Jon-Erik Hexum (; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series ''

Voyagers! ''Voyagers!'' is an American science fiction television series about time travel that aired on NBC from October 3, 1982, to July 10, 1983, during the 1982–1983 season. The series starred Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. Opening narration Pl ...

'' and '' Cover Up'', and his supporting role as

Pat Trammell Patrick Lee Trammell (July 11, 1940 – December 10, 1968) was an American college football player. He played quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1958 to 1961. In his senior season, he led the 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide football team t ...

in the biopic '' The Bear''. He died by an accidental self-inflicted

blank cartridge A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a bl ...

gunshot to the head on the set of ''Cover Up''.

Life and career

Hexum was born in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, in 1957 to Thorleif Andreas Hexum, a Norwegian immigrant, and Gretha Olivia (Paulsen) Hexum, a

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

-born American of Norwegian parentage. He and his elder brother Gunnar were raised in

Tenafly Tenafly () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409, After graduating from Tenafly High School, Hexum went on to

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

to study

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

, and soon transferred to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in East Lansing. During that time, he worked as a radio disc jockey, played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for the

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, and acted in minor stage roles. A few days after graduation, he moved to New York in 1980 to pursue his acting career. While working as an apartment cleaner, he met Bob LeMond of LeMond/Zetter Management,

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

's manager. LeMond saw great potential in Hexum. At LeMond's urging, Hexum relocated to Los Angeles in September 1981 to audition for a movie called '' Summer Lovers''; he lost the part to Peter Gallagher. Hexum was soon cast in ''

'' as Phineas Bogg, the lead role on the new NBC series. ''Voyagers!'' aired during the 1982–83 television season, with Hexum's role earning him $10,000 a week. Hexum was then cast opposite

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

in the made-for-television movie ''

Making of a Male Model ''Making of a Male Model'' is a 1983 American made-for-television romantic drama film directed by Irving J. Moore and starring Joan Collins and Jon-Erik Hexum. It was produced by ABC and released on October 9, 1983. Plot Kay Dillon, a success ...

'', also starring Jeff Conaway and Roxie Roker. Hexum guest-starred in a 1984 episode of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's primetime drama ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

'', playing Prince Erik, a Prince Charming–type character. That same year Hexum played terminally ill

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, a small role in the feature film '' The Bear'', a tribute to

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

football coach

Paul "Bear" Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of t ...

, played by Gary Busey. ''The Bear'' would be Hexum's sole feature film performance, released just three weeks before his death. For the upcoming fall television season, Hexum was cast as Mac Harper, an undercover

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

operative posing as a male model, opposite co-star Jennifer O'Neill in ''Cover Up''.

Death

On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of '' Cover Up'' were filming the seventh episode of the series, "Golden Opportunity", on Stage 18 of the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

lot. One of the scenes filmed that day called for Hexum's character to load cartridges into a .44 Magnum handgun, so he was provided with a functional gun and blanks. When the scene did not play as the director wanted it to in the

master shot A master shot is a film recording of an entire dramatized scene, start to finish, from a camera angle that keeps all the players in view. It is often a long shot and can sometimes perform a double function as an establishing shot. Usually, the ma ...

, there was a delay in filming. Hexum became restless and impatient during the delay and began playing around to lighten the mood. He had unloaded all but one (blank) round, spun it, and—simulating Russian roulette—he put the

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

to his right

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and pulled the trigger, unaware of the danger. Some blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge. This wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough explosive force to cause death or serious injury if the weapon is fired within a few feet of the body, particularly at a vulnerable spot such as the temple or the eye. The paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull. However, the explosive effect of the muzzle blast caused enough blunt force trauma to

fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement i ...

-sized piece of his skull and propel this into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging. Hexum was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where he underwent five hours of surgery to repair his wounds. On October 18, aged 26, six days after the accident, Hexum was declared brain-dead. With his mother's permission, his body was flown to San Francisco on life support, where his heart was transplanted into a 36-year-old Las Vegas man at California Pacific Medical Center. Hexum's

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

s and

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

s were also donated: One cornea went to a 66-year-old man, the other to a young girl. One of the kidney recipients was a critically ill five-year-old boy, and the other was a 43-year-old grandmother of three who had waited eight years for a kidney. Skin that was donated was used to treat a -year-old boy with

third-degree burns A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

. Hexum's body was then flown back to Los Angeles. He was cremated at Grandview Crematory in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, and a private funeral was held. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean, near Malibu, California, by his mother. He left an estate estimated to be worth $255,000. The death was ruled accidental. His mother later received an out-of-court settlement from

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

and Glen A. Larson Productions, the production company behind ''Cover Up''. The episode on which Hexum had been working was broadcast on November 3, 1984, two weeks after his death. ''Cover Up'' continued production without Hexum's character. Three weeks later, in the episode "Writer's Block", aired on November 24,

Antony Hamilton Antony Hamilton Smith (4 May 1952 – 29 March 1995) was an English-Australian actor, model and dancer. Hamilton began his career as a ballet dancer with The Australian Ballet before becoming a model. He later transitioned into acting and won h ...

was introduced as agent Jack Striker, posing as a new member of the modeling team. Hexum's character Mac is noticeably absent, said to be on another mission. At the end of the episode, Henry Towler ( Richard Anderson) breaks the news that Mac has been killed on the other assignment and would not be coming back. As the tears flow, the camera pans back, and a memoriam written by Glen Larson appears on-screen:

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Dark Tube - TV's Wicked History: Jon-Erik HexumFansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hexum, Jon-Erik 1957 births 1984 deaths American male television actors American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from New Jersey Male models from New Jersey Michigan State Spartans football players Tenafly High School alumni People from Tenafly, New Jersey American people of Norwegian descent Accidental deaths in California Deaths by firearm in California Firearm accident victims in the United States Organ transplant donors

Life and career

Death

Filmography

See also

References

External links