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Cover Up (TV series)

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Cover Up
Jon-Erik Hexum and Jennifer O'Neill
Genre
Created byGlen A. Larson
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Holding Out for a Hero" performed by E.G. Daily
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes22
Production
Executive producerGlen A. Larson
Producers
  • Brian Alan Lane
  • Bob Shayne
  • Harker Wade
Production locationsStage 18, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
Editors
  • David Howe
  • Gene Ranney
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time44 mins.
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 22, 1984 (1984-09-22) –
April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)

Cover Up is an American action-adventure television series that aired for one season on CBS from September 22, 1984, to April 6, 1985. Created by Glen A. Larson, the series starred Jennifer O'Neill, Jon-Erik Hexum, Antony Hamilton and Richard Anderson.

Plot

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Fashion photographer Dani Reynolds's life suddenly changes after the death of her husband. That's when she discovers that he was actually an undercover CIA agent. When she learns he was murdered, she recruits Mac Harper, a former Special Forces soldier, to help her find her husband's killers.

Henry Towler, her husband's boss, then offers her the dead husband's job. Dani would pretend she was still a photographer and Mac would be her model. Henry would send them anywhere in the world where Americans are in trouble or criminals need to be caught. Once there, they act pretty much on their own.

After the death of actor Jon-Erik Hexum, who played Mac, the episode "Writer's Block" introduced Dani's new assistant, Jack Striker. Jack was a CIA agent who, like Mac, operated under the cover of a model.

At the end of the episode "Writer's Block", they explained that Mac was not coming back and ran the following message that replaced the closing credits:

"When a star dies, its light continues to shine across the universe for milleniums...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..."[1]

Cast

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Production

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Jon-Erik Hexum appeared in only eight episodes of the series, including the pilot. He was replaced by Antony Hamilton for the remainder of the season.[2] Jennifer O'Neill appeared in all of the episodes. Despite the change in the lead male character, the ratings held steady throughout the winter of 1984–85, though at a level too low to avoid being canceled after its first season.[3]

On-set accident

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During a break between scenes on the set on Friday, October 12, 1984, Jon-Erik Hexum became bored with the filming delays. He began playing Russian roulette with what he believed was a harmless .44 Magnum prop gun and jokingly placed it to his temple and pulled the trigger. The shot sent the wadding from the blank cartridge into Hexum's skull, driving a bone fragment the size of a quarter into his brain and causing massive hemorrhaging. Hexum was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brain dead nearly a week later. On October 18, he was taken off life support.[4]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1
2
"Pilot"Peter CraneGlen A. LarsonSeptember 22, 1984 (1984-09-22)TBA
3"Death in Vogue"Guy MagarDavid H. BalkanSeptember 29, 1984 (1984-09-29)TBA
4"The Million Dollar Face"Phil BondelliGlen A. LarsonOctober 6, 1984 (1984-10-06)TBA
5"Harper-Gate"Arthur Allan SeidelmanBob ShayneOctober 13, 1984 (1984-10-13)TBA
6"Sudden Exposure"Guy MagarLane DelOctober 20, 1984 (1984-10-20)TBA
7"Nothing to Lose"Richard A CollaDoug Heyes Jr.October 27, 1984 (1984-10-27)TBA
8"Golden Opportunity"Sidney HayersBob ShayneNovember 3, 1984 (1984-11-03)TBA
Hexum's last episode[5]
9"Writer's Block"Richard A. CollaS : Low Shaw;
T : David H. Balkan & Douglas Brooks West;
S/T : Andrew Schneider & Sam Egan
November 24, 1984 (1984-11-24)TBA
Hamilton's first episode[6]
10"Murder in Malibu"Sidney HayersS : David Swift;
T : Anne Collins;
December 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)TBA
11"Midnight Highway"Guy MagarDoug Heyes Jr.December 8, 1984 (1984-12-08)3-J11
12"A Subtle Seduction"Walter GraumanDouglas Brooks WestDecember 29, 1984 (1984-12-29)3-J12
13"Black Widow"Sidney HayersRobert HamiltonJanuary 5, 1985 (1985-01-05)TBA
14"Murder Offshore"Jeffrey HaydenJoe GannonJanuary 12, 1985 (1985-01-12)TBA
15"The Assassin"Christopher HiblerStory by : Donald Ross
Teleplay by : Donald Ross & Doug Heyes, Jr.
January 26, 1985 (1985-01-26)3-J15
16"Rules to Die By"Bernard McEveetyRobert HamiltonFebruary 2, 1985 (1985-02-02)3-J16
17"Healthy, Wealthy and Dead"Bruce KesslerFredrick RappaportFebruary 23, 1985 (1985-02-23)3-J17
18"The Ugliest American"Don WeisStory by : Stephen Kandel
Teleplay by : Milt Rosen
March 2, 1985 (1985-03-02)TBA
19"Who's Trying to Kill Miss Globe?"Mike VejarStory by : Donald Ross
Teleplay by : Joe Gannon
March 9, 1985 (1985-03-09)3-J19
20"Adams' Ribs"John D. HancockRobert HamiltonMarch 23, 1985 (1985-03-23)3-J20
21"Jack of Spades"Christopher HiblerStan BerkowitzMarch 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)TBA
22"Passions"Don Carlos DunawayDoug Heyes Jr.April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)TBA

References

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  1. ^ "Cover Up 1x07 (Excerpt) Jon-Erik Hexum Memorial". 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved Oct 22, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  2. ^ Davidson, Casey; Shaw, Jessica (1995-04-28). "Monitor: Pop Culture News". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2011-03-26. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  3. ^ Snauffer, Douglas (2008). The Show Must Go On - How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 88–92. ISBN 978-0-7864-3295-0.
  4. ^ "Jon-Erik Hexum Fatal Joke". Entertainment Weekly. 1994-10-14. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  5. ^ TV.com. "Cover Up: Golden Opportunity". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  6. ^ TV.com. "Cover Up: Writer's Block". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
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