Born On This Day- November 6th... Jon-Erik Hexum

In the early 1980s, I had a distressingly intense crush on this ruggedly handsome young actor thought to be "next big thing", & then suddenly he was at 26 because of an accidental, self-inflicted, gunshot wound to the head, Jon-Erik Hexum left behind a promising career as an actor & fans who adored him. He may have had the beefcake body, but his talent was real & his voice was deep & vibrating; he had a great comedic timing that made him accessible to both men & women.

Hexum was born and raised in Tenafly, New Jersey where he was a musically gifted student at school playing both the horn & the violin in the school orchestra, & the piano at home. He graduated from Michigan State University studying bio-medical engineering & philosophy. Hexum played football, & DJ'd at several local radio stations under the name of "Yukon Jack", before being discovered by John Travolta’s manager Bob LeMond. I am sure Travolta had his hand in the decision.

Hexum turned down shows such as The Dukes of Hazard (1979) & Chips (1977) & many day time soap operas before finally making the TV series Voyagers! (1982) as time traveler Phineas Bogg. He was then cast as hunk Tyler Burnett opposite Joan Collins in Making Of A Male Model (1983), & then as ex-Green Beret, MacHarper in the TV series Cover Up (1984).



He was often seen out dancing at gay clubs in L.A. & he told People magazine that while 80% of his friends were gay, he was not. Hexum: "I would rather people didn't think I was gay, but I don't 'rather' it a whole lot."
 

On October 12th, 1984 after a long day shooting, Hexum became bored with the extensive delays & jokingly put a prop .44 magnum revolver to his temple & pulled the trigger. The gun fired, & the wadding from the blank cartridge shattered his skull. The mortally injured Hexum was rushed via ambulance to hospital to undergo extensive surgery, & a week later he was taken off life support & pronounced dead. Hexum's commitment to organ donation, meant 5 other lives were assisted or saved with organs harvested from him.