Jon-Erik Hexum (; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series Voyagers! and Cover Up, and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic The Bear. He died by an accidental self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot to the head on the set of Cover Up. Life and career Hexum was born in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1957 to Thorleif Andreas Hexum, a Norwegian immigrant, and Gretha Olivia (Paulsen) Hexum, a Minnesota-born American of Norwegian parentage. He and his elder brother Gunnar were raised in Tenafly by their mother after their parents divorced when Hexum was four. After graduating from Tenafly High School, Hexum went on to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to study biomedical engineering, and soon transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing. During that time, he worked as a radio disc jockey, played football for the Spartans in 1978, and acted in minor stage roles. A few days after graduation, he moved to New York in 1980 to pursue his acting career. While working as an apartment cleaner, he met Bob LeMond of LeMond/Zetter Management, John Travolta's manager. LeMond saw great potential in Hexum. At LeMond's urging, Hexum relocated to Los Angeles in September 1981 to audition for a movie called Summer Lovers; he lost the part to Peter Gallagher. However, Hexum did win the lead role in the 1982-1983 NBC TV series Voyagers! as Phineas Bogg, a former pirate turned time traveler. Hexum was then cast opposite Joan Collins in the made-for-television movie Making of a Male Model, also starring Jeff Conaway and Roxie Roker. Hexum was a guest star in a 1984 episode of ABC's primetime drama Hotel, playing Prince Erik, a Prince Charming–type character. Later in 1984, Hexum was cast opposite Jennifer O'Neill in the CBS primetime series Cover Up, playing Mac Harper, an undercover CIA operative posing as a male model. That same year Hexum played terminally ill quarterback Pat Trammell, a small role in the feature film The Bear, a tribute to University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, played by Gary Busey. The Bear would be Hexum's sole feature film performance, released just three weeks before his death. Death On October 12, 1984, the cast and crew of Cover Up were filming the seventh episode of the series, "Golden Opportunity", on Stage 18 of the