Jon-Erik Hexum (/ˈhɛksəm/; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series Voyagers!

During that time, he worked as a radio disc jockey, played football (mainly as a backup) for the Spartans in 1978, and acted in minor stage roles.

[19] 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.

Hexum was then cast opposite Joan Collins in the 1983 made-for-television movie Making of a Male Model, produced by Aaron Spelling.

"[23] Fresh off Making of a Male Model, Hexum was a guest star in another Spelling production, a 1984 episode of ABC's primetime drama Hotel.

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 model.

[25] A self-described "extreme miser", Hexum owned a modest house in Burbank, California with sparse furnishings and drove a 1954 Chevy Bel Air.

[28] 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 20th Century Fox lot.

One of the scenes filmed that day called for Hexum's character to load cartridges into a .44 Magnum handgun, so he was provided with a functional gun and blanks.

With his mother's permission, his body was flown to San Francisco on life support, where his heart was transplanted into a 36-year-old Las Vegas man at California Pacific Medical Center.

Three weeks later, in the episode "Writer's Block", aired on November 24, Antony Hamilton was introduced as agent Jack Striker, posing as a new member of the modeling team.

At the end of the episode, Henry Towler (Richard Anderson) breaks the news that Mac has been killed on the other assignment and would not be coming back.

[35] In "Writer's Block", the following message ran that replaced the closing credits:[36] When a star dies, its light continues to shine across the universe for millenniums.

John Eric [sic] Hexum died in October of this year ... but the lives he touched will continue to be brightened by his light ... forever ... and ever.