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
Complete Filmography

Who Done It: The Clue Documentary
2022
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
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
2020
as Himself
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
2020
as Himself
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
2019
as Self
A documentary of the incredible life of actress Valerie Perrine and her battle with Parkinson's.

A Christmas in Vermont
2016
as Nick Harper
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
2016
as Vespucci
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
2016
as Billy
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
2015
as Self
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
2012
as Mayor Tommy Gillis
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
2011
as Billy
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
2009
as Uncle Meat
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
2009
as Mr. Horowitz
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
2008
as Gator
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
2007
as Dr. Berg
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
2006
as Ben Giamoro
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
2005
as Fred Nickells
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
2005
as narrator
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
2002
as Larry Hertzel
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
2002
as Mr. Valdemar
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
2001
as Yogi Cook
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
2001
as Ted Frye
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
1997
as David
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
1997
as Wayne Dreyer
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
1997
as Blind Man
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
1996
as Smithline
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
1995
as Det. Caldwell
A DJ and ex-con is forced to work with the police in an undercover drug sting targeting his boss.

Munchie Strikes Back
1994
as Munchie (voice)
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
1993
as Nick Frost
Private detective Nick is hired to bring back Heather, who ran away from her stepmother to find her real mother.

Lethal Exposure
1993
as Taylor Cochran
Ambitious photojournalist Chris Cassidy, on assignment in Paris, becomes involved with an unconventional French detective after having witnessed the a...

Rubin & Ed
1992
as Ed Tuttle
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
1992
as Congressman Calvin Phillips
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
1992
as Mr. Cassidy
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
1991
as Paul Maggioto
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
1990
as John Ross
Patty Duke portrays herself in this made-for-tv biopic about her struggles as a child star growing into adulthood.

The Diamond Trap
1988
as Det. Rollings
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
1987
as Rupert King (segment "Titan Man")
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
1987
as Jack
An agoraphobic must give up his sheltered life and venture outside after a series of personal and financial problems.

Six Against the Rock
1987
as Joseph 'Dutch' Cretzer
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
1986
as Pinchus Zion
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
1986
as King
There was once a very serious kingdom. So serious, that the King demanded to be addressed as Your Seriousness...

Flight of the Navigator
1986
as Dr. Louis Faraday
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
1986
as McBride
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
1985
as The Chief (uncredited)
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
1985
as Pete Lassard
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
1984
as Carl Lewis
A mother going through a painful, protracted divorce realizes too late the effect it's having on her troubled son.

Best Kept Secrets
1984
as Jim Osborne
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
1984
as Doc
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
1984
as Terry Ladd
"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
1983
as Self
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
1983
as Smooth Walker
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
1982
as Joe Hervey
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
1982
as Charles Galloway
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
1981
as Snapper
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
1981
as Lester
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
1980
as Koup Trenton
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
1980
as Señor Smooth (voice)
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
1980
as Dr. Johnny Fever
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
1980
as Self / The Rock Doctor
John Ritter shows off his comedic talent with a collection of comedy sketches.

The Jerk
1979
as Carnival Worker (uncredited)
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
1979
as Kip Margolis
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
1979
as Wilbur C. Henderson
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
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
1978
as Avery Salminella
Matty Perlman and Alan Corkus are old friends. He wants them to be more than friends. Sometimes she does too.

Loose Shoes
1978
as Ernie Piles, War Correspondent
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
1978
as Roger Dustleman
An ex-comedian fights to keep a failing nightclub alive as a showcase for aspiring young comics.

The Ghost of Flight 401
1978
as Bert Stockwell
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
1977
as Fred
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
1977
as O'Brien
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
1977
as Jenks
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
1977
as Lt. Ted Cantwell
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
1976
as Jack
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
1976
as Executive
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
1976
as David
A young woman stumbles into a nightmare land of hijacking and humiliation while driving cross-country from California to New York.

Tunnel Vision
1976
as Senator McMannus
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
1975
as Mr. Walsh, Commerical Director
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
1975
as Dr. Gopian
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
1975
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
1975
as Resident
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
1975
as Detective
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
1975
as Red Dog
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
1973
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
1973
as Santa Rosa bartender
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
1973
as Frank Veldini
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
1973
as Confectionary Man (as Howard Hessman)
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
1971
as Recording Engineer
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
1971
as Last Party Guest
A tennis champ falls in with the Hollywood crowd, finds himself being corrupted by the life in the fast lane.

Billy Jack
1971
as Drama Teacher
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
1969
as Bartender
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
1969
as (as Don Sturdy)
A Session with the Committee

Petulia
1968
as Hippie (uncredited)
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...