Dr. Johnny Fever (born 1940) is an off-the-wall character and DJ (disc jockey) on the famous sitcom WKRP In Cincinnati. He was inspired by Atlanta DJ Skinny Bobby Harper The character was portrayed by veteran character actor Howard Hesseman. Johnny Fever, whose real name is John Caravella, comes to WKRP from a major station in Los Angeles where he worked under the name Johnny Sunshine and did a popular show called "Johnny Sunshine, Boss Jock." After he said the word "booger" on the air, he was fired with a year left on his contract. (He later sued the station and received a big cash settlement after a few years.)

After leaving L.A., he led a nomadic existence, going from town-to-town. His next job was hosting a garden show in Amarillo. He has used many on-air names, including Johnny Duke, Johnny Style, Johnny Cool, and even Heavy Early. (Most of these names appear on the side of Johnny's coffee cup.) He finally hit "rock bottom," in his own words, when he landed in Cincinnati at the worst radio station in town, WKRP — the only station that would hire him. He found himself hosting a "beautiful music" show in the morning, so obviously bored with the music that he didn't even bother to make up a new name or on-air persona. His new radio persona is created spontaneously during an abrupt format change as the new Dr. Fever spins the first rock record at a former easy listening station. The rest is history....
 

Dr. Fever's Black Death Malt Liquor T-Shirt as seen on WKRP!