Jon-Erik Hexum
Jon-Erik Hexum | |
---|---|
Born | November 5, 1957 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | October 18, 1984 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 26)
Cause of death | Accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound |
Occupation(s) | Actor, model |
Years active | 1982–1984 |
Jon-Erik Hexum (/ˈhɛksəm/; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series Voyagers! and Cover Up, and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic The Bear. He died by an accidental self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot to the head on the set of Cover Up.[1] He was seen as the "next big thing" in Hollywood prior to his death, due to his looks, charisma, and ambition.[2][3][4]
Life and career
Hexum was born in Englewood, New Jersey in 1957, to Thorleif Andreas Hexum, a Norwegian immigrant, and Gretha Olivia (née Paulsen) Hexum, a Minnesota-born American of Norwegian parentage.[5] He and his elder brother Gunnar were raised in Tenafly by their mother after their parents divorced when Hexum was four.[6]
After graduating from Tenafly High School, Hexum went on to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to study biomedical engineering,[7] and soon transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing. During that time, he worked as a radio disc jockey, played football for the Spartans in 1978, and acted in minor stage roles.[8]
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's manager. LeMond saw great potential in Hexum.[9] 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.
However, Hexum did win the lead role in the 1982-1983 NBC TV series Voyagers! as Phineas Bogg, a former pirate turned time traveler.[10] Hexum was then cast opposite Joan Collins in the made-for-television movie Making of a Male Model, also starring Jeff Conaway and Roxie Roker.[9]
Hexum was a guest star in a 1984 episode of
Death
On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of
The explosive effect of the
Hexum was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where he underwent five hours of surgery to repair his wounds.[1][13] 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.[14] Hexum's kidneys and corneas 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 3+1⁄2-year-old boy with third-degree burns.[15]
Hexum's body was then flown back to Los Angeles. He was cremated at
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 was introduced as agent Jack Striker, posing as a new member of the modeling team.[17] 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.[18] As the tears flow, the camera pulls back, and a memoriam written by Glen Larson appears on-screen:
When a star dies, its light continues to shine across the universe for millenniums. John Eric [sic] Hexum died in October of this year ... but the lives he touched will continue to be brightened by his light ... forever ... and ever.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982–1983 | Voyagers! | Phineas Bogg | 20 episodes |
1983 | Voyager from the Unknown | Phineas Bogg | Edit of episodes 1 and 15 of the TV Series Voyagers! |
1983 | Making of a Male Model | Tyler Burnett | Television movie |
1984 | Hotel
|
Prince Erik | Episode: "Tomorrows" |
1984 | The Bear | Pat Trammell | |
1984 | Cover Up | Mac Harper | 8 episodes |
See also
- The Captive – 1915 film during which Charles Chandler was fatally shot with a rifle
- Rust shooting incident and Halyna Hutchins
- Brandon Lee
- List of film and television accidents
References
- ^ Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. October 14, 1984. p. 9A.
- ISBN 978-0-7407-5118-9.
- OCLC 173241129.
- ISBN 978-0983629948.
- ^ "Thorleif Hexum". My Heritage. 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
- ^ a b c "Jon-Erik Hexum's Fatal Joke". Entertainment Weekly. October 14, 1994. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Plummer, William (October 29, 1984). "A Bright, Brief Star: A Tragic On-Set Accident Ends the Sweet, Promising Career of Jon-Erik Hexum, a Nice Guy on His Way to Finishing First". People. Accessed October 9, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-8092-2227-8.
- ^ a b Wallace, David (October 11, 1983). "On and Off Camera, Joan Collins Helps in the Making of Male Model Jon-Erik Hexum". People. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ a b Russell, Sue (November 1984). "Jon-Erik Hexum: Exploring Hunk Hexum, the Sexiest Shape on America's Small Screens". Playgirl. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
- ^ The Million Dollar Voice Of Nickelodeon | From Broke To $30,000 Per Hour, retrieved 2023-08-15
- ISBN 978-0-7119-9512-3. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
- ^ a b "Actor Wounds Himself On Set of TV Series". The New York Times. October 14, 1984.
- ^ "Las Vegas Escort Operator Is Given Heart of TV Actor". The New York Times. October 23, 1984. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Weber, Phyllis (October 24, 1984). "Letter to Gretha Hexum". Northern California Transplant Bank. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ "Wounding of Actor on Coast Is Laid to Russian Roulette". The New York Times. October 18, 1984. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ISBN 978-0-3074-8320-1. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ Meisler, Andy (November 8, 1992). "TELEVISION; When a Series Loses One of Its Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-16.