Howard Hesseman, the actor and influential improv comedy performer best known for his role as DJ Dr. Johnny Fever on 'WKRP In Cincinnati', has passed away aged 81.
Hesseman was a member of the San Francisco improv group The Committee and real life DJ back in the 1960s.
Hesseman received Emmy nominations in 1980 and '81 for his iconic work as Dr. Johnny Fever on 'WKRP In Cincinnati'.
"Howard had at one time been a DJ," said Director Jay Sandrich, who hired Hesseman for the role.
"He just stepped in and killed it. He knew exactly what he was doing."
In an interview with The New York Times in 1979, Hesseman said:
"I think maybe Johnny smokes a little marijuana, drinks beer and wine, and maybe a little hard liquor.
And on one of those hard mornings at the station, he might take what for many years was referred to as a diet pill. But he is a moderate user of soft drugs, specifically marijuana."
