By Laura Fries, ReMIND Magazine
If you’ve ever wondered whatever became of Howard Hesseman, a.k.a. Dr. Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati, he’s still just as snarky as ever, and the series can be viewed on MeTV. The show that made Hesseman a star, however, was not an instant ratings hit. During its four-year run on network TV (1978-82), the show garnered mediocre Nielsen numbers and subsequently bounced around the schedule on CBS before it was canceled.
The comedy found new life in syndication and more recently on MeTV. But WKRP is just one show in which you can spot this actor. He had bit parts in The Andy Griffith Show, Dragnet 1967, Soap, Sanford and Son and The Bob Newhart Show. For four years, he was known to viewers as Mr. Moore in Head of the Class.
Hesseman originally showed up to the WKRP auditions to read for the role of Herb Tarlek, the station’s sleazy sales manager. But Hesseman had actually worked as a DJ at KMPX-FM in San Francisco for several months, so he told the producers he wanted to play Johnny and nothing else. The gamble paid off. So did his training as a member of the improvisational group the Committee. Hesseman told an enthusiastic crowd at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention that sometimes total rewrites would come in on the final Friday of filming. “It’s weird to have your lines change,” he said. “It’s even weirder when someone else’s lines change. There were two writers from Second City. I felt a kinship with them. Their style was very improvisational.” Hesseman and costar Jan Smithers had the crowd laughing, but ReMIND magazine caught up with Hesseman, and he was as glib and cool as ever.
Would Johnny Fever, if he were still active today, have a blog or a podcast?
I have no idea, as I have neither of those things nor toy with the idea of having those things. I doubt it. He’s too old school.
Would we see him at Coachella or Burning Man?
You might, but I doubt he would know he was there.
Your first role on Dragnet 1967 was a hippie, Johnny was a hippie — do you identify with that?
No, I’m an actor. I got cast that way.
What would be your top 10 desert island classics?
Ooh. So many choices. Some Miles Davis, some Thelonious Monk. Coltrane, Duke Ellington, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Billie Holiday. Just 10 would be hard.
Are there any TV or film projects that you would like to be involved in today?
Any that would want me.
Have you ever been to Cincinnati? They would probably build a monument to the show.
I was in Cincinnati once in 1973, five years before the show, and haven’t been back. There must be better things they can spend their money on.
Many people tell you that they got into radio because of this show. What do you say to them?
My condolences. [Laughs] Radio was and is a hard way to make a living. But radio really sparks the imagination. At least it did back in the day. Everyone has a favorite personality, DJ, that they remember and associate with certain songs.
Fans may want to take note: Because of music licensing issues, reruns of the show now feature sound-alike knockoffs of rock ‘n’ roll classics, shortened scenes and some choppy voice-overs. While that may not seem like a big deal to some, the music was an important part of the show. In fact, the band Blondie credits WKRP‘s use of its song “Heart of Glass” with its status as a hit — so much so that one of the band’s gold records is seen in later seasons hanging on the set. Most of the original music is included in the 2014 Shout! Factory 13-disc DVD boxed set.
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