Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 10:07 p.m.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1626376/20091116/story.jhtml

Longtime MTV "Remote Control" host Ken Ober has passed away at the age of 52, the comedian's representative confirmed to MTV News. The cause of his death was not available at press time.

"His body was discovered in his home on Sunday," Mark Measures, Ober's talent agent, told TVGuide.com. "The last person to have spoken to him was on Saturday morning. No foul play is suspected, no suicide, it looks like natural causes, just no one knows the exact cause yet."

Ober's career began in the mid-1980s with a turn on the talent competition "Star Search" and in more recent years segued into behind-the-scenes production positions on comedy shows like "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Starting in 1987, Ober hosted five seasons of "Remote Control," which, along with "Club MTV" and "The Week In Rock," was MTV's first foray into series television. A quiz show that tested contestants' pop-culture knowledge, the set bore a strong resemblance to a suburban home's basement. Standing behind a makeshift lectern and next to a giant television screen that helped guide the show, Ober would ask questions about celebrities, movies, TV shows and music videos. Participants sat on colorful La-Z-Boy chairs with food and drinks on trays in front of them as they tried to answer the questions and avoid elimination. The show helped launch the careers of Adam Sandler, Denis Leary and Colin Quinn, who made various appearances on the show, acting out sketches that functioned as quiz questions.

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
11/19/09 12:35 p.m.

Yeah, bummer. That's back from when MTV mattered.

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
11/19/09 12:46 p.m.

Back when Happy Gilmore was Studboy. Damn that show was awesome.

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/19/09 1:00 p.m.

Rumors are that he passed from H1N1.

pinchvalve
pinchvalve SuperDork
11/19/09 1:35 p.m.

In case you couldn't remember what he looked like either.

Appleseed
Appleseed Dork
11/19/09 11:51 p.m.

That show started the downward spiral that MTV became. First show that had nothing to do with music. Now I dare you to find any music on MTV. Ungh!

Fun show, though.

NYG95GA
NYG95GA SuperDork
11/20/09 12:39 a.m.

There's still an MTV?

News to me. I thought it died a long time ago.

littleturquoiseb
littleturquoiseb HalfDork
11/20/09 7:21 a.m.

Reminds me of my favorite Remote control game "Dead or Canadian!" ...

RIP Ken!

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