Howard Hesseman

Howard Hesseman

1940-02-27 Lebanon, Oregon, USA 90 Credits

Biography

Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class. He appeared regularly on television and in film from the 1970s to 2010s, with other noteworthy roles including Sam Royer (the husband of lead character Ann Romano) in the last two seasons of One Day at a Time, and a supporting role as Captain Pete Lassa...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Who Done It: The Clue Documentary

Who Done It: The Clue Documentary

2022

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

4.8
Acting

Clue (1985) has become a cult classic film and is loved by multiple generations. Yet there has never been a documentary created to tell the behind the...

Life After The Navigator

Life After The Navigator

2020

as Himself

7.9
Acting

A feature that not only celebrates the 1986 classic "Flight of the Navigator", but also looks at the life of its child star, Joey Cramer, and his roll...

For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close

For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close

2020

as Himself

6.7
Acting

Comedy guru Del Close, mentor to everyone from Bill Murray to Tina Fey, sets out to write his autobiography for D.C. Comics. As he leads us through se...

Valerie

Valerie

2019

as Self

2.0
Acting

A documentary of the incredible life of actress Valerie Perrine and her battle with Parkinson's.

A Christmas in Vermont

A Christmas in Vermont

2016

as Nick Harper

5.2
Acting

Riley Thomas is sent by her profit-obsessed boss to shut down one of the company’s holdings, a small outerwear company in Vermont, for missing profit ...

Wild Oats

Wild Oats

2016

as Vespucci

6.2
Acting

Everything changes for Eva when she receives an insurance settlement check accidentally made out for $5,000,000 instead of the expected $50,000. She a...

Silver Skies

Silver Skies

2016

as Billy

6.2
Acting

A group of eccentric retirees' lives are turned upside down when their beloved apartment complex is suddenly sold out from under them.

Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon

Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon

2015

as Self

5.6
Acting

Del Close was never a household name, but any comedy enthusiast is aware of his impact. From Bill Murray to Chris Farley to Amy Poehler, many of the m...

Bigfoot

Bigfoot

2012

as Mayor Tommy Gillis

3.0
Acting

A rock concert awakens the legendary monster, who goes on a rampage. The event's organizer plans to kill the beast and create a tourist attraction aro...

Salvation Boulevard

Salvation Boulevard

2011

as Billy

5.3
Acting

Set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born-again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his m...

Halloween II

Halloween II

2009

as Uncle Meat

5.3
Acting

Laurie Strode struggles to come to terms with her brother Michael's deadly return to Haddonfield, Illinois. Meanwhile, Michael prepares for another re...

All About Steve

All About Steve

2009

as Mr. Horowitz

5.0
Acting

After one short blind date, Mary Horowitz, a brilliant and eccentric crossword constructor, is convinced that Steve, a CCN cameraman, is her soul mate...

The Rocker

The Rocker

2008

as Gator

6.0
Acting

In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at st...

Martian Child

Martian Child

2007

as Dr. Berg

6.7
Acting

A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's ...

Man About Town

Man About Town

2006

as Ben Giamoro

5.2
Acting

A top Hollywood talent agent finds his cushy existence threatened when he discovers that his wife is cheating on him and that his journal has been swi...

Crazy for Christmas

Crazy for Christmas

2005

as Fred Nickells

5.5
Acting

A girl loses her parents and husband and is left driving a limo trying to get by raising her young son. An interesting but strange rich man hires her ...

Rockin' at the Red Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock

Rockin' at the Red Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock

2005

as narrator

Acting

This documentary pays tribute to the contributions and importance of the title watering hole in the creation of the psychedelic dancehalls that litter...

About Schmidt

About Schmidt

2002

as Larry Hertzel

6.8
Acting

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

The Mesmerist

The Mesmerist

2002

as Mr. Valdemar

2.5
Acting

Based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, this film tells the grimly comic tale of a bad-tempered old man (Howard Hesseman) who cheats death, only to go on t...

The Sky is Falling

The Sky is Falling

2001

as Yogi Cook

8.0
Acting

A young woman, struggling to become a novelist, has her life go into a tailspin. Her first novel is rejected, her non-committal boy friend decides to ...

Teddy Bears' Picnic

Teddy Bears' Picnic

2001

as Ted Frye

2.3
Acting

In Harry Shearer's tongue-in-cheek comedy, a waiter at Zanbesu Glen (a chi-chi Northern California resort) uses his movie camera to spy on the annual ...

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

1997

as David

6.0
Acting

Trish and her six-year-old niece, Patsy, make their living by picking pockets. But when they try to take advantage of holiday shoppers with fat wallet...

High Stakes

High Stakes

1997

as Wayne Dreyer

4.0
Acting

A former news reporter marries and tries to adjust to the life of a house wife and mother. However, her need for an adrenaline high is overpowering an...

Gridlock'd

Gridlock'd

1997

as Blind Man

6.7
Acting

After a friend overdoses, Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their drug habits and attempt to enroll in a government detox program. Their efforts are ha...

Innocent Victims

Innocent Victims

1996

as Smithline

5.0
Acting

Army Sergeant Tim Hennis is wrongly convicted of killing the wife and children of an Air Force captain. Based on a true story.

Out-of-Sync

Out-of-Sync

1995

as Det. Caldwell

4.3
Acting

A DJ and ex-con is forced to work with the police in an undercover drug sting targeting his boss.

Munchie Strikes Back

Munchie Strikes Back

1994

as Munchie (voice)

3.1
Acting

The magical Munchie is back, and if he gets in any more trouble it's off to the dullest constellation in the galaxy. Staying out of trouble has never ...

Little Miss Millions

Little Miss Millions

1993

as Nick Frost

5.4
Acting

Private detective Nick is hired to bring back Heather, who ran away from her stepmother to find her real mother.

Lethal Exposure

Lethal Exposure

1993

as Taylor Cochran

Acting

Ambitious photojournalist Chris Cassidy, on assignment in Paris, becomes involved with an unconventional French detective after having witnessed the a...

Rubin & Ed

Rubin & Ed

1992

as Ed Tuttle

6.4
Acting

Reclusive Rubin Farr teams up with vocal but unsuccessful multi-level salesman Ed Tuttle on a quest to bury Rubin's dead cat in the "perfect spot." Th...

Quiet Killer

Quiet Killer

1992

as Congressman Calvin Phillips

5.2
Acting

On her way home in a plane to New York, the teenage Sarah gets very ill. She realizes too late that it's more than a cold and with her parents still o...

Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate

1992

as Mr. Cassidy

1.7
Acting

B.J. Cassidy, a rich businesswoman, has to invest several billion dollars for fiscal reasons. She undertakes to buy back a small French factory, speci...

Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story

Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story

1991

as Paul Maggioto

5.1
Acting

Pamela Smart knows exactly what she wants and is willing to do anything to get it. She is fed up with teaching, and her marriage offers little excitem...

Call Me Anna

Call Me Anna

1990

as John Ross

4.5
Acting

Patty Duke portrays herself in this made-for-tv biopic about her struggles as a child star growing into adulthood.

The Diamond Trap

The Diamond Trap

1988

as Det. Rollings

5.5
Acting

When streetwise Manhattan police detectives Rawlings (Howard Hesseman) and Brendan Thomas (Ed Marinaro) discover a major diamond heist is about to go ...

Amazon Women on the Moon

Amazon Women on the Moon

1987

as Rupert King (segment "Titan Man")

5.9
Acting

Centered around a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird ...

Inside Out

Inside Out

1987

as Jack

6.3
Acting

An agoraphobic must give up his sheltered life and venture outside after a series of personal and financial problems.

Six Against the Rock

Six Against the Rock

1987

as Joseph 'Dutch' Cretzer

4.1
Acting

In May of 1946, Alcatraz inmate Bernie Coy initiates a carefully thought out plan to escape the island prison. His plan, carried out with five accompl...

Heat

Heat

1986

as Pinchus Zion

5.8
Acting

Reynolds plays an ex-soldier-of-fortunish character in Vegas, taking "Chaperone" jobs, fighting with the mob, and trying to get enough money together ...

The Princess Who Had Never Laughed

The Princess Who Had Never Laughed

1986

as King

Acting

There was once a very serious kingdom. So serious, that the King demanded to be addressed as Your Seriousness...

Flight of the Navigator

Flight of the Navigator

1986

as Dr. Louis Faraday

6.9
Acting

12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to hav...

My Chauffeur

My Chauffeur

1986

as McBride

5.9
Acting

A feisty young woman accepts a mysterious offer to become a chauffeur for a Beverly Hills limousine business, much to the chagrin of her older male co...

Clue

Clue

1985

as The Chief (uncredited)

7.2
Acting

Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackm...

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

1985

as Pete Lassard

6.1
Acting

Officer Carey Mahoney and his cohorts have finally graduated from the Police Academy and are about to hit the streets on their first assignment. Quest...

Silence of the Heart

Silence of the Heart

1984

as Carl Lewis

6.4
Acting

A mother going through a painful, protracted divorce realizes too late the effect it's having on her troubled son.

Best Kept Secrets

Best Kept Secrets

1984

as Jim Osborne

7.5
Acting

Blaise Dietz (Patty Duke Astin) plays the wife of police officer Blaise Dietz (Frederic Forrest), who wants to join a special investigative unit. Forr...

Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts

1984

as Doc

6.8
Acting

Set aboard a navy cargo ship during World War II, this comedic drama follows Lt. Doug Roberts (Robert Hays, Airplane!), who battles boredom and a tyra...

This Is Spinal Tap

This Is Spinal Tap

1984

as Terry Ladd

7.4
Acting

"This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its...

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

1983

as Self

8.5
Acting

Television special taped before a live studio audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NB...

Doctor Detroit

Doctor Detroit

1983

as Smooth Walker

5.1
Acting

A shy but gentle man named Clifford Skridlow is a professor of comparative literature at the financially-strapped fictional Monroe College in Chicago....

One Shoe Makes it Murder

One Shoe Makes it Murder

1982

as Joe Hervey

6.5
Acting

Robert Mitchum stars as a down-and-out ex-cop whose entanglement with a shady casino owner leaves him one step behind a killer.

Victims

Victims

1982

as Charles Galloway

5.3
Acting

A serial rapist gets acquitted of his crimes due to a police mishandling of the investigation. His victims decide to turn the tables on him and begin ...

Honky Tonk Freeway

Honky Tonk Freeway

1981

as Snapper

5.2
Acting

Ticlaw, a small town in Florida, has only one attraction: a safari park. The government constructs a freeway that passes near Ticlaw, but decides not ...

Private Lessons

Private Lessons

1981

as Lester

5.8
Acting

Phillip Filmore is a naive, 15-year-old, preoccupied with sex, who develops a crush on Nicole Mallow, the new 30-something, French housekeeper and sit...

Skyward

Skyward

1980

as Koup Trenton

6.9
Acting

Billie Dupree is a flight instructor at an old Texas airport. When a young girl in a wheelchair finds the airport by watching gliders fly, she decides...

Gridlock

Gridlock

1980

as Señor Smooth (voice)

6.0
Acting

A series of freak accidents on the Los Angeles freeway traps a cast-load of familiar TV faces in an astounding traffic tie-up, with the entire system ...

The Fantastic Funnies

The Fantastic Funnies

1980

as Dr. Johnny Fever

Acting

In this partially-animated TV special, Loni Anderson salutes the funny pages with interviews with famous cartoonists AND their creations!

John Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body

John Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body

1980

as Self / The Rock Doctor

7.0
Acting

John Ritter shows off his comedic talent with a collection of comedy sketches.

The Jerk

The Jerk

1979

as Carnival Worker (uncredited)

6.9
Acting

After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him ...

Americathon

Americathon

1979

as Kip Margolis

3.6
Acting

In a story told in narrative flashbacks, a young TV consultant is hired by the President of a bankrupt USA to organize a telethon in order to prevent ...

You Can't Take it With You

You Can't Take it With You

1979

as Wilbur C. Henderson

Acting

Emmy winner Jean Stapleton and Academy Award winner Art Carney star in the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart about a sl...

Outside Chance

1978

as David

2.0
Acting

An advertising executive finds herself in a small-town jail after being terrorized on a drive from Los Angeles to New York by two hitchhikers who stea...

More Than Friends

More Than Friends

1978

as Avery Salminella

Acting

Matty Perlman and Alan Corkus are old friends. He wants them to be more than friends. Sometimes she does too.

Loose Shoes

Loose Shoes

1978

as Ernie Piles, War Correspondent

3.5
Acting

Broad satire and buffoonery presented as a series of movie trailers. Among the titles and subjects are: "The Howard Huge Story", "Skate-boarders from ...

The Comedy Company

The Comedy Company

1978

as Roger Dustleman

2.0
Acting

An ex-comedian fights to keep a failing nightclub alive as a showcase for aspiring young comics.

The Ghost of Flight 401

The Ghost of Flight 401

1978

as Bert Stockwell

5.3
Acting

An aircraft crashes in the Florida Everglades, killing 103 passengers. After the wreckage is removed, salvageable parts from the plane are used to rep...

Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo

Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo

1977

as Fred

4.9
Acting

An airplane carring coffee beans from South America has some unpleasant stowaways: a hoard of tarantulas which overcome the pilots as the airplane is ...

The Other Side of Midnight

The Other Side of Midnight

1977

as O'Brien

5.9
Acting

When French beauty Noelle Page falls in love with American pilot Larry Douglas, she believes he'll marry her. Instead, he returns to the U.S and marri...

The Amazing Howard Hughes

The Amazing Howard Hughes

1977

as Jenks

6.0
Acting

The Amazing Howard Hughes is a 1977 television movie about American aviation pioneer and filmmaker Howard Hughes, based on the book by Hughes' busines...

Tail Gunner Joe

Tail Gunner Joe

1977

as Lt. Ted Cantwell

6.0
Acting

Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin accuses prominent people of Communist sympathies in order to give him a national power base when he later plann...

The Big Bus

The Big Bus

1976

as Jack

5.2
Acting

The ultimate disaster film parody. A nuclear-powered bus is making its maiden non-stop trip from New York to Denver. The journey is plagued by disaste...

Silent Movie

Silent Movie

1976

as Executive

6.5
Acting

Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the mo...

Jackson County Jail

Jackson County Jail

1976

as David

5.6
Acting

A young woman stumbles into a nightmare land of hijacking and humiliation while driving cross-country from California to New York.

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision

1976

as Senator McMannus

4.5
Acting

A committee investigating TV's first uncensored network examines a typical day's programming, which includes shows, commercials, news programs, you na...

The Sunshine Boys

The Sunshine Boys

1975

as Mr. Walsh, Commerical Director

6.8
Acting

Lewis and Clark, aka The Sunshine Boys, were famous comedians during the vaudeville era, but off-stage they couldn't stand each other and haven't spok...

Whiffs

Whiffs

1975

as Dr. Gopian

7.1
Acting

Elliott Gould steals Army nerve gas to help him rob banks when he’s kicked out of the military after 15 years of service as a human guinea pig in its ...

Prisoners

Prisoners

1975

Acting

Melodrama set in South Vietnam in the 1960s. Krueger (Bramhall), a former infantry lieutenant, is imprisoned at Quai Dong, on the South China Sea, for...

The Blue Knight

The Blue Knight

1975

as Resident

Acting

In this pilot film that preceded the short-lived series, a street cop in his last week on the force before his retirement investigates the murder of h...

Hustling

Hustling

1975

as Detective

6.0
Acting

Based on Gail Sheehy's book, this film chronicles how a reporter for a New York City magazine decided to investigate the city's prostitution industry ...

Shampoo

Shampoo

1975

as Red Dog

6.0
Acting

A Beverly Hills hairdresser runs around town on the eve of the 1968 presidential election trying to make heads or tails of his financial and romantic ...

The Blue Knight

The Blue Knight

1973

5.8
Acting

Bumper Morgan is a veteran Los Angeles Police Department street cop. He is due to retire after 20 years on the job, but is not letting up on the crimi...

Jory

Jory

1973

as Santa Rosa bartender

7.6
Acting

Jory is a fifteen-year-old boy who joins a horse-drive after his father is killed by a drunkard. The drive's leader and a likable cowhand take the boy...

Steelyard Blues

Steelyard Blues

1973

as Frank Veldini

5.1
Acting

A group of misfits decide to leave for a place that they can all be free. Their mode of transportation is a PBY flying boat. The only problem is that ...

Kid Blue

Kid Blue

1973

as Confectionary Man (as Howard Hessman)

6.9
Acting

Bickford Waner, an apparently naive young man from Fort Worth, arrives in the tiny Texas town of Dime Box and takes on a variety of menial jobs. He's ...

Cisco Pike

Cisco Pike

1971

as Recording Engineer

5.7
Acting

A down on his luck former drug dealer is forced by a corrupt LAPD policeman to sell 100 kilos of confiscated marijuana in one weekend.

The Christian Licorice Store

The Christian Licorice Store

1971

as Last Party Guest

4.4
Acting

A tennis champ falls in with the Hollywood crowd, finds himself being corrupted by the life in the fast lane.

Billy Jack

Billy Jack

1971

as Drama Teacher

5.9
Acting

Ex-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaways.

Some Kind of a Nut

Some Kind of a Nut

1969

as Bartender

3.5
Acting

A New York City bank teller becomes a media celebrity when he refuses to comply with his employer's demands that he shave his beard.

A Session with the Committee

A Session with the Committee

1969

as (as Don Sturdy)

Acting

A Session with the Committee

Petulia

Petulia

1968

as Hippie (uncredited)

5.9
Acting

Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of...