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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2022)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022 | 3B Howard Hesseman as Dr. Johnny Fever in the "WKRP" studio on a Los Angeles soundstage made to look authentic with a Cincinnati map on the wall. ENQUIRER FILE Silverton High grad, famed actor Howard Hesseman dies at 81 Bill Poehler USA TODAY NETWORK Butch Main once ad- mitted he was not the most studious member of Silverton High School’s 1958 graduating class. But he would go on to be- come the most famous. The stepson of Silver- ton police chief Rell R. (Buck) Main, Butch saw himself as a rebel and a poor student, though he was editor of the student newspaper, secretary of the hot rod club “The Shifters” and acted in a half dozen plays. It wasn’t until 1971, af- ter launching his enter- tainment career, that he would reclaim his birth name of Howard Hesse- man and become one of the most beloved televi- sion actors of his genera- tion. Hesseman died Satur- day at age 81. “He was just loveable,” said Simone Stewart, an actress and community engagement manager for Silverton. His manager Robbie Kass confirmed Sunday to USA TODAY that Hes- seman died Saturday in Los Angeles from compli- cations of colon surgery, calling him a “ground- breaking talent” and life- long friend “whose kind- ness and generosity was equaled by his influence and admiration to gener- ations of actors and im- provisational comedy throughout the world.” An Oregon native Hesseman was born in Lebanon. When he was 7, his mother, Edna, mar- ried Salem Police officer Buck Main and he moved to Salem. Hesseman went by the names Butch Main and Howard Main for most of his childhood. Buck Main was an offi- cer in the Salem Police Department from 1938 to 1952, and Hesseman at- tended schools in Salem until the seventh grade. In 1951, Buck Main was hired as chief of the four- person Silverton Police Department and the fam- ily moved to Silverton. “In the schoolyard and on the playgrounds, only the children of school ad- ministrators and children of ministers ranked be- low the police chief ’s kid,” Hesseman told the Calgary Herald in 1986. Hesseman frequently said he did not get along with his stepfather. “I’ve only begun to un- cover the depths of my suffering,” he told the Chicago Tribune in 1986. “We never got along real well. He was the focal point of my rebellion be- cause, by the nature of his work, he was author- ity personified.” A Mid-Valley education an acting career, I should leave the university envi- ronment immediately and pursue acting,” Hes- seman told the Calgary Herald. “He felt that all I would learn at the univer- sity is how to teach acting to other people who would wind up teaching others.” Finding fame Though he wasn’t a stellar student, Hesse- man credited some of his Silverton High School teachers with inspiring him. He based Charlie Moore – the teacher char- acter he played on the sit- com Head of the Class – on his senior year history teacher at Silverton, Ron Hite. Hesseman told a story about how Silverton’s principal, “who was basi- cally a fascist,” would fre- quently interrupt classes over the new public ad- dress system. Hite would play the re- corder each time until the principal stopped talking, finish the song, put the recorder away and con- tinue to teach class. “He made it fun to learn,” Hesseman told the Sioux City (Iowa) in 1986. “He didn’t overlay every- thing with a mantle of deadly seriousness. He himself was accessible as a human being. He wasn’t just there to regurgitate facts to his students.” Hesseman said he tested at an 11th grade reading level in the fifth or sixth grade, but de- spised math and science. Still, he graduated from Silverton in 1958 and at- tended University of Ore- gon for two years, origi- nally majoring in journal- ism. He even managed to get through the manda- tory ROTC program “with straight D’s.” “I would spend my ex- am time answering each question as briefly and correctly as possible,” he said. “Then I would use the rest of the test period to write as thorough an essay as possible con- cerning my feelings about mandatory ROTC and the armed forces as a means of expressing foreign pol- icy.” Hesseman worked with some of Oregon’s drama groups and after telling professor Dr. Pres- ton Tuttle that he wanted to act professionally was advised to leave school. “His advice to me was that if I was serious about Hesseman moved to San Francisco and launched his career in the entertainment industry, first as Buck Main and then as Don Sturdy. Hesseman started out as a member of the im- prov group The Commit- tee and at the time he moonlighted on Satur- days as a DJ for San Fran- cisco rock ‘n’ roll station KMPX. He worked as a DJ in the 1960s, something he would use in his most iconic role, as disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” Hesseman frequently ad-libbed Fever’s on-air banter, and became a counterculture icon for the role at a time when few hippie characters made it onto network television. As Fever, he spun now- classic rock songs such as Boston’s “Don’t Look Back,” Toto’s “Hold the Line“ and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” many of which owed a debt to “WKRP” for growing their audience. “I think maybe Johnny smokes a little marijuana, drinks beer and wine, and maybe a little hard li- quor,” Hesseman told The New York Times in 1979 as he readied for one of three “Saturday Night Live” hosting gigs. “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 mari- juana.” Hesseman launched his acting career with a guest role on “The Andy Griffith Show” in 1968 and went on to become a go- to character actor for both TV and film, with his many memorable turns including appearances on “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Mary Hart- man, Mary Hartman” and film roles in “Shampoo,” “The Other Side of Mid- night” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” He was also seen on the syndicated reboot “The New WKRP in Cin- cinnati” from 1991 to 1993. “Laverne & Shirley” actor and comedian Mi- chael McKean, who starred with Hesseman in “Spinal Tap,” hailed the actor’s bona fides on Twitter. “Impossible to over- state Howard Hesse- man’s influence on his and subsequent genera- tions of improvisors,” he wrote. He recalled first seeing Hesseman in 1971 with The Committee. “I saw that he was the real deal.” Original “Saturday Night Live” cast member Laraine Newman mourned him as a close friend. “RIP Howard Hess- man. What great times we had,” she tweeted. “Great laughs and fun go- ing to see Etta James in Manhattan Beach and Joe Tex at The Parisian Room. Staying at your beautiful house in Rama- tuellle. Oh god this hurts.” The actor scored two Emmy nominations as best supporting actor in a comedy for his role on WKRP, which ran from 1978 to 1982. He also played architect Sam Royer, Ann Romano’s second husband and Bar- bara’s father-in-law, on “One Day at a Time,” and went on to star in “Head of the Class” as history and social studies teach- er Charlie Moore in the 80s. Hesseman wasn’t so disconnected from some of the characters he played. In 1983, he told People that he had conducted “pharmaceutical experi- ments in recreational chemistry.” He was once jailed in San Francisco for selling marijuana in the 60s. Hesseman is survived by his wife, Caroline Du- crocq, an actress and act- ing coach. Contributing: Kim Willis, USA TODAY, and Jake Coyle, The Associat- ed Press Public Notices PUBLIC POLICY NOTICES Public Notices are published by the Statesman Journal and available online at w w w .S ta te s m a n J o u r n a l.c o m . The Statesman Journal lobby is open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can reach them by phone at 503-399-6789. In order to receive a quote for a public notice you must e-mail your copy to SJLegals@StatesmanJournal.com , and our Legal Clerk will return a proposal with cost, publication date(s), and a preview of the ad. LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE DEADLINES All Legals Deadline @ 1:00 p.m. on all days listed below: ***All Deadlines are subject to change when there is a Holiday. The Silverton Appeal Tribune is a one day a week (Wednesday) only publication • Wednesday publication deadlines the Wednesday prior LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE RATES Silverton Appeal Tribune: • Wednesdays only - $12.15/per inch/per time • Online Fee - $21.00 per time • Affidavit Fee - $10.00 per Affidavit requested Obituaries Ronald Dale Averette CANBY - Ronald Av- erette was born on Feb- ruary 22, 1936 in Nyssa, Oregon. He passed away peacefully while sur- rounded by loved ones on January 31, 2022. Ron enlisted in the Army for two years when he turned 19. Ron and Linda were married for sixty- one years. Ron is survived by his wife Linda, his daughter Debbie Blau, his sons Dan and Ron Averette, his sister Gladys Tite, and brother Beauford Averette, and had four grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents Hugh and Mabel, along with his sisters Evelyn Fanshier, Margaret Robbins, and brothers Fred, Donald, and Hubert Averette. Ron will be missed by all. Luella Mae Thomas SCOTTS MILLS - Lu- ella Mae Thomas passed away Friday January 28th, 2022 at Silverton Hospital After battling Pneumonia . Luella was born July 8th , 1939 in Pomeroy, Washington to Raymond and Dorothy Williams. She married David Lee Thomas April 9th , 1955. They had seven children together. Through many ups and downs Luella always remained the center of our family, our heart, and our rock. Our hearts are breaking as Heaven welcomes her home. She is preceded in death by her son David Dean, sister Mary Lee, and parents Raymond and Doro- thy, brother Ray, husband David, daughter Dianna, and grandsons Chucky, and Michael. Luella will forever be remembered by those she leaves behind; sisters Gend and Katie; brothers Eddie, and Glen; children, Louanna (Nic) Oliver, Robert (Laura), Donald, Jon, Ken, Christina, and her son – in- law Terry Jackson; grandchildren, Tony, Michael, Jessica, Tiffany, Robert, David, K.C., Phillip, Sarah, Justin, Josh, Brandon, Kenny, and Stephanie, with many many great- grandchildren Services to be held at the Holy Rosery Catholic Church, 7442 Crooked Finger Rd NE Scotts Mills, Oregon at 11 am Friday, February 11th, 2022.
