Howard Hesseman(1940-2022)
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Howard Hesseman was a leading counter-culture figure since the late 1960s. He was a member of the improv group, "The Committee," for a decade in the 1960s/1970s. A character actor for many years on different television shows since the 1960s, he took small parts in The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Dragnet 1967 (1967), Soap (1977), and Sanford and Son (1972). The role that brought him to prominence was Howard Johnson in the cult classic Billy Jack (1971).
He was a frequent guest star on The Bob Newhart Show (1972) but would become best-known for his role on the classic series WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), as anti-disco hipster DJ "Dr. Johnny Fever". Also in the 1970s, he appeared in Ennemis comme avant (1975), Tunnelvision (1976), La Dernière Folie de Mel Brooks (1976) and Le bus en folie (1976). After the cancellation of WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), he went on to star as the husband of Ann Romano in Au fil des jours (1975). After that series was canceled, Hesseman starred in Spinal Tap (1984), Doctor Detroit (1983), Police Academy 2 : Au boulot ! (1985), Cluedo (1985), and Le vol du navigateur (1986).
He then starred as history teacher Charlie Moore in Sois prof et tais-toi (1986). He left that show in 1990 and appeared in a steady stream of television guest roles. In 1987, he appeared in Cheeseburger Film Sandwich (1987). In 1991, he starred in Rubin et Ed (1991). Afterward, he appeared in other films, including Gridlock'd (1997) (with Tupac Shakur). His work in later years concentrated mostly on television, where he took mostly small guest roles, in such shows as 70s show (1998), Les anges du bonheur (1994), The practice: Bobby Donnell & associés (1997), and Preuve à l'appui (2001).
He was a frequent guest star on The Bob Newhart Show (1972) but would become best-known for his role on the classic series WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), as anti-disco hipster DJ "Dr. Johnny Fever". Also in the 1970s, he appeared in Ennemis comme avant (1975), Tunnelvision (1976), La Dernière Folie de Mel Brooks (1976) and Le bus en folie (1976). After the cancellation of WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), he went on to star as the husband of Ann Romano in Au fil des jours (1975). After that series was canceled, Hesseman starred in Spinal Tap (1984), Doctor Detroit (1983), Police Academy 2 : Au boulot ! (1985), Cluedo (1985), and Le vol du navigateur (1986).
He then starred as history teacher Charlie Moore in Sois prof et tais-toi (1986). He left that show in 1990 and appeared in a steady stream of television guest roles. In 1987, he appeared in Cheeseburger Film Sandwich (1987). In 1991, he starred in Rubin et Ed (1991). Afterward, he appeared in other films, including Gridlock'd (1997) (with Tupac Shakur). His work in later years concentrated mostly on television, where he took mostly small guest roles, in such shows as 70s show (1998), Les anges du bonheur (1994), The practice: Bobby Donnell & associés (1997), and Preuve à l'appui (2001).
