"Actor Jon-Erik Hexum Accidentally Shot--Listed in Critical Condition After Self-Inflicted Wound to Temple"

LA TIMES COVERAGE OF JON-ERIK'S SHOOTING

Actor Jon-Erik Hexum was critically wounded when he accidentally shot himself in the right temple with a blank-loaded pistol Friday afternoon on the 20th Century Fox set of the "Cover Up" television series in which he co-stars, a studio spokesman said.

Publicist Vince Panettiere described the handsome, 26-year-old Hexum's condition as "critical."

At Beverly Hills Medical Center, an emergency room attendant initially said he was "serious," but several hours later pronounced his condition "critical."

Panettiere said the accident occurred about 5:15 p.m., while Hexum was waiting between takes for a scene in the CBS-TV series in which he plays a former Green Beret posing as a male model to do undercover work with a fashion photographer portrayed by Jennifer O'Neill.

No one else was injured, Panettiere said.

Studio public relations executive Chuck Panama said Hexum was working alone at the time and that no one apparently saw the accident happen. Co-star O'Neill was not to appear in the scene and was not present, Panama said.

"It all happened so quickly," he added.

Ironically, the character played by Hexum in the series is a weapons expert.

Hexum appeared in the "Voyagers!" series on NBC and co-starred with actress Joan Collins in the ABC-TV movie, "The Making of a Male Model." Both productions aired last year.

Hexum attended Michigan State University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in social science. He was active in athletics --wrestling, diving and football.

Graduating in 1980, Hexum decided he wanted to be an actor and went to New York, where he earned a living doing odd jobs while seeking his big break.

One of his jobs was cleaning Venetian blinds in offices. One client turned out to be Robert Le Mond, manager of actor John Travolta. La Mond saw possibilites in the 6-foot, 1-inch, 190-pound Hexum and helped him launch his career.

Tuesday, October 16, 1984

"'Let's See If I've Got One for Me,' Actor Said"

By GENE BLAKE
Times Staff Writer
Television star Jon-Erik Hexum knowingly fired a gun containing both empty cartridges and gun-powder-filled blanks when he critically wounded himself in the head, police said today.

But detective Gary Fullerton said there is no reason to believe that Hexum knew he would be harmed if one of the gunpowder-filled blanks was fired. Police closed the investigation, ruling it an accident.

Hexum's skull was fractured near his right temple from the force of a blank round's explosion last Friday on the set of the "Cover Up" television series.

Based on witnesses' accounts, Fullerton said Hexum, 27, loaded three harmless empty cartridges and two gun powder-filled blanks into a .44 Magnum before saying,"Let's see if I've got one for me." The actor then fired the weapon, the detective said.

"We don't know if he knew the blanks would be harmful," Fullerton said. "No one realized the danger it could do."

Hexum, who underwent five hours of surgery at Beverly Hills Medical Center, remained in critical condition today.

Production of "Cover Up" was suspended this week because of the shooting. Executives of 20th Century Fox said they could not film around the Hexum character.

In the CBS-TV series, Hexum, a former Michigan State University football player, portrays a former Green Beret posing as a male model. He stars with Jennifer O'Neill, who shot herself accidentally two years ago.

"Police Decide Shooting of TV Star Was an Accident"

Television star Jon-Erik Hexum knowingly fired a gun containing both empty cartridges and gun-powder-filled blanks when he critically wounded himself in the head, police said Tuesday.

But Detective Gary Fullerton said there is no reason to believe that Hexum knew he would be harmed if one of the gunpowder-filled blanks was fired. Police closed the investigation, ruling it an accident.

Hexum's skull was fractured near his right temple from the force of a blank round's explosion last Friday on the set of the "Cover Up" television series.

Based on witnesses' accounts, Fullerton said that Hexum, 27, loaded three harmless empty cartridges and two gunpowder-filled blanks into a .44 Magnum before saying, "Let's see if I've got one for me." The actor then fired the weapon, the detective said.

"We don't know if he knew the blanks would be harmful," Fullerton said.

Hexum, who underwent five hours of surgery at Beverly Hills Medical Center, remained in critical condition Tuesday.

Executives of 20th Century Fox said they will film several sequences today to complete the "Cover Up" episode that was in progress. They said no decision has been made regarding future episodes.

In the CBS series, Hexum portrays a former Green Beret soldier posing as a model.

"Actor Hexum Is 'Brain Dead,' His Doctors Declare"

Actor Jon-Erik Hexum was declared "brain dead" Thursday as the result of shooting himself in the head with a prop pistol, and will be formally declared dead as soon as some of his organs are donated to appropriate recipients, the Los Angeles Conty coroner's office announced.

The 27-year-old star of the new TV series, "Cover Up" had been reported in critical condition at Beverly Hills Medical Center since last Friday, when he shot himself in the right temple with a wad from a blank cartridge in a .44 Magnum. The force of the discharge reportedly drove a quarter-sized piece of his skull far into his brain.

"The hospital called us this evening and stipulated that for all intents and purposes he is brain dead," senior cornoner's investigator Philip Spada said Thursday night. "That means that he will become a coroner's case."

Spada said the hospital informed the coroner's office that Hexum's mother had requested that certain of her son's organs be donated.

The coroner's investigator said the declaration of death could be made "as soon as the hospital can harvest the organs" and make arrangements for their donation. He did not know how long that might take.

Because of the mother's wish that some of the organs be donated, which also required coroner's office approval, the actor remained on a life-support system.

As for the hospital, the official statement was simply that Hexum remained in "critical condition."

But earlier, Dr. David Ditsworth said an electroencephalogram (EEG) was administered Thursday afternoon. "He had no chance of survival from the outset," Ditsworth said, "as an injury of this magnitude is virtually always fatal."

Doctors waited until Thursday to administer the test so that medication would not effect the outcome. Hexum had been in a coma and heavily medicated since he went through lengthy surgery last Friday night.

Ditsworth said that when Hexum arrived at the hospital form the 20th Century Fox set of the television series, in which he starred with actress Jennifer O'Neill, he was in a deep coma with only a small part of his brain still functioning.

"In virtually every case with a large-caliber gunshot blast to the brain," the neurosurgeon said, "the blast is such that the brain tissue stops functioning within a very short period of time."

Witnesses said Hexum was toying with the pistol, which was loaded with blanks and empty cartridges, and put the muzzle close to his head with the words: "Let's see if I've got one for me." Producers of the show were already looking for an actor to replace the handsome young Hexum in the part of a former Green Beret posing as a male model who teams with a fasion photographer to track down criminals. Hexum attended Michigan State University, where he swam, wrestled and played football. He went to New York City to become an actor and there met John Travolta's manager, who helped him get started.

He appeared in last year's ABC-TV movie "The Making of a Male Model" opposite Joan Collins, and in the NBC-TV series "Voyagers!" before being signed to play the lead in "Cover Up."

"Hexum's Heart Given to Dying Patient in S.F."

The body of actor Jon-Erik Hexum, who was declared dead six days after shooting himself in the temple with a blank-loaded pistol on a television series set, was flown early Friday to San Francisco, where his heart was implanted in a dying man.

A spokesman for Pacific Medical Center said the recipient was a 37-year-old man who asked to remain anonymous.

The 26-year-old actor's corneas and kidneys were also removed for future transplants, the spokesman said. The kidneys were being sent to the Southern California Transplant Bank in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office received notice Thursday evening from Beverly Hills Medical Center that Hexum was, "for all intents and purposes," brain dead. West Los Angeles police telephoned Friday morning to report the actor offically dead, coroner's spokesman Bill Gold said.

After removal of organs in San Francisco for transplant, the body was to be returned to Los Angeles for a post-mortem examination by the coroner's office.

Hexum's mother, Gretha, asked that the donations be made. She and the actor's brother, Gunnar, flew to Los Angeles from Boston immediately after the shooting last Friday evening at 20th Century Fox on the set of the television series "Cover Up."

The actor was kept on a life-support system until the organs could be removed.

Lt. Mike Carpenter of West Los Angeles detectives said Friday that there was nothing to indicate that Hexum was playing Russian roulette with the prop .44 Magnum when he blew a quarter-sized piece of skull into his brain. Carpenter said police had not turned up any witnesses to confirm the report that Hexum said just before he pulled the trigger: "Let's see if I've got one for me."

"I would say that he was just handling it (the gun) in a pretty careless manner," Carpenter said.

A memorial service for Hexum was pending. The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Handgun Control, Inc., 1400 K St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20005.

The young actor's co-star in "Cover Up," Jennifer O'Neill, said Frideay that his death was not only a personal loss, but "a loss for everyone." She said he "had so very much to give. He had only just begun to share his presence with the public. We will all miss him. We will always remember him."

A similar statement came from 20th Century Fox, where Hexum was called "a skilled and dedicated professional" as well as "a highly spirited young man who had a deep feeling for not only his fellow actors, but for all members of the staff and crew with whom he came in contact."

The neurosurgeon who operated on Hexum at Beverly Hills Medical Center said the actor "basically had no chance of survival" from the beginning.

Studio officials said that the series will continue and that another actor will be found to co-star with O'Neill -- not as the same character portrayed by Hexum.

The three episodes that Hexum completed before his death will be shown as scheduled tonight and the subsequent two Saturdays, said Harvey Shephard, senior vice-president of programming at CBS-TV.

Because of the time needed to find a new actor and resume production, Shephard said, there probably will be a gap between the last Hexum episode on Nov. 3 and shows with a replacement.

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