, I find they hold up pretty well.  I started re-watching Soap back in September after my mom died, it was something that we watched together so it was a nice memory rekindler. It's interesting seeing shows that don't have computers and portable phones. :-)