actor comedian radio disc jockey
Howard Hesseman was born in Lebanon, Oregon, on February 27, 1940, to George Henry Hesseman and Edna Forster Hesseman. His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather, a police officer. He graduated from Silverton High School in 1958 and later attended the University of Oregon before moving to San Francisco, where he became involved in improvisational theater, underground radio, and the city’s countercultural performance scene.
Hesseman graduated from Silverton High School in 1958 and attended the University of Oregon in Eugene. While at the university he participated in acting, although he was not a drama major. After moving to San Francisco, he developed his professional career through improvisational theater and radio before establishing himself as a film and television actor.
Hesseman began his professional career in San Francisco’s improvisational theater scene. He became a member of The Committee, performing under the professional name Don Sturdy and working with a company whose politically satirical style helped shape his later comic performances. During the 1960s he also worked as a radio disc jockey at KMPX-FM in San Francisco, experience that later informed his best-known television role. He began appearing on television and in films in the late 1960s, including work on Dragnet, The Andy Griffith Show, and Petulia, and appeared with The Committee in the 1969 film A Session with the Committee and in Billy Jack in 1971. Through the 1970s he accumulated supporting roles in films and television programs, including The Bob Newhart Show, The Sunshine Boys, Shampoo, Silent Movie, and The Big Bus. From 1978 to 1982 he played the burned-out, counterculture disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, the performance for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He subsequently appeared in One Day at a Time and films including This Is Spinal Tap, Doctor Detroit, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, Clue, and Flight of the Navigator. From 1986 to 1990 he starred as history teacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class. He continued working in film and television, mainly in guest and supporting roles, through 2018.
Received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series for his portrayal of Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, in 1980 and 1981.
Established a sustained career as a film and television character actor, appearing in more than one hundred screen productions from the late 1960s through 2018.
This Is Spinal Tap
(Hesseman appeared in the ensemble cast of Rob Reiner’s mu...)
1984Billy Jack
(Hesseman, credited as Don Sturdy, played a drama teacher.)
1971Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
(Hesseman played Captain Pete Lassard.)
1985Flight of the Navigator
(Hesseman played Dr. Louis Faraday.)
1986Hesseman was a member of The Committee, the San Francisco improvisational comedy troupe with which he performed from the mid-1960s into the 1970s. He was also listed as a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Hesseman was married to actress Caroline Ducrocq from 1989 until his death. He was previously married, with that marriage ending in divorce. His parents were George Henry Hesseman and Edna Forster Hesseman.
