I liked him in that time travel show he did.
Anyone wanna discuss?
I liked him in that time travel show he did.
Anyone wanna discuss?
Renowned Death Hag
No one should have let him play with guns. Sorry - but that has to be one of the most stupid accidental suicides I've ever heard of.
I never saw him in anything, so I really don't know much about him, other than reading the internet. From what I gather, he wasn't all that intellegent.
on October 12th, 1984 after a long and draining day's shooting on the set of Cover Up (1984) (TV), Hexum became bored with the extensive delays and jokingly put a prop .44 magnum revolver to his temple and pulled the trigger. The gun fired, and the wadding from the blank cartridge shattered his skull, whereupon the mortally injured Hexum was rushed via ambulance to hospital to undergo extensive surgery. Despite five hours of work, the chief surgeon Dr David Ditsworth, described the damage to Hexum's brain as life ending, and one week later on October 18th, he was taken off life support and pronounced dead. However, Hexum's commitment to organ donation, meant five other lives were assisted or saved with organs harvested from him. He was dead at only 26 years of age.
So was he just tempting fate by "playing" around with a prop gun?
I agree you never know. He was a good looking young actor too.
Guest
Guest
No, not really. He was frustrated by shooting delays, bored, and imprudent. He paid the ultimate price for his restlessness. It is a very sad story; he had much to live for.Originally Posted by GrinReaper
Whenever I read about him, I think about all that wasted potential. He was very much poised to become very big. He had good looks and was fairly talented. One of the bigger "What could've beens" in Hollywood, for sure.
I became a big fan of Jon-Erik's when he did Voyagers!, and even watched Cover Up solely because of him. I had turned 13 not long before he died. I still wonder what he might have gone on to do.
He was gorgeous, but also seemed like a humble and likable person. What an unfortunate end.
Dude made a silly mistake; I don't think he was tempting fate or anything, just bored and messing around on-set. We've all made stupid mistakes when we're young or just when we're tired, but most of us don't die as a result. Just an unfortunate thing all around; I used to love Voyagers! and remember when he died.
Renowned Death Hag
I noticed that nobody had posted any images of HEXUM, so I thought that I'd add a few.....................
with JENNIFER O'NEILL
who played opposite him on tv'
COVER UP
1983
KELT' HOME FOR WAYWARD YOUTH-
Helping Young Men To Turn Around For Over Twenty Years !
I watched his TV show called Voyagers every sunday. It was so great he and this kid were time travelers. That series had ended and another one just began called Cover Up. It looked pretty good too. He was killed on that set. I remember hearing about it on Entertainment tonight and I was floored. That was at the time my favorite show.
(voyagers)
Renowned Death Hag
I recall reading that his heart ended up being transplanted into some wealthy criminal type, or corrupt businessman, whatever you want to call him. Can't recall the name, or how it was discovered that such an "undeserving" individual got the heart due to having enough (ill-gotten?) money to pay for it. Wondering if recipient is still alive with that young man's heart.
I forgot how hot the man was....and what a waste of life to die that way!I noticed that nobody had posted any images of HEXUM, so I thought that I'd add a few.....................
with JENNIFER O'NEILL
who played opposite him on tv'
COVER UP
1983
A devine looking man almost looks too good to be true!
What a burden those looks must have been.
It was a gigolo, er, I mean male escort in Vegas that recieved Hexum's heart. I remember seeing a news story about it back in the day.
in the book Hollywood's book of death his bio is listed under suicides? shocked me because I was always on the assumption it was an accident.
I'm still bothered by his death to this very day!
Renowned Death Hag
He really been a big star, I often wonder if this was really an accident?
Wanna see my grandkids?
You mean bothered as in there might be a mystery or bothered as in you still miss him? With me it's both actually. I remember when my dad's best friend told me about it and I was so devastated I had to go and find out every tiny detail. He was so good-looking and he came off as such a nice person, too. It seemed like they turned off the machines way too early.I'm still bothered by his death to this very day!
On the commentary for Pee Wee's Big Adventure Paul Reubens talks about how Elizabeth Daily (Dottie in Big Adventure, Valley Girl- Loren, Rugrats-Chucky) passed out during the filming of Pee Wee in the bike shop...ya know, where Pee goes into Chuck's and passes out screaming that his bike was stolen. In the scene Pee collapses and when he comes to is being attended to by the Paramedics.
For anyone that doesn't know, Daily was dating Jon-Erik Hexum at the time of his death. Sadly, she was on set for Hexum's final responsive moments and according to Reubens she had a horrible flashback of him on the stretcher which had taken place the year before this particular scene was filmed for Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
Jon-Erik Hexum (November 5, 1957 â?? October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, best known for accidentally killing himself on the set of Cover Up, a television series in which he was a central cast member.
Born to Norwegian immigrant parents, he was the star of the science fiction series Voyagers!, which aired on NBC during the 1982â??83 television season. He also appeared in made for television movies The Bear and Making of a Male Model co-starring Joan Collins and Roxie Roker[1], and in an episode of Hotel, before being cast in the action series Cover Up.
On October 12, 1984, in between filming scenes on the set of Cover Up, Hexum was critically wounded after he placed a .44 Magnum prop gun loaded with blanks to his temple and pulled the trigger. The accident happened during the filming of a scene where Hexumâ??s character (Mac Harper) was supposed to unload a handgun and replace the bullets with blanks â?? as the script required. However, the shooting was delayed and Hexum â?? being overworked and tired due to his tight filming schedule and various TV appearances â?? fell asleep. Hexum awoke, realizing that the scene still was not ready to be shot, and put the gun to his head. Of all the crewmembers in the studio that day, no one claims to have seen the shooting.[5]
Hexum was apparently unaware that blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gun powder into the shell, and that this wadding is propelled out of the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause severe injury or death if the weapon is fired within a few inches of the body, especially if pointed at a particularly vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. Although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, the wad struck him in the temple with enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain causing massive hemorrhaging.[6][2]
Hexum was rushed to the Beverly Hills Medical Center where he underwent five hours of surgery to repair his wounds.[6]On October 18, six days after the accident, Hexum was declared brain dead. Hexum's mother Greta allowed his body, still connected to life support, to be flown to San Francisco for organ transplants.[3] Hexum's heart was then implanted into a then 36-year old Las Vegas escort service owner who was awaiting a heart transplant.[7]Hexum's kidneys and corneas were also harvested and placed in organ transplant banks before his body was flown back to Los Angeles for autopsy and burial.[3]
Hexum's death was ruled accidental.[8]Hexum's mother later received an out of court settlement from Twentieth Century Fox Television and Glenn Larson Productions, the production team behind Cover Up.[2]
Four weeks after Hexum's death, Cover Up resumed airing without Hexum's character, Mac Harper, who was killed in action. The return episode also featured a tribute to Hexum.[9]Actor Antony Hamilton eventually replaced Hexum, but Cover Up was canceled after one season.
How sad is it to be listed by Wikipedia as being best known for accidentally killing yourself? This is another of those stories that I remember well from when it happened. The one detail that Wikipedia lists that contradicts what the papers reported at the time is the claim that nobody saw it happen. The stories back then reported that he was joking around when it happened. The scene he was supposed to be doing had been delayed repeatedly. When another delay was announced, he supposedly said, "Another delay? Can you believe this crap?" before putting the gun to his head.
A sad end for a guy whose career was still taking off.
Yeah....sigh.....this is one of those celeb deaths I associate with a time and place.....reading about it in the NY Post while sitting in a laundromat in the East Village. Sorry, nothing more to add except it was a shame.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
You know he had to have said "Hey watch this".
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
You know, I thought I recalled something like that, too, but then figured maybe I was mixing him up with Brandon Lee.....anyway, the wiki post seems to imply no witnesses? Also, I don't remember the falling asleep part....hmmmm....
You mean this guy?
http://www.findadeath.com/forum/show...ighlight=hexum
Renowned Death Hag
Why did his mother reach an out of court settlement with 20th century ?
I get that she must have sued but why? He put the gun up to his own head and pulled the trigger.
Last edited by okidoll; 10-19-2008 at 11:14 PM. Reason: adding.
That was so incredibly sad when he died like that and Yes....My god that man was HOT looking. Nice that is organs were able to be donated like that. Its nice that despite the death of a loved one, Others received the gift of life from Erik.
I loved the television show he was on. I was STUNNED when he died...couldn't quite comprehend it as a child.
I noticed that nobody had posted any images of HEXUM, so I thought that I'd add a few.....................
with JENNIFER O'NEILL
who played opposite him on tv'
COVER UP
1983
Odd because Jennifer O'Neill "accidently" shot herself as well. She said she was checking to see if it was loaded. Yeah right. She has also been married NINE times.
Last edited by John Connor; 10-20-2008 at 01:29 AM.
Renowned Death Hag
l'd be rolling in my grave if my family donated my heart and it went to a pimp.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I remember Voyagers so well...I can't believe it's been 24 years now...
Oh my, I forgot about that!
Nine times......NINE?
My old boss interivewd him for some article shortly before his death and he said he was so cool and down to earth and my boss also said he was devastaed when he died. Very tragic. What a piece of ass !!!! Ooops did I say that? Lol!!
wait that lady shot herself as well? Did she die??
Senior Death Hag
I had a HUGE crush on him. When he died, I was in high school and I was so upset when he died I actually missed a day of school because I was at home crying. How stupid was that??
Also, I met Jennifer O'Neill a couple of years ago when she was giving a motivational speech here in my hometown. She is so very nice and beautiful. She was telling about all the trauma in her life and talked about her being shot and losing a friend she was doing a tv show with to a gunshot. SHe never mentioned him by name but what do you think I did? I was crying quietly all over again. Anyway, she is a fantastic speaker and I got her autograph. She is so down to earth, too. She talked to every single person getting her autograph and didn't leave until everyone was gone. Loved her.
He was just a dipwad...You don't put ANY gun to your head in jest...I hope his organs went to somebody with more sence...
This is a tragic lesson on why guns are NOT toys. A gun is a deadly weapon, and should be treated as such. I'm sure a lot of people have been killed playing Quick Draw Magraw, and Russian Roulette. It's hard to have much sympathy in situations like this but.... I do feel it was a tragic accident, and the world was deprived of great acting talent when he died.
Renowned Death Hag
No; Lisamarie; you did not say that...I think you were quoting someone!
If the guy had better understood guns and how they work; this tragedy might never have happened. Probably in his mind; it was loaded with "blanks"; therefore harmless; and from a distance of two or three feet; it would have been harmless; but not point blank.This is a tragic lesson on why guns are NOT toys. A gun is a deadly weapon, and should be treated as such. I'm sure a lot of people have been killed playing Quick Draw Magraw, and Russian Roulette. It's hard to have much sympathy in situations like this but.... I do feel it was a tragic accident, and the world was deprived of great acting talent when he died.
Sure, he is the one who put it to his head and pulled the trigger; and I hold no one else responsible for that; but you gotta think that the studios would recognize that they are handing out lethal weapons (at close range) to people who do not understand the power of that "prop" gun; and would give a 5 minute safety demo...
A faulty hypothesis forming:
A German scientist using Iranian physics and French mathematics.
You're absolutely right JimC...... They should have had some sort of a gun safety lesson or something. He probably never thought anything like that could happen.
This is my first post to the forum, but I've been lurking for awhile.
I've been a huge fan of Jon-Erik's since he was famous, and I remember his death vividly. I remember at the time thinking he wouldn't die, because it was only a prop gun, and I figured prop guns were like cap guns: a bang, but no damage. Boy, was I ever wrong.
I read many accounts that he had no idea that a prop gun couldn't hurt him, and I just have a problem with that theory. He worked on the series Voyagers before doing Cover Up, he'd shot those guns many times, he knew how dangerous they were. There was even a conversation with an old friend months before the accident. The friend reminded him that prop guns can hurt. He replied, "Absolutely."
Jon Erik was no meathead. In college he studied biomedical engineering, with the intent to create artifical organs. When he found out it was boring, he switched to philosophy, then gave it all up for acting. Not only did he play football in those days, but he was a champion diver and an accomplished pianist. Stupid wasn't the proper label for him.
I questioned his death many times, as did his friends. No one believes it was a suicide, nor was he playing Russian roulette. Jon Erik was saving all of his money to open his own production company. He loved being an actor, and he loved his life. You can find all kinds of reports to that effect on YouTube, he himself said it.
So what happened that day?
I asked those same questions, and I found a website that was written by one of his friends, and I like that explanation best:
http://www.christiejenkinsphotography.com/jonerik.htm
This quote in particular:
So about the accident on the set of his TV show "Cover-Up" - it was just that, an accident. In short, any gun loaded with a blank is considered "loaded", and therefore locked up by the prop dept. until just before "action" is called. Any gun left out all day, as the one that killed him was, is known to have empty chambers. When you're an actor that holds a gun as a prop, sometimes for hours a day, playing, twirling, tossing, or scratching your head or leg with it, feels absolutely normal (I was a figure skater and would often unconsciously use my blade to scratch an itch, and yes, I split my skin at least once a month).
My opinion is that he had those unloaded guns in his hands for hours a day. I liken it to my pen. How many times does it become an unconscious thing? I've been known to scratch my head with it, chew on it, twirl it around, tap it on my desk, even stick it in my nose to make someone laugh. Granted, my pen is very different than a prop gun, but it's the same principal. It is a requirement that those loaded guns are only given to the actor right before the scene is shot, and when it's done, the gun is immediately taken away. There was no propmaster around at the moment of the accident. I want to know why.
He was exhausted, filming 16-18 hour days, and practicing for Circus of the Stars. He fell asleep, and woke to yet another delay. He grabbed for the gun, and I'm sure he thought it was the gun he played with a hundred times, the gun that was never loaded. He probably said something like, "Can you believe this crap?" and pulled the trigger as a joke. Only this wasn't the gun he was used to. This was the blank loaded gun that should've been taken away.
That was why his mother and brother sued Fox over it. The propmaster didn't do his job, and the studio was liable. They settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, and because of Jon Erik's death there were stricter prop gun laws put into affect with the studios. There's no telling how many lives were saved over that.
Jon Erik did donate his organs, his heart went to a man that owned an escort service in Vegas. Yes, that's what the press concentrated on, but what they failed to mention was that the man was a decorated Vietnam war hero. His skin was donated to burn victims, his corneas to someone that would've gone blind without them, one kidney went to a 5 year old boy that would've died without it, the other to a woman who was a mother and a grandmother. His death wasn't in vain.
Fox covered their tracks pretty well, as his friends said, the investigation was quickly shut, and they declared it an accident. Of course, they had to trash Jon Erik's name, try to make it look like he was suicidal or playing Russian roulette. Hey, let's put all the blame on the dead guy, since he can't defend himself. Right.
All of this is mentioned on YouTube, on E!'s Mysteries and Scandals program. I can link it if anyone is interested.
Anyhow, I just wanted to add to your discussion, sorry for the long post. As you can see, I'm a huge fan of Jon Erik's, and have all this trivia in my head that has to go somewhere!I'm passionate about this subject, or could you tell?
Sorry? Au contraire! Thanks for the message, which has a lot of great detail to it.
By the way - - welcome to the Forum, oh former lurker!
Thanks for the welcome, ratkin638! I was afraid I talked on and on about it and would bore someone!
Not boring at all JacksGirl, excellent post!
Oops, sorry, forgot to answer this.
The heart recipient died in 2002. Lived from '84 with that heart, not bad!
ETA: There is a sad video on YouTube about the heart recipient, and it's a sad one.
Renowned Death Hag
Welcome, Jack'sGirl.
Thanks for that great information!
A faulty hypothesis forming:
A German scientist using Iranian physics and French mathematics.
very, very, very NICE!I noticed that nobody had posted any images of HEXUM, so I thought that I'd add a few.....................
with JENNIFER O'NEILL
who played opposite him on tv'
COVER UP
1983
Death Hag
I agree, not boring at all. It was a stupid accident, but it doesn't mean Jon-Erik was stupid. And I think that's how he's been portrayed, frankly.
Thanks for the welcomes, everyone. Yeah, I agree betsy, he's being protrayed as stupid. I've even seen comments on some sites (not here) where people have said nature took him out because he was just to stupid to be here.
That makes me mad. Some people are just going to be a jerk, no matter what the facts are. Of course, we've all been around the Internet. We've seen it.
Darnit, I wanted to post some more pictures of him, and I'm having trouble doing it. He had the prettiest crystal blue eyes, sometimes I saw them in Voyagers and would swear they glowed in the dark they were that striking. He had a great bone structure to his face, and a body that wouldn't quit. I'd love to share more pics with the women here who can appreciate them!
Okay, I forgot, for some of the guys that can appreciate them, too!
Someone kick me in the butt and send me to my corner, I'm dominating this thread!
Well, now I can get the photos to work!
This is the poster he made in the day. What a chest!
He could rock a tuxedo:
This one will put a little steam in your stride:
I know this one is a wallpaper, but check out those eyes:
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