Emma Samms tells how Jon-Eric Hexum dies.

[Tony]

After the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins, Emma Samms spoke on Twitter:

1/3 This AWFUL tragedy on #Rust is unfathomable to me. If all on-set protocols were being adhered to, how, on earth, could it have happened? After what happened to Brandon Lee and my dear friend Jon-Erik Hexam, the firearm protocols became incredibly strict.

2/3 I was told (when I was with him at the hospital afterwards) that Jon-Erik had been working with a completely empty gun all morning. A blank (still very dangerous) was loaded and then immediately there was a delay. Exhausted, he was allowed to fall asleep - loaded gun in hand

3/3 They woke him, but there was immediately another delay. Jon-Erik put the gun to his head, forgetting it now contained a blank, (because he had just woken up) and jokingly pulled the trigger. He was not the kind of person to play around with a loaded gun. #fortherecord

 

[bmasters9]

2/3 I was told (when I was with him at the hospital afterwards) that Jon-Erik had been working with a completely empty gun all morning. A blank (still very dangerous) was loaded and then immediately there was a delay. Exhausted, he was allowed to fall asleep - loaded gun in hand

That's why it's said, always treat every gun as if it were loaded, even when it might indeed be empty or only one round/bullet is in it-- taking risks like that with firearms is asking for trouble.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

May they all Rest In Peace.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I remember it vividly. Talk about a waste. people snark about his acting, but he was good as the snarky lead in VOYAGERS.

 

[Monzo]

Jon-Erik Hexam was on the rise, but his Cover Up show was a flop, so he would have been available in a few months. Would any of the big four soaps hire him sooner or later? Maybe playing Clay Fallmont on Dynasty or Nicholas Pearce on Dallas.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Silly-bad movie:

 

[GillesDenver]

Ironically, stage 17 of 20th century studios is the same place Nick Toscanni removed Claudia's bullet 2 years and a half before the accident that killed him - the actor that coud have possibly played Dex...

 

[Chris2]

Jon-Erik Hexam was on the rise, but his Cover Up show was a flop, so he would have been available in a few months. Would any of the big four soaps hire him sooner or later? Maybe playing Clay Fallmont on Dynasty or Nicholas Pearce on Dallas.

Less a flop and more a bubble show. It ranked 50th that year, tied with Airwolf and Moonlighting, both of which were renewed. Had it been a true flop, they wouldn’t have bothered recasting after Hexum died.

 

[TaranofPrydain]

Less a flop and more a bubble show. It ranked 50th that year, tied with Airwolf and Moonlighting, both of which were renewed. Had it been a true flop, they wouldn’t have bothered recasting after Hexum died.

I knew that Moonlighting was on the bubble after its first "preview" season of the pilot and five follow up episodes. According to a commentary on one of that show's episodes in the DVD set, ABC was actually considering axing it at that time after such a brief run . They only decided to keep it at the last moment, axing some other undisclosed show (perhaps TJ Hooker, but it could have been one of the ill-fated freshmen like McGruder and Loud or Finder of Lost Loves) to make room for it.