Biography
Howard Hesseman's early credits have sometimes been hard to trace, mainly because he often billed himself as "Don Sturdy." The mustachioed, prematurely balding Hesseman was a founding member of the San Francisco-based improv troupe The Committee. During his decade-long tenure with this aggregation, he was featured in such films as
Petulia (1968) and A Session with the Committee (1970), and showed up on such TV series as
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and
The Dick Cavett Show. Through the auspices of his Committee cohort
Peter Bonerz, Hesseman played a recurring role on TV's
The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78), playing the unsuccessful producer of such TV disasters as "The Nazi Hour." His screen roles in the 1970s included a showy part as a harried TV-commercial director in the opening sequence of
The Sunshine Boys. In 1978, Hesseman achieved celebrity in the role of counterculture deejay Dr. Johnny Fever (aka Johnny Caravella) on the popular sitcom
WKRP in Cincinnati. Following
WKRP's cancellation in 1982, he spent two seasons playing Ann Romano's third (and presumably final) husband Sam Royer on the weekly
One Day at a Time. From 1986 to 1990, he starred as urbane high school teacher Charlie Moore in TV's
Head of the Class. During all this activity, Howard Hesseman continued showing up in feature films, playing such roles as smarmy promoter Terry Ladd in
This is Spinal Tap (1984) and child star
Patty Duke's manipulative manager/guardian John Ross in the TV biopic
Call Me Anna (1989). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide