MTV has broadcast several shows that have brought fame and fortune to many stars — as
well as a handful of untimely deaths. While some are downright shocking and extremely sad,
others prove that having money and fame doesn't solve everything.
MTV's "16 and Pregnant" followed the real lives of pregnant teenage girls
who dealt with the hardships of pregnancy and raising a child at such a young age.
One of those most memorable stars was Valerie Fairman, who starred on the show in 2010 and
welcomed her daughter Nevaeh into the world when she was just 15-years-old. Sadly, Fairman died
at the age of 23 in 2016 when TMZ reported that she had died of an apparent overdose.
Even after appearing on MTV, Fairman had struggled throughout her life,
with TMZ also sharing that she had been arrested several times with charges ranging from illegal
sex work to resisting arrest and providing fake identification — a charge that came just a week
before her death. E! also shared that Fairman had struggled with drug addiction for years.
When news broke of her death, fellow "16 and Pregnant" star Jenelle Evans tweeted:
"Don't take life for granted. Hold your children and love them close."
Chelsea Houska, who also starred on "16 and Pregnant" tweeted:
"How incredibly sad. My heart goes out to her daughter and family."
Diem Brown was a favorite among the cast members of MTV's "Real World/Road Rules Challenge"
and became a recurring member on "The Challenge." She shocked everyone when she
revealed that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her debut on the MTV show in 2005.
According to People, Brown had her ovary and fallopian tubes removed, but developed the
disease again in 2012. However, she became cancer-free for a second time and shared:
"Cancer has changed who I am. It sounds like a cliche, but I've only got this one life,
and I need to live every day to the fullest. I'm a lot more appreciative of things now."
After collapsing during the filming of her eighth "The Challenge" series,
Brown revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer for the third time in 2014. However, this time,
her cancer had returned and had spread to her colon and stomach. People magazine reported
that she died that same year with family and friends by her side after her illness worsened.
Many of her castmates described Brown as a true
fighter, with "The Challenge" star Johnny Bananas telling Us Weekly:
"She maintained such an optimistic, positive,
outlook on life. That girl fought until her [...] last breath."
Ryan Knight made his MTV debut after starring in "The Real World: New Orleans" in 2010,
and later became a contestant on "The Challenge." Sadly, it was reported by
TMZ that Knight was found dead on Thanksgiving morning in his home state of Wisconsin in 2014,
after partying the night before. A final autopsy report stated that the reality star had died
from an accidental overdose from a, quote, "deadly mix of multiple drugs and alcohol".
The news of Knight's death also became the second death in a month for an MTV star.
As just previously mentioned, his "The Challenge" castmate Diem Brown
had died just a few weeks before. Knight even tweeted his condolences, writing:
"My heart hurts to hear a dear friend and the sweetest most beautiful person
inside and out has passed."
Knight's former girlfriend, Jemmye Carroll, whom he met on "The Real World:
New Orleans," penned a letter to MTV a year after his death. It read:
"I think if soul mates exist, then that's what we were,
brought together by the fate of eight strangers picked to live in a house."
MTV's "Buckwild" followed adventurous friends living in rural West Virginia who loved to
mud race and taught viewers how to create their own pool in the back of a dump truck.
The reality show only lasted one season and was met with much criticism. It even rubbed
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin the wrong way, who wrote a letter to MTV's president Stephen F.
Friedman, believing the show wrongly depicted residents in the community and promoted, quote,
"ugly, inaccurate stereotypes," according to The New York Times.
Nevertheless, the show aired and E! reported it averaged more than 3 million viewers. However,
the tragic death of one of the show's most memorable cast members prompted the network
to cancel the series. According to CNN, in 2013, Shain Gandee was found dead in West
Virginia in a 1984 Ford Bronco, along with his uncle and a third man due to carbon monoxide
poisoning. All three deaths were ruled accidental.
MTV released a statement after the news of Gandee's death, writing:
"We are shocked and saddened by the terrible news about Shain Gandee,
and those involved in this tragic incident […] Shain had a magnetic personality,
with a passion for life that touched everyone he met and we will miss him dearly."
MTV's "The Real World: Hollywood" aired in 2008 and introduced fans to Joey Kovar,
a personal trainer and bodybuilder who, along with his cast members,
had his fair share of personal struggles. In the season, Kovar revealed that he had
an addiction to alcohol and even sought a 30-day treatment program during his time on the show.
After the show, Kovar appeared on season three of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew"
to seek help for cocaine and ecstasy abuse. Sadly, in 2012, TMZ reported that Kovar was found dead
in a friend's house in Chicago, after allegedly taking a mixture of Viagra, cocaine, and alcohol.
However, later reports revealed that Kovar's cause of death was actually "opiate intoxication."
Just days before his death,
Kovar shared several motivational quotes on his Twitter account with one reading:
"Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce."
Fans loved watching the relationship between professional skater Rob Dyrdek and his bodyguard
Christopher "Big Black" Boykin on MTV's "Rob & Big" and "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory."
"It's about being big and girthy."
From their crazy antics to teaching their bulldog Meaty how to skateboard, it was a fun-filled show
that featured two complete opposites that managed to still get along. Boykin had also
broken two Guinness World Records, which included eating the most powdered sugar doughnuts in less
than three minutes and eating the most bananas in a minute, according to The New York Times.
In 2017, Dyrdek lost his counterpart when Boykin had died at age 45. According to People magazine,
Boykin died from a heart attack, with an MTV spokesperson sharing:
"He was a longtime and beloved member of the MTV family and will be greatly missed.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this time."
Dyrdek took to Twitter to express his sadness, writing:
"I don't want to believe that this is reality. I am so thankful for you."
Shocking news hit the MTV "Jackass" family when cast member Ryan Dunn was involved in
a car crash that killed him and a passenger in 2011. According to TMZ, the reality star was
going 130 mph in his Porsche when he collided with a guardrail and crashed into the woods.
His vehicle immediately exploded into flames. Police chief Michael Carroll,
of the West Goshen Township Police Department in Pennsylvania, stated that it was the "worst"
car accident he had ever seen and also claimed that he had, quote, "never seen a car destroyed
in an automobile accident the way this car was [...] even before it caught on fire."
Dunn's close friend and "Jackass" castmate Bam Margera told E! that it was, quote,
"the worst news I've ever heard in my life" and shared the last text
he received from Dunn, which was sent the night of the accident, and read:
"Stopping for a beer, be there when I can."
Johnny Knoxville of "Jackass" also tweeted his disbelief at the death of his friend:
"Today I lost my brother Ryan Dunn. My heart goes
out to his family and his beloved Angie. RIP Ryan, I love you buddy."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dunn was drunk at the time of the accident,
with a blood/alcohol level of 0.196, more than twice the legal limit in Pennsylvania.
MTV's "Nitro Circus" followed X Games gold medalist Travis Pastrana and his crew of
daredevils and action-sports athletes, who would try to top one another's insane stunts.
However, tragedy struck in 2015 when professional skier and BASE jumper Erik Roner was killed,
when he hit a tree while skydiving for a golf event in Northern California.
According to NBC News, over 100 people watched as Roner tragically struck a tree and was tangled
high above the ground. While a rescue team was able to retrieve Roner's body, he was pronounced
dead at the scene. Roy Tuscany, a friend of Roner who witnessed the accident, told Teton Gravity:
"He hit a tree […] he hit a tree so hard. I don't know what happened from there."
Upon news of his death, Roner's wife, Annika Roner, shared in a statement:
"Erik was a beautiful man, great father, wonderful friend and the love of my life."
Two years after his death, Pastrana paid tribute to Roner by BASE jumping off Ponte
Tower in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to BBC. It was the perfect way to remember a
close friend and sublime action-sports athlete. Besides performing his thrilling BASE jumps on
"Nitro Circus," Roner had also hosted "Locals" on the Outside Television sports network.
MTV's "Yo Momma" brought some of the world’s best trash talkers into one room to fire "yo
momma" jokes at one another, all in good fun. The show lasted for three seasons from 2006 to 2007,
and was hosted by "That 70's Show" actor Wilmer Valderrama,
along with British actor and model Sam Sarpong.
In October 2015, the Tommy Hilfiger model died in Pasadena, California in an apparent suicide.
A news release from the Pasadena Police Department stated that after getting a
call that a man was standing by a bridge, there was a seven-hour exchange between Sarpong and
authorities before he jumped off the bridge. In the release, Police Chief Phillip Sanchez stated:
"It is sad and troubling when an individual has
become so despondent that he or she feels their only option is to end their life."
Before becoming a host for the MTV show, Sarpong had worked as an editorial model
for several high-end designers including Louis Vuitton, Versace,
and Gucci. He had also worked in numerous television shows and had minor film roles.
MTV's documentary series "True Life" covered hundreds of topics, from drug use to textaholics,
spanning 21 seasons. One of the most memorable episodes was titled "True Life:
I'm Getting Married", and followed Staten Island native Charlie Balducci for four months as he
prepared to get married to his fiance. It was a whirlwind to finally get to the altar for
Balducci, who had one of the most famous scenes in MTV history. During the day of his wedding,
dressed in an all-white tuxedo, Balducci was heard screaming profanities at his limo driver, who was
late. Balducci managed to make it to his wedding two hours later, according to the New York Post.
Sadly, TMZ reported that the MTV reality star died in July 2020
from a deadly mixture of oxycodone, hydrocodone,
and alprazolam — the anti-anxiety drug known as Xanax — with his death ruled as an accident.
Pedro Zamora made his television debut on MTV's "The Real World: San Francisco".
"My name is Pedro, and I live in Miami. I'm originally from Cuba."
However, he was much more than just another reality star living among strangers in one house.
People reported that Zamora, who was gay, was the first person living openly with AIDS to ever
be featured on a reality television show. During the show, Zamora also fell in love
with a man named Sean Sasser, and the two had a commitment ceremony in "The Real World" house.
It became the first same-sex ceremony ever to be filmed in television history.
Zamora died at age 22 that same year in 1994, due to complications from AIDS. He died just
hours before MTV aired the show's final episode, according to the Chicago Tribune.
He became a celebrated figure who raised awareness for those living with AIDS and HIV,
and educated those who believed in the social stigmas of the disease. After learning about
his death, former President Bill Clinton shared in a statement from the White House:
"Pedro was particularly instrumental in reaching out to his own generation, where AIDS is striking
hard. Through his work with MTV, he taught young people that 'the real world' includes AIDS and
that each of us has the responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones."
Almost fifteen years after his death,
a film was created on the real-life story of Zamora titled, "Pedro".
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).