Howard Hesseman, star of WKRP in Cincinnati, has died at the age of 81.

In a statement from Hesseman's wife, Caroline Ducrocq, given to The Hollywood Reporter, Hesseman died Jan. 29 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA from complications from a colon surgery he had in the summer of 2021.

Hesseman was born in Lebanon, OR on Feb. 27, 1940. Following his high school graduation, Hesseman moved to San Francisco where he became a disc jockey for KMPX, an underground rock station. He was also a founding member of the San Francisco improv group known as The Committee in the late 1960s, which is where he adopted the stage name Don Sturdy, a name he would also use while jockeying for KMPX.

He also starred as Charlie Moore, an out-of-work actor who becomes a history teacher, on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class for four seasons. He would go on to regularly appear on film and television in a variety of roles between the 1970s to the 2010s, including Petulia, Dragnet, The Bob Newhart Show, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, This Is Spinal Tap and appeared alongside Dan Aykroyd in 1983's Doctor Detroit. He even had a small part in the final two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. He also portrayed Sam Royer on the last two seasons of One Day at a Time.

Hesseman is probably most known for his role as the disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on CBS' WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran for four seasons from 1978 t0 1982. The character debuted in the 1978 pilot episode, introducing himself as Johnny Caravella or, as he says to Andy Travis (Gary Sandy), "Johnny Midnight, Johnny Cool, Johnny Duke, Johnny Style and Johnny Sunshine."

His portrayal of Johnny Fever, from which he drew on his real-life experience as a DJ, would become an icon of the counterculture, and Hessemen earned two Emmy nominations in 1980 and 1981 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Fever. He also appeared as Johnny Fever for nine episodes of the 1991-93 revival series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, for which he also directed several episodes.

Hesseman would go on to host Saturday Night Live three times. In one appearance, he paid tribute to the recently deceased John Belushi, and in another mooned a picture of then-President Ronald Reagan off-camera. He also appeared in the 1986 Disney film, Flight of the Navigator, That '70s Show and Boston Legal, among others.

He is survived by his wife and their three godchildren.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter