Howard Hesseman Passed Away!

Howard Hesseman passed away.

Best known for his roles as Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and Charlie Moore on Head of The Class, actor/director Howard Hesseman passed away at the age of 81.

Hesseman died in Los Angeles after complications from colon surgery last summer. His wife, Caroline Ducrocq told The Hollywood Reporter.

With the Cincinnati Bengals playing in the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chief, I would expect the team and city to honor Hesseman in some fashion.

His manager Robbie Kass confirmed the news to Variety.

"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."

Johnny Fever

Hesseman's groundbreaking role as Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati earned him two Emmy nominations. The sitcom ran on CBS from 1978 to 1982 and part of it in syndication.

"I think maybe Johnny smokes a little marijuana, drinks beer and wine, and maybe a little hard liquor," Hesseman said to The New York Times in 1979. "And on one of those hard mornings at the station, he might take what for many years was referred to as a diet pill. But be is a moderate user of soft drugs, specifically marijuana."

He also starred in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class in which he played Charlie Moore, an unemployed actor-turned history teacher to a set of gifted students. He would offer the class motivation and honest talk about life's issues.

Hesseman was born in Lebanon, Oregon in 1940. In 1965, he joined the improvisational comedy group, The Committee in San Francisco and performed for a decade. He also had small roles on The Andy Griffith Show, Dragnet, Soap and Sanford and Son.