WEST HOLLYWOOD—John Wesley, television and film actor best known for his role of Dr. Hoover on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” was pronounced dead at the age of 72 on Sunday, September 8 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
Throughout the actor’s career, he had over 100 appearances in various television series, including “Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad,” “Frasier,” “Hill Street Blues,” “The Jeffersons,” as well as appearances in other feature films and theater productions.
Wesley lost his life due to complications from a long battle with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that forms in plasma cells. According to Cancer.org, though this type of cancer is relatively uncommon – in the United States, the risk of getting multiple myeloma is 1 in 132 (0.76 percent).
Cancer organizations have estimated that this year about 12,960 deaths (6,990 men and 5,970 women) from this disease will occur. The 5-year survival rate for people with multiple myeloma is over 50 percent.
A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Wesley pursued his career in Southern California He achieved an undergraduate degree in classical acting. He earn a masters degree in fine arts from the University of California – San Diego. He also served in the army during the Vietnam War.
