Head Of The Class Actors You May Not Know Passed Away

For ’80s kids, there was no cooler place to matriculate than Millard Fillmore High School. “Head of the Class” had a snug spot on ABC’s schedule, resulting in a solid five-season run that gives an appealing window into life in the 1980s for teens of that time. Set within an Individualized Honors Program classroom, the classroom is led by aspiring actor Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman), whose unorthodox ways caused him to butt heads with traditional and stuffy principal Dr. Harold Samuels (William G. Schilling).

Moore teaches his students social studies and history and tries to prepare them for both high academic achievement and the real world. Things change over the seasons, with students coming and going, until Charlie left and was replaced by Billy MacGregor (Billy Connolly) for the kids’ senior year (a move that is often deemed an actor replacement that ruined the show). At the end of the sitcom, everyone graduated, and the school was torn down.

It’s been over thirty years since Millard Fillmore High closed for good. While all of the actors who played students and most of those who played the school’s staff are still alive, two main cast members have passed away since the show’s final episode in 1991. Here’s who’s no longer with us from the cast of “Head of the Class.”

“Head of the Class” was not Howard Hesseman’s first time at the sitcom rodeo. The actor originally reached fame by playing wild disc jockey Johnny Fever on “WKRP in Cincinnati” from 1978 to 1982. Believe it or not, Hesseman’s very first sitcom appearance was on “The Andy Griffith Show,” where he played Harry and, in a later episode, a counter boy. These early gigs — and early improv performances — were undertaken under the name Don Sturdy. Hesseman was a big part of the counterculture world in 1960s Los Angeles and performed improv with The Committee in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where they appeared on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” among other shows.

By the time “WKRP” took to the airwaves, Hesseman had an impressive list of guest appearances under his belt, but playing Howard Johnson in 1971’s “Billy Jack” made him famous. His big breakthrough television role was on “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” as Dr. Robert Williams, just two years before “WKRP” launched in 1978. Between his time as Johnny Fever and heading up “Head of the Class,” he appeared for a couple of seasons on “One Day at a Time” as Sam Royer. Among Hesseman’s memorable film credits are “Private Lessons,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “Clue,” “About Schmidt,” and “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment.”

Hesseman acted until 2018. He died at the age of 81 on January 29, 2022, from complications related to colon surgery he underwent in mid-2021.

William G. Schilling was a classic “that guy” actor before he became known as Principal Samuels. His acting career started in 1980, and he appeared in a number of shows, including “Archie Bunker’s Place,” “Family Ties,” “Alice,” and “Diff’rent Strokes,” throughout the early part of the decade. He popped up in “M*A*S*H” as well, in the episode “Run for the Money,” and had small roles in some feature films like “Testament” and “King of Comedy.”

Schilling’s first major role came when he played Richard the orderly in five episodes of NBC’s short-lived sitcom, “E/R.” Other small but impactful roles in movies like “Ruthless People” directly preceded him landing his “Head of the Class” gig, and parts in “In the Line of Fire,” “Space Jam,” and “Treme” followed. Depending on what the part called for, Schilling could cut a figure of humor or dignity in each role he brought to the screen. With a career that spanned four decades under his belt, the actor died on February 28, 2019, at the age of 79.