Jon-Erik Hexum was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series Voyagers! and Cover Up, and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic The Bear. He died from a self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot to the head in a game of Russian roulette while on the set of Cover Up.
๐ Early Life and Education
Hexum was born in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1957, to Thorleif Andreas Hexum, a Norwegian immigrant, and Gretha Olivia Paulsen, a Minnesota-born American of Norwegian parentage. He and his elder brother Gunnar were raised in Tenafly by their mother after their parents divorced when Hexum was four.
At Tenafly High School, Hexum was an active student, participating in the school’s marching band and performing at the 1973 Rose Parade in Pasadena. He also served as drum major of the marching band in his senior year and became the first male cheerleader in his school’s history.
Hexum went on to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to study biomedical engineering and soon transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Hexum graduated from MSU with a Bachelor of Arts in political philosophy.
๐ฌ Acting Career
A few days after graduation, he moved to New York in 1980 to pursue his acting career. While working as an apartment cleaner, he met John Travolta’s manager, Bob LeMond of LeMond/Zetter Management.
In 1982, Hexum won the lead role in the NBC TV series Voyagers! as Phineas Bogg, a former pirate turned time traveler. Voyagers! aired on Sundays and did not fare well in the ratings against 60 Minutes, so the series was cancelled.
Hexum was then cast opposite Joan Collins in the 1983 made-for-television movie Making of a Male Model, produced by Aaron Spelling. The TV movie was a ratings hit, ranking in the Top 10 for the week it premiered on ABC.
Later in 1984, Hexum was cast opposite Jennifer O’Neill in the CBS primetime series Cover Up, playing Mac Harper, an undercover CIA operative posing as a model. That same year Hexum played the terminally ill quarterback Pat Trammell in the feature film The Bear.
๐ Death and Aftermath
On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of Cover Up were filming the seventh episode of the series. Hexum became restless and impatient during a delay and began playing around, imitating a game of Russian roulette with a .44 Magnum revolver loaded with blanks.
The explosive effect of the muzzle blast caused enough blunt force trauma to fracture a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel it into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging. On October 18, aged 26, six days after shooting himself, Hexum was declared brain dead.
With his mother’s permission, his body was flown to San Francisco on life support, where his heart was transplanted into a 36-year-old Las Vegas man. Hexum’s kidneys and corneas were also donated.
The episode on which Hexum had been working was broadcast on November 3, 1984, two weeks after his death. Cover Up continued production without Hexum’s character, and Antony Hamilton was introduced as agent Jack Striker.
| Category | Detail | Category | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | November 5, 1957 | Died | October 18, 1984 |
| Birthplace | Englewood, New Jersey | Cause of Death | Self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot |
| Education | Michigan State University (BA) | Notable TV Roles | Voyagers!, Cover Up |
| Organ Donations | Heart, kidneys, corneas, skin | Estate Value | $255,000 |