Howard Hesseman died over the weekend. 81. He was Dr. Johnny Fever on "WKRP in Cincinnati" from 1978 to 1982. It was a solid series that CBS treated poorly. It had a dozen different days and time periods during its run. CBS had a choice of two comedies to continue on its schedule. The other was "Alice." We can debate that bad choice for eons.
Some useless trivia here... Hesseman read for the salesman character on WKRP, and he thought he would be better as Dr. Fever, a role written with another actor in mind. Hesseman not only won the part, but he knocked it out of the park.
Fever/Hesseman was real. I once worked with a guy who floated around so much, he needed to write down his name and the station's call letters on a card placed in front of him at all times. Fever had all his past names on a coffee mug. I knew guys who were dead tired when they walked in to the studio, but it was magic when they turned on the microphone. You can see the fatigue instantly evaporate. Johnny Fever had that quality, except when he was filling in on the overnight shift, using the name "Heavy Early."
The WKRP turkey drop episode is the most famous of the 90. Three lines stand out. The first is Les Nessman saying "The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement." The other is Art Carlson uttering the famous sentence, "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." The one that really puts me on the floor takes place right after the connection with Les at the Pinedale Shopping Mall is lost. Fever opens the mic and calmly says "Thanks for that on the spot report, Les." It kills me every time.
And, who can forget that famous scene in the pilot, where WKRP changes format from elevator music to rock right in the middle of Johnny's morning shift? You can see Johnny's hesitancy. You can smell his fear. He then pulls it together. It was time for Dr. Johnny Fever to rock.
Howard Hesseman was more than "WKRP in Cincinnati." But, what a fantastic way to be remembered.
