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Actor Howard Hesseman Dead

Bummer. Fever was an iconic character for Hesseman. WKRP was a great show and very realistic for anyone who worked in Radio back then. The episode where the old people show up at the station to protest the format change to Rock & Roll was hilarious. One lady smashed the turntable. Fever says "I've killed a lot of Old people in my time and I'm not above doing it again". RIP...
 
I enjoyed "WKRP" and the later series.

I was more impressed with Mr. Moore on "Head of the Class", which was a great show.

He was also married to Ann Romano on "One Day at a Time".
 
WKRP was one of the minor players in getting me interested in a radio career and it was big on tv re runs in the 90s when i was in my early to mid teens.

On my Hits 106 KLMI Laramie, WY afternoon show for Monday, I pay tribute to Howard Hesseman in the 3pm hour by briefly talking about the show then saying "in honor of Dr Johnny fever, i just wanna say... (pause).. booger booger.. booger.. Howard Hesseman, the only character in that show to have been an actual radio DJ died over the weekend at the age of 81.."
 
WKRP was part of my radio awakening that made me realize "wait...that's a job?"

You get to play songs on the radio, be cool like Dr. Johnny Fever or Venus Flytrap, and you get PAID to do it? Sign me up! Spent 35 years in front of a microphone as a result.

Never said "booger" on the air, though. RIP Howard.
 
I also remember him in the movie "Dr. Detroit" opposite Dan Akroyd. Good actor and according to one article, playing Dr. Johnny Fever wasn't too far of a stretch for him. RIP.
 
Yeah, listen, we'd love to stand around and chat, but we've gotta... sit down in the lobby and wait for the limo. GREAT little line from Spinal Tap.
Your ride's here, Howard. RIP.
 
TV Land is showing a short tribute to Howard with a message and a still picture. I hope that Me TV will show some episodes of WKRP as a tribute.
 
tbolt909 said:
Bummer. Fever was an iconic character for Hesseman. WKRP was a great show and very realistic for anyone who worked in Radio back then.
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Huh? What radio station did you work at like that? Where they set the needle on the record live? Granted, it was a cute show, but hardly like real radio was at any era.
 
vchimpanzee said:
I just realized. The Bengals are going to the Super Bowl. Coincidence?
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seatownmedia said:
No
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Yeah, I can't see the Bengals getting into their huddle and saying "Guys, Howard Hesseman just passed away, and he had that great TV show in the late 70s and early 80s that was supposedly based in our team's town of Cincinnati. We just GOTTA do this for him! OK, Hesseman on three. Readyyyyy? BREAK!"
 
Kelly A said:
Huh? What radio station did you work at like that? Where they set the needle on the record live? Granted, it was a cute show, but hardly like real radio was at any era.
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Hugh Wilson created the show based on actual situations from Radio stations. I've known plenty of Herb Tarlek salesmen. Much of it was quite accurate...
 
tbolt909 said:
Hugh Wilson created the show based on actual situations from Radio stations. I've known plenty of Herb Tarlek salesmen. Much of it was quite accurate...
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As I said, every station at some time or another had a strange incident or a strange person on the staff. But those are rare. Yes, those were dramatized real incidents based on things that happened at one of hundreds of radio stations whose stories were written up for the show.

Most of the sellers that I have worked with were out to sell by helping their clients to sell. They were decent folks, not the stereotype that Herb Tarlek presented.

I can tell you about an overnight guy I had at HCFV. He thought there were trolls in the building, and he locked himself in the storage cabinet in his studio. One of the guys from one of my other stations noticed, and called. My OM and I showed up and we had to break down the cabinet to get him out, and a relative came to get him. Then we got a taxi driver to find us a bunch of cold beer from a late-night house of prostitution and we sat in the studio till 6 AM playing the hits and drinking beer.

See, that is a story. In 63 years, I have not had anything quite like that happen again. But I could have contributed one good story line to the show. And that is how they did WKRP.
 
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