The benevolent Beastie: Adam Yauch remembered

When the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just weeks ago, the New York trio was down a man.

Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz took the stage with a letter from their missing band mate: Adam “MCA” Yauch, who was too ill to attend. He was suffering from a cancerous salivary gland first diagnosed in 2009.

In the letter, which Horovitz read, Yauch dedicated the honor to his fellow B-Boys, “who have walked the globe with me.”

“To anyone who has been touched by our band, who our music has meant something to, this induction is as much ours as it is yours,” said Yauch.

It was typical generosity from Yauch, the gravelly-voiced rapper who helped make the Beastie Boys one of the seminal groups in hip-hop and whose good-hearted nature led him to humanistic causes and made him beloved in hip-hop. One of his most famous rhymes was a sweet ode to women, which he called “long overdue”: “To all the mothers and sisters and wives and friends/ I want to offer my love and respect to the end.”

When the news came Friday that earlier that morning, Yauch, 47, had died after a nearly three-year battle with cancer, the words from his letter felt particularly apt. The outpouring of sadness at the loss, and celebration of the music Yauch helped created, was immediate and vast, shared across social media by those close to him, rappers influenced by “Paul’s Boutique” and hip-hop listeners raised on Beastie Boys videos.

The rapper Q-Tip, a member of another major New York hip-hop group, A Tribe Called Quest, recalled that the Beastie Boys “showed us the ropes.” Sean “Diddy” Combs called Yauch “a true pioneer and a creative force who paved the way for so many of us.” The rapper Nas lamented the loss of a “brother”: “MCA was so cool,” he said.

For Eminem, Yauch was an undeniable touchstone: “I think it’s obvious to anyone how big an influence the Beastie Boys were on me and so many others.”

Yauch was an integral, founding member to the ever-weaving trio: three Jewish kids from New York who found widespread respect in a hip-hop world with few credible white performers.

In a span of more than a quarter century that covered four No. 1 albums and more than 40 million records sold, the Beastie Boys played both prankster and pioneer- a simultaneously goofy and groundbreaking act that helped bring hip-hop to the mainstream.

The demure, gray-haired Yauch wasn’t the most boastful B-Boy; he was the thoughtful one and a steady source of the trio’s innovative spirit. A practicing Buddhist, he led the group in performing concerts to benefit Tibet and, as a filmmaker, he helped create their imagery.

“The group’s music crossed genres and color lines, and helped bring rap to a wider audience,” said Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy. “Yauch was an immense talent and creative visionary.”

Adam Nathanial Yauch, born in Brooklyn, formed the Beastie Boys with high school friend Diamond. Originally conceived as a hardcore punk group, they played their first show on Yauch’s 17th birthday.

In the letter read at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Yauch recalled their early days at his parents’ home in Brooklyn, “where we used to practice on hot Brooklyn summer days after school, windows open to disturb the neighborhood.”

The group became a hip-hop trio soon after Horovitz joined and coalesced after Yauch dropped out of Bard College two years into his studies. They released their chart-topping debut “Licensed to Ill” in 1986, a raucous album led by the anthem “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)”.

It was the first hip-hop album to top the Billboard chart, and while it remains popular, its irreverent rock-rap fusion bore few hints of an act with staying power.

“Adam was incredibly sweet and the most sensitive artist, who I loved dearly,” Russell Simmons, whose Def Jam label released “Licensed to Ill,” said on his website.

In the seven studio albums that followed, the Beastie Boys expanded sonically and grew more musically ambitious.

Their follow-up, 1989′s “Paul’s Boutique,” ended any suggestion that the group was a one-hit wonder. Extreme in its sampling and thoroughly layered, the album (produced by the Dust Brothers) was ranked the 156th greatest album ever by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003.

The Beastie Boys would later take up their own instruments – a rarity in hip-hop – on the album “Check Your Head” and subsequent releases. Yauch played bass. Later, they would even release an album of instrumentals, which won one of their three Grammys in 2007.

On “Pass the Mic,” he rapped: “If you can feel what I’m feeling then it’s a musical masterpiece / If you can hear what I’m dealing with then that’s cool at least / What’s running through my mind comes through in my walk / True feelings are shown from the way that I talk.”

For many, the Beastie Boys’ lyrics – overflowing torrents of wit, humor and rhyme – were always the main draw. While other forms of hip-hop celebrated individualism, the Beastie Boys were a verbal tag team. Yauch once rapped, “on the tough guy style I’m not too keen.”

Their popularity perhaps peaked with 1994′s “Ill Communication,” which spawned several of their most famous music videos, including “Sure Shot” and the Spike Jonze-directed “Sabotage” – a hit highlighted by Yauch’s bass solo. (MTV, which played a key role in the Beasties’ rise, hurriedly assembled an hour-long tribute show to Yauch on Friday night.)

Yauch used the group’s growing fame to attract awareness for Tibetan Buddhists. He founded the Milarepa Fund to promote activism for Tibet in defense of what the nonprofit considered China’s occupational government.

In 1996, Yauch and Milarepa produced a hugely popular benefit concert for Tibet in San Francisco, which was followed by more international concerts over the next decade.

“He was a goofball and behind a lot of their prankiness, but if you wanted to talk to him about what was going on in the world and social issues and everything, you got a totally different guy,” said Rick Krim, executive vice president of music and talent relations at Vh1.

Introducing the group at the Rock Hall, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D said the Beastie Boys “broke the mold.”

“The Beastie Boys are indeed three bad brothers who made history,” Chuck D said. “They brought a whole new look to rap and hip-hop. They proved that rap could come from any street – not just a few.”

Yauch also went under the pseudonym Nathanial Hornblower when working as a filmmaker. He directed numerous videos for the group, as well as the 2006 concert film “Awesome: I F—–’ Shot That!” (shot entirely by fans given cameras) and the basketball documentary, “Gunnin’ for that (No.) 1 Spot.”

In 2008, he co-founded the noted independent film distribution company Osciolloscope Laboratories, named after his New York studio.

Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wangdu, and his daughter, Tenzin Losel Yauch.

Yauch’s illness, about which he first expressed hope that it was “very treatable,” forced the group to cancel shows and delayed the release of their last album, “Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.” He hadn’t performed in public since 2009.

But the enduring popularity of the Beastie Boys across some 28 years is one of the steadiest paths of success in pop music – a time remarkable for the constant, warm camaraderie between Yauch, Horovitz and Diamond.

“They are truly rock’s most realized group – not hip-hop but all music, really,” wrote Questlove, the drummer for the Roots, who toured with the Beastie Boys. “I mean, did we really expect the most thoughtful, mature, considerate act in music to be the same brats who gave us `Licensed To Ill’?”

 

Barbara Orbison, widow of Roy Orbison, dies in LA

Barbara Orbison, widow of rock n’ roll pioneer Roy Orbison, died Tuesday on the 23rd anniversary of her husband’s death, a family spokeswoman said. She was 60.

Barbara Orbison died from pancreatic cancer at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center surrounded by her sons, said publicist and family spokeswoman Sarah McMullen. Orbison had been hospitalized since May.

Since the 1980s, Barbara Orbison devoted her time to managing her husband’s estate and keeping his legacy alive.

With her son, Roy Kelton Orbison Jr. she co-produced a four-CD box set of her husband’s 107 recordings. “Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll” was released in 2008 and contains all of his hits and 12 previously unreleased tracks.

The package marked the first all-inclusive body of Roy Orbison’s work from his earliest recordings to the Traveling Wilburys’ debut album, “Mystery Girl” and his last live performance. Roy Orbison died in 1988 at the age of 52, in the midst of a comeback with The Traveling Wilburys.

Actor Patrick Swayze’s widow, Lisa Swayze, said her heart out goes out to the Orbison family. “Patrick and I always had a warm connection with them both. Now we have lost this wonderful lady,” Lisa Swayze said. Patrick Swayze died in September 2009 of pancreatic cancer.

In 1998, Barbara Orbison issued “Combo Concert” on her label Orbison Records, a collection of previously unreleased live recordings from Holland and France made in 1965, according to Roy Orbison’s official website. That same year, Barbara Orbison accepted the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award on her husband’s behalf, which honored his contribution to the recording industry.

In January, 2010, Barbara Orbison accepted a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on her husband’s behalf.

Barbara Orbison’s Nashville, Tenn.-based music publishing company Still Working Music was recently awarded BMI’s 2010 Song of the Year for Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me”.

Roy Orbison paid tribute to his wife on his website. “I’ve spent my lifetime trying to figure love out. Love ranges from just fascination to something almost spiritual. In the case with my wife, Barbara, it just keeps growing all the time,” he wrote.

Barbara Orbison will be buried next to her husband at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, McMullen said. A Celebration of Life will be held at an undetermined future date in Nashville, Tenn.

Barbara Orbison is survived by her sons Wesley Orbison, 46, Roy Kelton Orbison, Jr., 41 and Alexander Orbison, 36.

With his doctor on trial, Michael Jackson honored with concert

As his physician stands trial in his death, Michael Jackson was honored halfway around the world Saturday in a concert in Cardiff, Wales.

Michael Jackson’s three children — Prince, Paris and Blanket — attended the concert and went on stage to introduce a video appearance by Beyonce.

A sell-out crowd of 50,000 people attended the concert, organizers said after the event.

Marlon Jackson said the event commemorated his brother’s life.

“The message today is have a great time and remember him as a positive person and all the different things that he stood for — not just his music but the human side of him.”

Only one scheduled performer didn’t make the concert: Jennifer Hudson, according to spokeswoman Dee McCourt of concert organizer Global Live Events.

In comments before performing, Smokey Robinson said Michael Jackson would have approved of the event — though it has stirred controversy within the Jackson family.

“I think Michael would have loved it. I am not sure he is not watching any way and that he is not smiling,” Robinson said.

Robinson noted how Jackson’s doctor is now standing trial in Los Angeles for allegedly causing Jackson’s death.

“I actually wish it was in Los Angeles so that it could really counteract the trial, so that people could have a positive image in their head about what is happening with Michael rather than what’s going on with the trial,” Robinson said.

The “Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert” was held in the 75,000-seat Millennium Stadium, but many of those seats weren’t being used for the concert.

Ticket prices ranged from about $54 to about $155, another concert spokeswoman said.

The event was billed as “a worthy celebration of Michael’s life,” in the words of his mother, who McCourt said attended the event but didn’t appear on stage.

But the concert has been mired in controversy since its inception — especially about its timing.

Concert organizers also said they were not allowed to show any footage of Jackson singing or play his song tracks because of copyright issues. The concert consisted of artists doing their own renditions of Jackson songs.

Members of the Jackson family who performed on stage included brothers Tito, Marlon and Jackie — and 3T, which consists of Tito Jackson’s three sons, McCourt said.

Michael Jackson’s sister LaToya also sang at the concert, McCourt said.

Other artists performing at the concert included Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Gladys Knight, Pixie Lott, Alexandra Burke, Craig David, JLS and Alien Ant Farm, McCourt said.

But sister Janet Jackson didn’t attend. Neither did brothers Jermaine and Randy, who both have criticized the timing of the event, which is coinciding with the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.

The Jackson family has been publicly split over the concert since Tito, Marlon, Jackie, LaToya and family matriarch Katherine Jackson announced their support for it in July.

“We want to make clear that this does not reflect the position of the entire family,” Jermaine and Randy Jackson said in a joint statement. “While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honors our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael’s death.”

Katherine Jackson has told CNN that she understood her children’s objections to the timing of the show, but she felt the event was appropriate.

While she said she will attend most of the Murray trial, she traveled to Wales for the tribute.

In a statement on the concert’s website, Katherine Jackson said she was “greatly honored” that Global Live Events planned the concert in memory of her son.

“Michael gave his entire life to the world through his love, his music and his devotion to healing the planet. It is with great gratitude for me to give my complete blessing and full support to what I consider to be the one and only Official Michael Jackson Tribute Concert,” Katherine Jackson wrote.

“I am positive that this event will be an event great enough in scale, talent and imagination to form a worthy celebration of Michael’s life. It is intended to be the biggest, and the best concert event in the world for many years to come. This is how Michael would have wanted it and I am sure it will be exactly that,” she added.

Waiting to enter the concert, fan Mandy Meek said she gets choked up at the thought of Michael Jackson — and his personal travails.

“I think he had bad press. (It’s) not nice what he went through. Nobody understood him. Nobody thinks about his childhood. Perhaps if we all had a childhood like that, we would be misunderstood,” Meek said.

A Jackson family source earlier told CNN that the plan to have the Michael Forever tribute carried live on Facebook for $3.99 was canceled because the labels who own the music rights to the Michael Jackson songs to be performed denied broadcast rights to concert producers.

Steve Jobs – We love and miss you – RIP

We will miss your compassion and knowledge.

Jermaine Jackson honors his late brother

Jermaine Jackson performed a nostalgic tribute concert Friday to his late brother Michael Jackson to mark the second anniversary of the pop star’s death as part of the 12th International Indian Film Academy festivities in Toronto.

Dressed in a Michael Jackson-inspired outfit, complete with a red military-style jacket, V-neck white shirt, fitted black slacks and a black cummerbund with an emblazoned number “5,” the former Jackson 5 performer sang a medley of his brother’s hits including “Scream,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and “Can You Feel It.”

“This is a special moment in the show because it’s a tribute to my brother,” said Jackson moments before joining Indian singer Sonu Nigam to perform “This is It,” a song written by Nigam after the megastar’s death, which the singers dedicated to the pop icon.

The pair performed at IIFA Rocks, a Bollywood-inspired concert and fashion show bonanza which is part of the academy’s three days of film, song and dance that culminates in Saturday night’s awards ceremony, often referred to as the Indian Oscars.

IIFA Rocks also kickstarted the awards portion of the weekend by presenting some technical film awards in between bouts of fashion runway shows and high-energy musical performances.

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Romantic comedy “Band Baaja Baarat” and the action movie “Dabangg” led the pack, each scooping up three awards.

Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum was packed with excited Bollywood fans who could hardly contain their excitement when South Asian superstars including “Slumdog Millionaire” actor Anil Kapoor, Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan and veteran stage and film star Anupam Kher took the stage to announce the winners.

The cheering was so raucous when the venue’s camera monitors flashed on Bollywood superstars sitting in their seats that it sometimes drowned out the hosts.

“When we’re speaking, please don’t put close-ups of big movie stars on the screen,” joked co-host Karan Johar, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Johar and co-host Anushka Sharma alternated between English and Hindi throughout the evening.

Sharma was treated to a hug by Shah Rukh Khan, often referred to as “King Khan,” whose close-ups on the monitor screens drew the loudest cheers.

“I’m tired of girls giving me a hug. I want a deep passionate kiss,” said Khan.

“You’re forgetting what would happen at home if that happened,” smirked Johar.

Khan retorted, “We’re thousands and thousands of miles away. What happens in Toronto, stays in Toronto.” But in the end, he played it safe with a big bear hug for the bombshell Bollywood actress.

Much of the evening’s music was provided by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, a musical super group consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, who also won an award for best background score for their work on “My Name is Khan,” starring Shah Rukh Khan.

But the real musical superstars were British-Canadian bhangra trio RDB, whose energetic performances with singer Veronica and two players of the drum-like dhol, got the audience shaking their shoulders in their seats and cheering excitedly.

 

 

Peter Falk, TV’s rumpled Columbo, has died

The best way to celebrate Peter Falk’s life is to savor how Columbo, his signature character, fortified our lives.

Thanks to Falk’s affectionately genuine portrayal, Lt. Columbo established himself for all time as a champion of any viewer who ever felt less than graceful, elegant or well-spoken.

Falk died Thursday at age 83 in his Beverly Hills, Calif., home, according to a statement released Friday by family friend Larry Larson. But Columbo lives on as the shining ideal of anyone with a smudge on his tie, whose car isn’t the sportiest, who often seems clueless, who gets dissed by fancy people.

As a police detective, Columbo’s interview technique was famously disjointed, with his inevitable awkward afterthought (“Ahhh, there’s just one more thing…”) that tried the patience of his suspect as he was halfway out the door.

Columbo was underestimated, patronized or simply overlooked by nearly everyone he met – especially the culprit.

And yet Columbo, drawing on inner pluck for which only he (and an actor as skilled as Falk) could have accounted, always prevailed. Contrary to all evidence (that is, until he nailed the bad guy), Columbo always knew what he was doing.

Even more inspiring for viewers, he was unconcerned with how other people saw him. He seemed to be perfectly happy with himself, his life, his pet basset, Dog, his wheezing Peugeot, and his never-seen wife. A squat man chewing cigars in a rumpled raincoat, he stands tall among TV’s most self-assured heroes.

What viewer won’t take solace forever from the lessons Columbo taught us by his enduring example?

Columbo – he never had a first name – presented a refreshing contrast to other TV detectives. “He looks like a flood victim,” Falk once said. “You feel sorry for him. He appears to be seeing nothing, but he’s seeing everything. Underneath his dishevelment, a good mind is at work.”

On another occasion, he described Columbo as “an ass-backwards Sherlock Holmes.”

“As a person, he was like Columbo. He was exactly the same way: a great sense of humor, constantly forgetting things,” said Charles Engel, an NBCUniversal executive who worked with Falk on “Columbo” and was his neighbor and longtime friend.

He remembered Falk as a “brilliant” actor and “an amazingly wonderful, crazy guy,” and said a script was in place for a two-hour “Columbo” special, but Falk’s illness made the project impossible. In a court document filed in December 2008, Falk’s daughter Catherine Falk said her father was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Somehow fittingly, Falk – the perfect choice to play Columbo – failed to be the first choice. Instead, the role was offered to easygoing crooner Bing Crosby. Fortunately, he turned it down.

With Falk in place, “Columbo” began its run in 1971 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie series, appearing every third week. The show became by far the most popular of the three mysteries, the others being “McCloud” and “McMillan and Wife.”

Falk was reportedly paid $250,000 a movie and could have made much more if he had accepted an offer to convert “Columbo” into a weekly series. He declined, reasoning that carrying a weekly detective series would be too great a burden.

NBC canceled the three series in 1977. In 1989 ABC offered “Columbo” in a two-hour format usually appearing once or twice a season. The movies continued into the 21st century. “Columbo” appeared in 26 foreign countries and was a particular favorite in France and Iran.

Columbo’s trademark: an ancient raincoat Falk had once bought for himself. After 25 years on television, the coat became so tattered it had to be replaced.

Falk was already an experienced Broadway actor and two-time Oscar nominee when he began playing Columbo. And, long before then, he had demonstrated a bit of Columbo-worthy spunk: at 3, he had one eye removed because of cancer.

Then, when he was starting as an actor in New York, an agent told him, “Of course, you won’t be able to work in movies or TV because of your eye.” And after failing a screen test at Columbia Pictures, he was told by studio boss Harry Cohn that “for the same price I can get an actor with two eyes.”

But Falk prevailed, even before “Columbo,” picking up back-to-back Oscar nominations as best supporting actor for the 1960 mob drama “Murder, Inc.” and Frank Capra’s last film, the 1961 comedy-drama “Pocketful of Miracles.”

Paying tribute, actor-comedian Michael McKean said, “Peter Falk’s assault on conventional stardom went like this: You’re not conventionally handsome, you’re missing an eye and you have a speech impediment. Should you become a movie star? Peter’s correct answer: Absolutely.

“I got to hang with him a few times and later worked a day with him on a forgettable TV movie,” McKean went on, calling Falk “a sweet, sharp and funny man with a great soul. Wim Wenders called it correctly in `Wings of Desire’: He was an angel if there ever was one on Earth.”

“There is literally nobody you could compare him to. He was a completely unique actor,” said Rob Reiner, who directed Falk in “The Princess Bride.”

“His personality was really what drew people to him. … He had this great sense of humor and this great natural quality nobody could come close to,” Reiner said. Falk’s work with Alan Arkin in “The In-Laws” represents “one of the most brilliant comedy pairings we’ve seen on screen.”

Peter Michael Falk was born in 1927, in New York City and grew up in Ossining, N.Y., where his parents ran a clothing store.

After serving as a cook in the merchant marine and receiving a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University, Falk worked as an efficiency expert for the budget bureau of the state of Connecticut.

He also acted in amateur theater and was encouraged to become a professional by actress-teacher Eva Le Gallienne.

An appearance in “The Iceman Cometh” off-Broadway led to other parts, among them Josef Stalin in Paddy Chayefsky’s 1964 “The Passion of Josef D.” In 1971, Falk scored a hit in Neil Simon’s “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” Tony-nominated for best play.

Falk made his film debut in 1958 with “Wind Across the Everglades” and established himself as a talented character actor with his performance as the vicious killer Abe Reles in “Murder, Inc.”

Among his other movies: “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” “Robin and the Seven Hoods,” “The Great Race,” “Luv,” “Castle Keep,” “The Cheap Detective” and “The Brinks Job.”

Falk also appeared in a number of art-house favorites, including “Wings of Desire” (in which he played himself as a former angel), and the semi-improvisational films “Husbands” and “A Woman Under the Influence,” directed by his friend John Cassavetes.

“Today we lost someone who is very special and dear to my heart. Not only a wonderful actor but a very great friend,” said Gena Rowlands, who co-starred with Falk in the latter film, and was married to the late Cassavetes.

Falk became prominent in television movies, beginning with his first Emmy for “The Price of Tomatoes” in 1961. His four other Emmys were for “Columbo.”

He was married to pianist Alyce Mayo in 1960; they had two daughters, Jackie and Catherine, and divorced in 1976. The following year he married actress Shera Danese. They filed for divorce twice and reconciled each time.

When not working, Falk spent time in the garage of his Beverly Hills home. He had converted it into a studio where he created charcoal drawings. He took up art in New York when he was in the Simon play and one day happened into the Art Students League.

He recalled: “I opened a door and there she was, a nude model, shoulders back, a light from above, buck-ass naked. The female body is awesome. Believe me, I signed up right away.”

Falk is survived by his wife Shera and his two daughters.

 

‘Jackass’ star Ryan Dunn dies in fiery Pa. crash

“Jackass” star Ryan Dunn, who along with his cast mates made Americans cringe and snicker through vulgar stunts in their multimillion-dollar TV and movie franchise, was killed early Monday in a fiery car crash. He was 34.

Dunn, a daredevil who gained notoriety for diving into a sewage tank and performing other unsavory stunts, was driving his 2007 Porsche in suburban Philadelphia when it careered off the road, flipped over a guardrail and crashed into the woods before bursting into flames. A passenger was also killed, and speed may have been a factor in the crash, West Goshen Township police said.

The force of impact shattered the vehicle into several twisted and blackened pieces, leaving the Porsche 911 GT3 unrecognizable except for a door that was thrown from the crash and not incinerated. A 100-foot-long tire skid marked where the car left the roadway.

Both Dunn and his passenger were severely burned. Police said they were able to identify Dunn through his tattoos and hair, but the identity of his passenger was still unknown.

Dunn appeared on MTV shows “Jackass” and “Viva La Bam” and the three “Jackass” big-screen adaptations. He also was the star of his own MTV show, “Homewrecker,” and just began hosting the new show “Proving Ground” on the G4 cable network.

G4 spokesman Dave Welch said “Proving Ground,” which premiered June 11 with the second episode slated to air Tuesday, was being pulled for now until the network can discuss the show’s future.

Dunn’s longtime friend and fellow “Jackass” daredevil Johnny Knoxville tweeted on Monday afternoon, “Today I lost my brother Ryan Dunn. My heart goes out to his family and his beloved Angie. RIP Ryan, I love you buddy.”

Dunn also starred in the yet-to-be-released film “Living Will.” The film’s website describes Dunn’s character as a “party bum slacker (who) returns from the dead as a mischievous and perverted ghost.”

In a statement, MTV praised Dunn’s tireless humor and enthusiasm and said he would be missed.

“We are devastated by the tragic loss of Ryan Dunn – a beloved member of the MTV family for more than a decade,” said Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music/Films Group. “The Jackass brotherhood will never be the same.”

Dunn was born in Ohio and moved at age 15 to Pennsylvania, where he met Bam Margera on his first day of high school, according to a biography posted on his website.

Dunn, Margera, Christopher Raab (known as Raab Himself) and Brandon DiCamillo, under the moniker CKY for “Camp Kill Yourself,” started making videos that featured them skateboarding and performing stunts.

Dunn was working as a welder and at a gas station when Knoxville, a friend of Margera’s through the skateboarding circuit, asked the crew to allow their videos to be part of the series “Jackass,” which became a hit on MTV and ran from 2000 to 2002.

Perhaps his most famous stunt, in 2002′s “Jackass: The Movie,” involved inserting a toy car into his rectum and going to an emergency room, where he made up a story that he was in mysterious pain after passing out at a fraternity party. Dunn’s X-ray from the hospital became a popular T-shirt for “Jackass” fans.

In a 2000 stunt, he dived into a tank at a raw sewage plant wearing flippers, a mask and a snorkel.

A few hours before the 3 a.m. crash, Dunn tweeted a picture of himself drinking with two friends. The photo has since been removed.

Autopsies were to be conducted Monday, though it was unclear when the results would be released.

In Memory – Laura Ziskin 1950 – 2011

In Memory – Laura Ziskin 1950 – 2011

Hollywood producer Laura Ziskin died from breast cancer at the age of 61. Ziskin was a producer on hit films, “Pretty Woman”, The Spider-man franchise and its reboot “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “As Good As It Gets”. Ziskin was a co-creator and board member with the Stand Up To Cancer organization.

‘Cosby Show’s’ Grandma Huxtable dies at 93

The Huxtable clan has lost a very valuable member.

Clarice Taylor, the stage and screen vet who found her greatest fame playing Bill Cosby’s mom, Anna Huxtable, on The Cosby Show, has died at the age of 93.

Her publicist says Taylor succumbed to heart failure on Monday in Englewood, N.J.

Born in 1917 in Virginia, Taylor got her break in 1976 with a recurring role on Sesame Street as David’s grandmother, Harriet, which she followed with guest spots on such TV shows as Ironside, Sanford and Son and Spenser for Hire.

She appeared in such films as Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me and onstage as the Good Witch in The Wiz.

But Taylor will be best remembered as the beloved Grandma on The Cosby Show, a role that earned her an Emmy nomination in 1986.

Rest in peace.

Wrestler known as ‘Macho Man’ dies in Fla. wreck

Randy “Macho Man” Savage, a larger-than-life personality from professional wrestling’s 1980s flying-elbow heyday known for his raspy voice, brash style and the young woman named Miss Elizabeth who often accompanied him, died in a car crash Friday in Florida. He was 58.

A Florida Highway Patrol crash report said the former wrestler – whose legal name was Randy Mario Poffo – was driving a Jeep Wrangler when he lost control in Pinellas County around 9:25 a.m. The Jeep veered over the raised concrete median divider, crossed over the eastbound lanes and crashed head-on into a tree.

Police said he may have suffered a “medical event” before the accident, but the report did not elaborate, and it said officials would need to perform an autopsy to know for sure.

The report said a woman in the vehicle, identified as Barbara L. Poffo, 56, suffered minor injuries. A statement from Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment said the passenger was the wrestler’s current wife. Both were wearing their seatbelts, according to the police report.

“Poffo will be greatly missed by WWE and his fans,” the statement said.

Savage was a charismatic wrestler made famous for his “Macho Man” nickname and his “Oooh Yeah!” catchphrase. He was a champion in Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation, and later Ted Turner’s now-defunct World Championship Wrestling.

Poffo was under contract with WWE from 1985 to 1993 and held both the WWE and Intercontinental Championships.

“Our sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends. We wish a speedy recovery to his wife,” WWE said.

Savage defined the mega-watt personalities of the 1980s World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). He wore sequined robes bejeweled with “Macho Man” on the back, rainbow-colored cowboy hats and colorful bandanas and oversized sunglasses, part of a unique look that helped build the WWF into a mainstream phenomenon.

For most of his career, his valet, Miss Elizabeth, was by his side. The woman, Elizabeth Hulette, was his real-life wife at the time. They later divorced, and Hulette died in 2003 at 42 in what was later ruled a prescription drug overdose.

Savage’s death was not the first to catch the wrestling world by surprise.

Chris Benoit killed his wife and son and then committed suicide in their Georgia home in 2007; Benoit was 40.

Eddie Guerrero was 38 when he died of a heart attack in 2005 after a history of alcohol and drug problems.

Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig died of a cocaine overdose in 2003 at 44. That same year, Michael “Road Warrior Hawk” Hegstrand died from a heart attack at 46. He had battled alcohol and drugs, as well as steroids.

In 1999, wrestler Owen Hart, 33, was killed when he fell from an apparatus as he was being lowered into the ring from the ceiling of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

The WWF made Savage their champion after a win over Ted DiBiase in the main event at WrestleMania in 1988.

Savage had not appeared for a major wrestling organization since 2004, when he performed for Total Nonstop Action.

He was at times both the most popular and most hated wrestler in entertainment. His flying elbow off the top rope was mimicked by basement and backyard wrestlers everywhere. Savage made good use of his deep, raspy voice as a corporate pitchman as well, for years ordering Slim Jim fans to “Snap into a Slim Jim!”

He’s most known for his legendary rivalries with Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair. Wrestlers took to Twitter to let fans know Savage won’t be forgotten.

“There’s probably five or six of us, with Andre (the Giant) and Hogan and thankfully myself and Flair, that, when their names pop up, even if you’re not a fan, you know who in the hell these people are,” said former wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. “You say, `I know this guy. I know Macho Man Randy Savage.’ He was part of that breed. We lost a good one.”

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson hailed Savage as one of his childhood inspirations and heroes, while Mick “Cactus Jack” Foley called Savage “one of my favorite performers.”

Hogan said he and Savage had just started talking again after 10 years.

“He had so much life in his eyes & in his spirit, I just pray that he’s happy and in a better place and we miss him,” Hogan wrote.

While so many personalities who left the WWF for WCW like Hogan, Roddy Piper and Mean Gene Okerlund were welcomed back to the company and even inducted into the Hall of Fame, Savage never returned.

Rhodes said Savage had prudently saved his money and was content to remain out of the spotlight.

“He was a recluse, almost,” Rhodes said by phone. “Whatever he was doing, he wanted that privacy. Yeah, he was out of the picture for 10 years, but he didn’t want to be in the picture.”

Savage was a minor league catcher in the 1970s for St. Louis and Cincinnati before turning in the uniform for tights. His father, Angelo Poffo, was a longtime wrestler, and his brother, “Leaping” Lanny Poffo, was also a 1980s WWF mainstay. Condolences from fans poured in to Lanny Poffo’s Facebook page on Friday.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.