Stephen Stucker was an American actor, known for portrayals of bizarre, larger-than-life characters, notably the manic control-room worker Johnny Henshaw-Jacobs in the early 1980s Airplane!. He was buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory. He died from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome-related complications on Apat the age of 38. He later publicly announced his illness, making him one of the first actors to announce he was suffering from the disease. On July 12, 1984, Stucker was diagnosed with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. In 1984, Stucker had a co-starring role as the sex-obsessed psychiatrist, Doctor Bender, in the teen comedy film Bad Manners (aka: Growing Pains). In 1982 he had a guest role in a three-episode sequence in the television series Mork and Mindy and, in 1983, he had a small featured role in Landis" Trading Places. This led to his memorable supporting role in the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy Airplane!, which he reprised in Airplane II: The Sequel.įoreign the initial film, the writers gave Stucker the straight lines for his scenes and let him write his character"s off-the-wall responses. In 1977 he appeared in the John Landis film The Kentucky Fried Movie, based on the troupe"s sketches. He went on to perform in the 1977 earthquake-in-Los-Angeles comedy Cracking Up, alongside Fred Willard, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Stucker made his screen debut co-starring in the 1975 comedic sexploitation film Carnal Madness as Bruce Wilson, a gay fashion designer who escapes from an insane asylum with two fellow inmates, fleeing to an all-girls school. His family moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio, where he distinguished himself in school as a pianist and class clown. Movies and the crossdressing, rubber-penis-waving stenographer in the courtroom sequence of 1977"s The Kentucky Fried Movie. So is the character of Johnny offensive? You be the judge.(age 38) Des Moines, Polk County, United States of America A strong-willed and eloquent advocate for LGBTQ rights, Stucker ultimately died from AIDS-related complications in 1986, but not before fearlessly challenging stigma and raising awareness about the disease. Stucker has a notable legacy as one of the first openly gay actors in Hollywood at a time when there was serious paranoia around the AIDS epidemic. ZAZ developed the character explicitly for actor Stephen Stucker, who wrote his own lines for the part. We come to understand Johnny a little better when we take a look at the actor who played him. He isn't harassed by the caricature manly-men characters that dominate Airplane! instead, he turns the joke around on them, providing the perfect foil to their sternness and self-importance. It's also possible, however, that Johnny is actually progressive for his time, a character that is unapologetically gay in an era where that was still taboo. In this sense, to some, Johnny represents one of the movie's more problematic parts: an offensive stereotype of a gay man that hasn't aged well, time-stamping Airplane! firmly in the distant past. Johnny's especially notable because in his flamboyance and decidedly non-deadpan approach, he has the distinction of being the one significant character in the entire movie who doesn't play it straight-pun intended. He's colorful, animated, and adds a bit of light-hearted lunacy to a control room dominated by stiffs and cynics. In his limited screen time, he manages to crack as many memorable jokes and one-liners as anyone in the movie. He doesn't help advance the story in any way. Air Traffic Controller Johnny isn't an essential character in Airplane! He isn't crucial to the plot.
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