Death
On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of Cover Up were filming the seventh episode of the series, "Golden Opportunity", on Stage 17 of the 20th Century Fox lot. One of the scenes filmed that day called for Hexum's character to load blanks into a .44 Magnum handgun. When the scene did not play as the director wanted it to play in the master shot, there was a delay in filming. Hexum became restless and impatient during the delay and began playing around to lighten the mood. Apparently, he had unloaded all but one (blank) round, spun it, and in what would appear to be a game of Russian roulette, at 5:15 p.m., he put the revolver to his right temple and pulled the trigger.
Hexum was apparently unaware that his actions were dangerous. Blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, and this wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause injury if the weapon is fired within a few metres of the body should it strike at a particularly vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. At point blank range, the effect of the powder gasses is similar to a small explosion so although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, there was enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging.
Hexum was rushed to Beverly Hills Medical Center, where he underwent five hours of surgery to repair his wounds. On October 18, six days after the accident, 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 the body of a dying 36-year-old Las Vegas man at Pacific Medical Center. Hexum's kidneys and corneas were also donated: One cornea went to a 66-year-old man with cataracts, the other to a young girl. One of the kidney recipients was a critically ill five-year-old boy, and the other was a 43-year-old grandmother of three who had waited eight years for a kidney. Skin that was donated was used to treat a 3½-year-old boy with third degree burns. Hexum's body was then flown back to Los Angeles. He was cremated at Grandview Crematory in Glendale, California, and a private funeral was held. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean, near Malibu, California, by his mother.
Hexum's death was ruled accidental. His mother later received an out-of-court settlement from 20th Century Fox Television and Glen A. Larson Productions, the production team behind Cover Up.
The episode on which Hexum had been working was broadcast on November 3, 1984, two weeks after Hexum's death. Cover Up continued production without Hexum's character, Mac Harper, who was said to have been killed in action. Three weeks later, on November 24, Antony Hamilton was introduced as agent Jack Striker, posing as a new member of the modeling team. Hexum's character, Mac, is noticeably absent, said to be on another mission. At the end of the episode, Jack breaks the news that Mac has been killed on the other assignment and would not be coming back. As the tears flowed, the camera panned back, and a memoriam written by Glen Larson appeared onscreen:
As Cover Up continued to air throughout the winter of 1984-85, ratings held up. But when controversy (completely unrelated to Hexum) again threatened the series, CBS gave up on the show and allowed it to languish. The network then canceled the series after its first season due to mediocre ratings.
Read more about this topic: Jon-Erik Hexum
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“if thou slip thy troth and do not come at all.
As minutes in the clock do strike so call for death I shall:
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That rather had to die in troth than live forsaken so.”
—Unknown. The Lady Prayeth the Return of Her Lover Abiding on the Seas (l. 19–22)
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—Erica Jong (b. 1942)