A tribute to Jon-Erik Hexum, 1957-1984

KEVIN’S DOUBLE, AN UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE

WARNING

This blog does contain adult and gay material. If you are under your country's legal age (18 or 21), do not scroll down and leave this page now.

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On October 12, 1984, 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 Hexum’s character (Mac Harper) was supposed to unload a handgun and replace the bullets with blanks—as the script required. The shooting was, however, delayed due to a technical difficulty and Hexum fell asleep on the set. Hexum awoke approximately fifteen minutes later and, realizing the scene was still not ready to be shot, began playing with the gun. Police later reported that Hexum had been playing Russian roulette, having loaded three empty cartridges and two blanks into the cylinder. He eventually placed the gun to his head and, after saying, "Let's see if I've got one for me!" pulled the trigger.

In the early 1980s this ruggedly handsome young man of Norwegian parentage was seen as the "next big thing", and then suddenly he was dead from an accident via a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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, and even the piano at home. He then attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio before transferring across to Michigan State University studying bio-medical engineering and then switching over to philosophy. Whilst at MSU, Hexum played football, and DJ'd at several local radio stations under the name of "Yukon Jack", before being discovered by John Travolta’s manager, Bob LeMond.

Hexum allegedly turned down plenty of opportunities to appear in shows such as “The Dukes of Hazard” (1979) & “CHIPS” (1977) and many day time soap operas before finally making his debut in the TV series “Voyagers” (1982) as time traveler Phineas Bogg. He was then cast as hunk Tyler Burnett alongside Joan Collins in “Making of a Male Model” (1983) (TV), and then as ex-Green Beret, Mac Harper in the TV series “Cover Up” (1984) (TV).

The reason I chose Hexum’s photos to represent Kevin McLean was because of the uncanny resemblance. The first time I saw a photo of Hexum I thought it was one of Kevin. I don’t have any photos of Kevin so this was the most practical choice and there were plenty of pictures of Hexum. The differences are that Kevin often goes three or four days without shaving and I am told that Hexum was cut while Kevin is not.

Of course, the reason I don’t have pictures of Kevin is because at the time he was telling me all of the stories that appear on this blog, I didn’t even have an inkling that I was ever going to have a blog…as a matter of fact, blogs didn’t even exist then. 

Also, I later met a dude who showed me a photo of Hexum and him outside eating tacos in Los Angeles and he told me that they had a very short torrid love affair. I don’t know whether to believe him or not, he did have the photos and in those days a male Hollywood star could not be “out” or he would be damaging his acting career. We have all seen photos of Rock Hudson “dating” women and attending all kinds of affairs…the young, pretty actresses and starlets were more than willing to pose and be seen with the likes of Rock Hudson but there was nothing else going on there.

 

With Hexum it is also peculiar that nobody ever saw him with a woman or dating as such. Yes, he attended Hollywood events with very hot starlets and models but no one can say that he was dating any of them.

Then there is the presence of Bob LeMond who was rumored to use the casting couch a lot. In any case, it doesn’t matter because Hexum is gone and he was one hell of a stud. 

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.

  

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. 

Besides the uncanny resemblance, the first time I saw a photo of Hexum I thought it was one of Kevin. I don’t have any photos of Kevin so this was the most practical choice and there were plenty of pictures of Hexum. The differences are that Kevin often goes three or four days without shaving and I am told that Hexum was cut while Kevin is not.

Also, I later met a dude who showed me a photo of Hexum and him outside a fast food restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles, eating tacos; he told me that they had a very short torrid love affair. I don’t know whether to believe him or not, he did have the photos and in those days a male Hollywood star could not be “out” or he would be damaging his acting career. We have all seen photos of Rock Hudson “dating” women and attending all kinds of affairs…the young, pretty actresses and starlets were more than willing to pose and be seen with the likes of Rock Hudson but there was nothing else going on there.

Kevin's ass was voted the best in Miami...Hexum had a rather flat ass.

I had a major crush on Jon Erik and Kevin McLean as well.

SOURCE: http://nopoboho.blogspot.com/