Jon-Erik Hexum - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Hexum was born in Englewood, New Jersey, to Gretha and Thorleif Hexum. He and his elder brother, Gunnar, were raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, by their mother after their parents divorced when Hexum was four. After graduating from high school, Hexum went on to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, in order to study biomedical engineering. He soon left that university, however, and transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. During that time, he worked as a radio disc jockey, played football, and acted in minor stage roles.

Only a few days after graduation, he moved to New York in 1980, in order to pursue his acting career. While working as an apartment cleaner, he met Bob LeMond of LeMond/Zetter Management and the manager of John Travolta. LeMond saw great potential in Hexum. At LeMond's urging, Hexum relocated to Los Angeles in September 1981 in order to audition for a movie called Summer Lovers, which was to be directed by Randal Kleiser. Though he lost the part to Peter Gallagher, Hexum attracted the notice of Hollywood powerbrokers, and in short time was cast in the lead role of Phineas Bogg in the NBC series Voyagers! after playing the character in Voyager from the Unknown, the pilot for the series. Voyagers! aired during the 1982–83 television season, with Hexum's role earning him $10,000 a week. Unable to sustain itself against CBS' newsmagazine, 60 Minutes, Voyagers! was canceled after one season. But Hexum's good looks and charm kept him marketable, and soon he was cast opposite Joan Collins in the made-for-television movie Making of a Male Model, starring also Jeff Conaway and Roxie Roker.

In 1984, Hexum guest-starred in an episode of ABC's prime time drama Hotel. He played Prince Erik, a Prince Charming-type character who sweeps his Cinderella off her feet.

That same year, Hexum took the part of terminally ill quarterback Pat Trammell, a small but well-received role in the feature film The Bear, a tribute to University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, played by veteran actor Gary Busey. The Bear represents Hexum’s sole performance in a feature film, released just three weeks before his death.

After pondering several development deals, Hexum came upon a project he felt had possibilities: Cover Up. When the series began production in 1984, Hexum played Mac Harper, an undercover CIA operative posing as a male model, opposite co-star Jennifer O'Neill. Hexum described the role as part "Indiana Jones, James Bond, Mr. Magoo, and Superman." According to then girlfriend, actress and singer Elizabeth "E.G." Daily, "He loved living this rich fantasy life. He was a big strong man, looked kind of like a Viking bodybuilder, and he loved to show his strength. He also liked the whole idea of guns and soldiers." Cover Up, which cast him as a soldier of fortune who traveled the globe under the guise of being a male model, provided an outlet for all of Hexum's yearnings.