'WKRP in Cincinnati' star Howard Hesseman dies at 81

A familiar face on television for 50 years, actor Howard Hesseman, has passed away.

Although born in Oregon, Hesseman is best known to audiences as Dr. Johnny Fever, the off-kilter morning DJ on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” The role gained him two Emmy nominations after more than a decade as a working actor.

Hesseman’s career began in the 1960s with the groundbreaking improv group, The Committee. In the ‘70s, he had a recurring role as one of television’s first openly gay characters on “The Bob Newhart Show.” And in the ‘80s he starred in two more hit sitcoms, “One Day at a Time” and “Head of the Class.”

His friend and “WKRP” co-star Gary Sandy confirmed the death on social media, writing, “I loved the guy.”

Michael McKean, who included Hesseman in 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap," remembered his friend on Twitter:

Howard Hesseman was 81.

When "WKRP in Cincinnati" was finally released on DVD, we took a look at what the show meant to Ohioans.

This part of the story was originally published on October 28, 2014:

Fans have clamored for years to have “WKRP in Cincinnati” released on DVD – with the original music intact. The 1970s sitcom finally comes out today and the set should bring back memories for music fans, TV fans and Ohioans.

On September 18, 1978, CBS premiered a sitcom about a struggling rock station in southwest Ohio. It came from the same company which had produced classics like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Lou Grant.”

Fresh Air’s David Bianculli, who also runs TVWorthWatching.com, was the Akron Beacon Journal’s TV critic during WKRP’s later years. He remembers -- even in Akron -- a level of pride that a show was set in Ohio. And he says nationally, WKRP’s reputation for quality was well-earned.

“You had a boss who was a buffoon and the underling who was a lot sharper. And you had a couple of rebels on the staff and a couple of sexy people. You had all this nonsense. It’s not that much of a leap between Les Nessman, on one side, being super-serious about the news, [to] Ted Baxter being incapable of being serious about the news.”

An unusual setting

Before Cincinnati became the setting for WKRP, very few shows were set in Ohio.

“It’s a Man’s World” ran for four glorious months in the early 60s, set in fictional Cordella, Ohio. “Miss Susan” ran for nine months in 1951. And “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” -- on which Howard Hesseman had a recurring role -- was a syndicated cult classic in the mid-70s.

Hesseman began his career as a member of The Commitee, a groundbreaking improv troupe. Here, he appears in a sketch with Cleveland-native, Mel Stewart.

No respect

"WKRP" was cancelled in 1982, following years of hop-scotching the schedule and seemingly being unloved by the network and production company. That’s not to say the show didn’t have its devoted fans, like Sean Sweeney, who grew up in Cincinnati but now lives near Cleveland.

“I thought it was very cool. I had a swell of pride in my chest, especially the beginning when they had the song playing and they showed Fountain Square. And they also showed the Cut in the Hill coming down out of Kentucky. It was beautiful.”

Even though the show was filmed in Hollywood, the writers did their best to connect with current events in Cincinnati.

There was an episode in which recently fired Reds’ Manager Sparky Anderson was hired to host a call-in show. He was awful. “I must be nuts; every time I come into this town, I get fired!” he said.

Another episode had station manager Mr. Carlson lamenting the dismantling of the Big Red Machine.

Carlson: “This is like losing Pete Rose.”

Jennifer: “Mr. Carlson, Pete’s gone. But life must go on.”

Carlson: “But Philadelphia? Why Philadelphia?!”

Art vs. life

A year later, real tragedy struck the Queen City, when 11 people were trampled to death at a concert by The Who. That became the backdrop for an episode about festival seating, which was soon outlawed.

In the years after WKRP left the air, its reruns became hugely profitable. At one point in the early 90s, they ranked with syndicated fare such as “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.”

But the show’s original music licenses ran out, and whole scenes which depended on music by Elton John or Foreigner had to be excised -- or badly re-dubbed for home video. Now, most of that has been restored. TV critic David Bianculli says “'WKRP in Cincinnati' is one of the last really sought-after, high-quality sitcoms that was MIA due to music rights.

“They did such a good job introducing the characters there. Especially the ones that would break-out quickly, [like] Howard Hesseman as Johnny Fever. They did their stuff right in that very first episode.”

Bianculli’s favorite WKRP episode is its most famous: the Thanksgiving installment that ended with the immortal line, "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

Copyright 2022 WKSU. To see more, visit WKSU.