Profile Text
Hesseman in 2009, s_bukley /bigstock.com
Date of Birth: February 27, 1940
Place of Birth: Lebanon, Oregon, U.S.
Date of Death: January 29, 2022
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: German, English
Howard Hesseman was an American actor. He was known for his roles in the films The Sunshine Boys , Tunnel Vision , Jackson County Jail , The Big Bus , The Other Side of Midnight , Americathon , Honky Tonk Freeway , Private Lessons , Doctor Detroit , This Is Spinal Tap , Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment , Clue (1985), My Chauffeur , Flight of the Navigator , Gridlock’d , Teddy Bears’ Picnic , About Schmidt , Man About Town , Martian Child , The Rocker (2008), Halloween II (2009), All About Steve , and Bigfoot (2012), and on the shows Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ; The Bob Newhart Show , Soap , WKRP in Cincinnati , One Day at a Time , Head of the Class , and That ’70s Show . He was also billed as Don Sturdy.
Howard was the son of Edna and George Henry Hesseman. He was married to actress Caroline Ducrocq, until his death.
Howard’s paternal grandfather was Edward B. Heseman (the son of William Henry Heseman and Nancy Lavina Powell). Edward was born in Indiana, to a German father.
Howard’s paternal grandmother was Margaretha M. Koeneke (the daughter of Thomas Koeneke and Matilde Burgedorf). Margaretha was born in Kansas. Thomas was born in Germany, the son of Heinrich/Henry Könke/Koeneke and Margaretha Peterson. Matilde was born in Tennessee, to German parents.
Howard’s maternal grandfather was Jesse Ford Forster (the son of Robert Ford Forster and Mary Ann Storey). Jesse was born in Texas, to English parents. Robert was born in Monsby, Cumberland, the son of Edward Forster and Hannah Ford. Mary Ann was born in Workington, Cumberland, the daughter of John Story and Mary Jane Love.
Howard’s maternal grandmother was Mary Adelaide “Addie” Johnson (the daughter of Jessie Claybourne Johnson and Lurinda Mary Howard). Howard’s grandmother Mary was born in Tennessee. Jessie was the son of George Washington Johnson and Mary Elizabeth Terry. Lurinda was the daughter of James Thomas Harwood and Delia Maxey Marcom.
Sources: Howard’s father on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Howard’s mother – https://www.familysearch.org
Howard’s maternal grandparents, Jesse Ford Forster and Mary Adelaide “Addie” Johnson, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org