Howard Hesseman
Encyclopedia
Howard Hesseman is an American
actor best known for playing disc jockey
Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati
and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class
.
, the son of Edna (née
Forster) and George Henry Hesseman. His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather, a policeman. Hesseman attended the University of Oregon
, and was later a founding member of the San Francisco-based improvisational comedy troupe The Committee
with fellow actor David Ogden Stiers
. Early in his acting career, he used the alias Don Sturdy, the name he also used as a radio DJ.
Hesseman is known for his role as anti-disco
disc jockey
John "Dr. Johnny Fever
" Caravella on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati
from 1978–1982, a role Hesseman prepared for by working as a DJ in San Francisco at KMPX-FM for several months. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1980 and 1981 for his portrayal of Fever. Hesseman is also remembered for his role as teacher Charlie Moore on the ABC series Head of the Class
from 1986 to 1990. He also played Sam Royer, the man who married Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin
) on One Day at a Time
.
Hesseman made several appearances as a member of the group therapy ensemble on The Bob Newhart Show
.
In 1995, Hesseman played the principal role of the Marquis de Sade
in Quills at the Geffen Playhouse
in Westwood, California, which included one scene in which he was fully naked. In 2001, Hesseman had a recurring role for three episodes of That '70s Show
. In 2006, he appeared in three episodes of the ABC television series Boston Legal
playing the unorthodox Judge Robert Thompson, as well as an episode of House
. During his appearance as Judge Thompson, Hesseman paid homage 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 on HBO's John From Cincinnati
. He has guest starred as an announcer at a horse track on Psych
, in the episode "And Down the Track Comes Murder." Hesseman guest-starred on the 2007 season premiere of NBC's ER
, playing a man tripping on magic mushrooms who may or may not have been an orthopedic doctor from another hospital.
Most recently, Hesseman starred in The Sunshine Boys
at the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas
, from September to November 2010.
, Billy Jack
, This Is Spinal Tap
, Doctor Detroit
, Private Lessons
, Rubin and Ed
, Flight of the Navigator
, About Schmidt
, Amazon Women on the Moon
and Police Academy 2
, Gridlock'd
, Out-of-Sync, Little Miss Millions
, The Diamond Trap, Inside Out, Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story, Heat
, My Chauffeur
, Clue
, The Princess Who Never Laughed, Silence of the Heart
, One Shoe Makes It Murder, Honky Tonk Freeway
, All About Steve
, The Great American Traffic Jam, Americathon
, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo
, The Big Bus
, Jackson County Jail, Tunnel Vision
, Shampoo
, The Sunshine Boys
, The Rocker
and Martian Child
. He voiced Munchie in the second sequel to Munchies
, Munchie Strikes Back.
He played a bit part
in two final season episodes of The Andy Griffith Show
. In the episode, "Sam for Town Council," Hesseman has an exchange with Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman
), who is running for town council against Sam Jones
played by Ken Berry
. Hesseman plays a character named Harry seen preparing fishing tackle outside a sporting goods store and complaining to Emmett how poor the fishing has been at a nearby fishing spot. Emmett promises to stock the pond with big perch
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, plays the Counterboy, serving hot dogs and root beers to Goober and his old trade school rival Roy Swanson, played by Noam Pitlik
, who later became better known as Mr. Gianelli on The Bob Newhart Show.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor best known for playing disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class
Head of the Class
Head of the Class is an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at the fictional Monroe High School in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore...
.
Early life
Hesseman was born in Lebanon, OregonLebanon, Oregon
Lebanon is a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States. Lebanon is located in northwest Oregon, southeast of Salem. The population was 12,950 at the 2000 census and the 2008 census data shows the population at 15,397.-Geography:...
, the son of Edna (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Forster) and George Henry Hesseman. His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather, a policeman. Hesseman attended the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, and was later a founding member of the San Francisco-based improvisational comedy troupe The Committee
The Committee (improv group)
The Committee is a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group founded by Alan Myerson and Jessica Myerson . The Myersons were both alums of The Second City in Chicago. The Committee opened April 10, 1963 at 622 Broadway in a 300 seat Cabaret theater that used to be an indoor bocce ball court...
with fellow actor David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
. Early in his acting career, he used the alias Don Sturdy, the name he also used as a radio DJ.
Career
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
John "Dr. Johnny Fever
Dr. Johnny Fever
Dr. Johnny Fever is an off-the-wall character and disc jockey on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. He was inspired by Atlanta DJ Skinny Bobby Harper...
" Caravella on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
from 1978–1982, a role Hesseman prepared for by working as a DJ in San Francisco at KMPX-FM for several months. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1980 and 1981 for his portrayal of Fever. Hesseman is also remembered for his role as teacher Charlie Moore on the ABC series Head of the Class
Head of the Class
Head of the Class is an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at the fictional Monroe High School in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore...
from 1986 to 1990. He also played Sam Royer, the man who married Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin
Bonnie Franklin
Bonnie Gail Franklin is an American actress, best known for her starring role in the television series One Day at a Time.-Personal life:...
) on One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
.
Hesseman made several appearances as a member of the group therapy ensemble on The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
.
In 1995, Hesseman played the principal role of the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
in Quills at the Geffen Playhouse
Geffen Playhouse
The Geffen Playhouse is a not for profit performing arts theater in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally named the Westwood Playhouse, UCLA purchased the property in 1993. UCLA's then chancellor, Charles E. Young, appointed Gil Cates Producing Director...
in Westwood, California, which included one scene in which he was fully naked. In 2001, Hesseman had a recurring role for three episodes of That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
. In 2006, he appeared in three episodes of the ABC television series Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
playing the unorthodox Judge Robert Thompson, as well as an episode of House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
. During his appearance as Judge Thompson, Hesseman paid homage 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 on HBO's John From Cincinnati
John from Cincinnati
John from Cincinnati is an American television drama, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California, that aired on HBO from June 10, 2007 to August 12, 2007. It is the result of a collaborative effort between writer/producer David Milch and author Kem Nunn, whose novels have been...
. He has guest starred as an announcer at a horse track on Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
, in the episode "And Down the Track Comes Murder." Hesseman guest-starred on the 2007 season premiere of NBC's ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, playing a man tripping on magic mushrooms who may or may not have been an orthopedic doctor from another hospital.
Most recently, Hesseman starred in The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
at the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
, from September to November 2010.
Film appearances
He has also appeared in numerous films, including Steelyard BluesSteelyard Blues
Steelyard Blues is a 1973 comedy crime film starring Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle. It concerns the lives of a group of misfits trying to find a happier life against the norms of society. Sutherland plays an ex-con with a passion for demolition derbies. He has wrecked almost every...
, Billy Jack
Billy Jack
Billy Jack is a 1971 action film. It is the second, and highest grossing, in a series of motion pictures centering on a character of the same name, played by Tom Laughlin who also directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in fall 1969, but the movie was not completed...
, This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
, Doctor Detroit
Doctor Detroit
Doctor Detroit is a 1983 comedy film, written by Bruce Jay Friedman, Robert Boris and Carl Gottlieb. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher, and Donna Dixon, with a special appearance by James Brown. The film was directed by Michael Pressman.James Brown performed...
, Private Lessons
Private Lessons (1981 film)
Private Lessons is the title of an American comedy film released in 1980. The film starred Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Eric Brown, and Ed Begley, Jr.The screenplay was written by Dan Greenburg, who wrote the original source novel, Philly...
, Rubin and Ed
Rubin and Ed
Rubin and Ed is an American independent comedy-buddy film written and directed by Trent Harris and released in 1991. It is about an eccentric, unsociable young man who is forced by his mother to make some friends before she'll return his stereo to him...
, Flight of the Navigator
Flight of the Navigator
Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 Disney science fiction film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker and Michael Burton, about a 12-year-old boy named David who is abducted by an alien space craft and finds himself caught in a world which has changed around him...
, About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...
, Amazon Women on the Moon
Amazon Women on the Moon
Amazon Women on the Moon is a 1987 American satirical comedy film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget movies on late-night television...
and Police Academy 2
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment is a 1985 comedy film directed by Jerry Paris. It is the first of six sequels in the Police Academy series.Many actors return from the first film to respectively reprise their roles...
, Gridlock'd
Gridlock'd
Gridlock'd is a 1995 crime dramedy starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, and Thandie Newton. It was the directorial debut of Vondie Curtis-Hall, who also wrote the story and screenplay. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it...
, Out-of-Sync, Little Miss Millions
Little Miss Millions
Little Miss Millions, also known as Home for Christmas is a 1993 comedy film. The film was directed by Jim Wynorski, who also contributed in writing...
, The Diamond Trap, Inside Out, Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story, Heat
Heat (1986 film)
Heat is a 1986 action-thriller film about an ex-mercenary working as a bodyguard in Las Vegas. The film was written by William Goldman, based on his novel. It was directed by Dick Richards and Jerry Jameson, and stars Burt Reynolds, Karen Young, and Peter MacNicol.-Plot summary:A woman in a Las...
, My Chauffeur
My Chauffeur
My Chauffeur is an American comedy film starring E. G. Marshall, Deborah Foreman, and Howard Hesseman. It was written and directed by David Beaird. The original music score was composed by Paul Hertzog. The film was released on January 24, 1986, and was marketed with the tagline "Some women will,...
, Clue
Clue (film)
Clue is a 1985 comedy mystery film based on the board game of the same name . The film is a murder mystery set in a Gothic Revival mansion, and is styled after Murder by Death and other various murder/dinner parties of mystery...
, The Princess Who Never Laughed, Silence of the Heart
Silence of the Heart
Silence of the Heart is a 1984 television family drama film written by Phil Penningroth and directed by Richard Michaels for CBS Television...
, One Shoe Makes It Murder, Honky Tonk Freeway
Honky Tonk Freeway
Honky Tonk Freeway is a UK comedy film directed by John Schlesinger. It was released in August 1981 by Universal Studios. The film, conceived and co-produced by Don Boyd, was one of the most expensive box office flops in history, losing its British backers Thorn-EMI an estimated $11,000,000 and...
, All About Steve
All About Steve
All About Steve is a 2009 American comedy film, directed by Phil Traill, which stars Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper. It is distributed by 20th Century Fox...
, The Great American Traffic Jam, Americathon
Americathon
Americathon is a 1979 American comedy film starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin, based on a play by Firesign Theatre alumni Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman...
, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo
Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo
Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo is a 1977 television horror film directed by Stuart Hagmann. The production stars Claude Akins, Charles Frank and Deborah Winters. Matthew Laborteaux and Pat Hingle costar...
, The Big Bus
The Big Bus
The Big Bus is a 1976 American James Frawley spoof comedy starring Stockard Channing and Joe Bologna. A spoof of most disaster movies popular at the time, it follows the maiden cross-country trip—New York to Denver, non-stop—of an enormous nuclear powered bus named Cyclops equipped with a bowling...
, Jackson County Jail, Tunnel Vision
Tunnel Vision (film)
Tunnel Vision is 1976 comedy anthology film featuring Roger Bowen, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Howard Hesseman, Joe Flaherty, Laraine Newman, Betty Thomas, Phil Proctor, Al Franken, Ron Silver, Tom Davis, Michael Overly. It was directed by Neal Israel and Bradley R...
, Shampoo
Shampoo (film)
Shampoo is a 1975 satirical film written by Robert Towne and directed by Hal Ashby. It stars Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn, with Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill and in an early film appearance, Carrie Fisher....
, The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys (film)
The Sunshine Boys is a 1975 comedy film directed by Herbert Ross and produced by Ray Stark, based on the play of the same name by Neil Simon. The cast included real-life experienced vaudevillian actor George Burns as Lewis, Walter Matthau as Clark, and Richard Benjamin as Ben, with Lee Meredith, F....
, The Rocker
The Rocker (film)
The Rocker is a 2008 American comedy directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone, Christina Applegate and Jason Sudeikis...
and Martian Child
Martian Child
Martian Child is a 2007 American comedy-drama film about a writer who adopts a strange young boy who believes himself to be from Mars. Martian Child was released on November 2, 2007. The film was directed by Menno Meyjes and produced by New Line Cinema. It stars John Cusack and Bobby Coleman...
. He voiced Munchie in the second sequel to Munchies
Munchies (film)
Munchies is a 1987 horror film starring Harvey Korman, Charlie Stratton, and Nadine Van der Velde. Clearly inspired by the success of Gremlins, and directed by that film's editor, Tina Hirsch, the film features a remarkably similar plot line. It spawned two sequels, Munchie and Munchie Strikes...
, Munchie Strikes Back.
Don Sturdy
Under the alias of Don Sturdy, Hesseman made some television appearances including one episode of Dragnet in 1968 in which he portrayed a hippie named Jesse Chaplin who was the editor of an underground newspaper. In this Dragnet episode, his character was a panelist on a TV opinion show opposite Sgt. Friday and Officer Gannon.He played a bit part
Bit part
A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue . In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes...
in two final season episodes of The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
. In the episode, "Sam for Town Council," Hesseman has an exchange with Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman
Paul Hartman
Paul Hartman was an American dancer, stage performer and television character actor.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, Hartman, like Fred Astaire, began performing as a dancer with his sister...
), who is running for town council against Sam Jones
Sam Jones
-Music & Entertainment:* Samuel Jones , U.S. bassist, cellist, and composer* Samuel Jones , U.S. composer, conductor* Sam Jones , character in Doctor Who spin-off novels* Sam J...
played by Ken Berry
Ken Berry
Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry is an American dancer, comedic actor and singer. He began on stage as a dancer and later starred in television sitcoms.-Life and career:...
. Hesseman plays a character named Harry seen preparing fishing tackle outside a sporting goods store and complaining to Emmett how poor the fishing has been at a nearby fishing spot. Emmett promises to stock the pond with big perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
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, plays the Counterboy, serving hot dogs and root beers to Goober and his old trade school rival Roy Swanson, played by Noam Pitlik
Noam Pitlik
Noam Pitlik was an American television director and actor. In 1979, Pitlik won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the ABC-TV sitcom Barney Miller.-Early life and career:...
, who later became better known as Mr. Gianelli on The Bob Newhart Show.