Former MTV host Ken Ober dead at 52 of suspected H1N1

[Roehl_JC]

Atlanta, GA 11/16/2009 11:01 p.m. GMT (TransWorldNews)



Ken Ober, best known for hosting the 80s MTV show Remote Control, has died. Rumors of his death hit the internet this morning and were quickly shot down. Mark Measures, an agent at Abrams Artists who worked with Ober, says reports of the game show host?s death are true.

Ober was found dead in his home Sunday. He complained of a headache and flu-like symptoms to a friend on Saturday night. Ober was 52. The cause of death has not been released.
Ober became the host of Remote Control in 1987. His stint on the show ended in 1990 and he went on to host several other shows including Make Me Laugh and Smush. He most recently worked as a producer on The New Adventures of Old Christine.

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=140202&cat=2

[Roehl_JC]

Re: Former MTV host Ken Ober dead at 52 of suspected H1N1

This story belongs in the California thread...He died in Santa Monica. So sorry for Ken Ober!

[Roehl_JC]

Former MTV host Ken Ober complained of ILI before death

Ken Ober, a brassy comedian best known as the host of the 1980s-era MTV game show ?Remote Control,? died this weekend, Mark Measures, an agent at Abrams Artists who worked with him, said on Monday. Mr. Ober, who lived in Santa Monica, Calif., was 52. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Lee Kernis, a manager at Brillstein Entertainment Partners who represented Mr. Ober for more than 20 years, said that Mr. Ober was found dead on Sunday. He said that Mr. Ober was last heard from on Saturday night, when he spoke to a friend and complained of a headache and flu-like symptoms. Mr. Ober told the friend that he was going to take something and would see a doctor as soon as possible.

Mr. Ober, who was born in Brookline, Mass. and raised in Hartford, Conn., grew up idolizing game show hosts like Bob Barker and Bob Eubanks, and went on to host four game shows of his own, including a revived version of ?Make Me Laugh? in 1997. But his breakthrough came a decade earlier when Mr. Ober, a contestant on the televised talent show ?Star Search,? became the host of the MTV series ?Remote Control? in 1987

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/ken-ober-remote-control-host-is-dead/

[Roehl_JC]

Re: Former MTV host Ken Ober complained of ILI before death

He was the the MTV generation's Alex Trebek.

Ken Ober, host of the '80s game show "Remote Control" has died at 52, his representative confirmed to MTV News.

While the cause of his death was not available at press time, Lee Kernis of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, who represented Ober, said the cause was unknown.

According to the rep, friends said Ober was not feeling well over the weekend and had a headache and flu-like symptoms and didn't meet them as planned. An autopsy is planned.

"Remote Control" debuted in 1987 and Ober hosted for five seasons which, along with "Club MTV" and "The Week In Rock," was MTV's first foray into series television.

The show tested kids' knowledge of pop-culture on a set that bore a strong resemblance to any suburban basement. Ober would stand behind a lectern and next to a giant TV screen, would ask questions about celebrities, movies, TV shows and music videos.

"Remote Control" helped launch the careers of Adam Sandler, Denis Leary and Colin Quinn, who act out sketches doubling as quiz questions.

Ober is survived by his mother, Claire Freeman of West Hartford, Conn.; his father, Burton, and stepmother, Iris, of Palm Beach, Fla., and a brother, Andrew, of Old Greenwich, Conn

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/11/ken_ober_mtv_host_of_remote_co.html

[Pathfinder]

Re: Former MTV host Ken Ober dead at 52 of suspected H1N1

Ken Ober dies at 52; host of MTV's 'Remote Control' game show<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_headline_preview" END -->
<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_subheadline_preview" START -->The comedian and actor was doing stand-up when he landed the job of guiding the 1980s game show, which featured raucous question-and-answer trivia contests about TV reruns.<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_subheadline_preview" END -->

<TABLE cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TD> Ken Ober appeared on "Remote Control" from 1987 to 1989. He later turned to writing and producing TV shows.


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
By Claire Noland<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_byline_preview" END -->
<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_display_time_preview" START -->November 17, 2009

Ken Ober, a comedian and actor who as host of MTV's "Remote Control" in the 1980s guided the raucous question-and-answer trivia contests on the irreverent cable TV game show, was found dead Sunday at his home in Santa Monica. He was 52.

Lee Kernis of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, who represented Ober, confirmed the death but said the cause was unknown. According to Kernis, friends said Ober had been feeling ill with a headache and flu-like symptoms Saturday and did not meet them later as planned. An autopsy is planned.

Ober was a stand-up comic when he landed the job as host of ?Remote Control? in 1987. On a basement set featuring college-age contestants and audience members, Ober introduced categories spanning the universe of TV reruns -- beginning with the old black-and-white days of "Car 54, Where Are You?" and "Mr. Ed" but returning again and again to "The Brady Bunch." If the players, who were strapped into garish reclining lounge chairs, answered correctly, they got to choose the next category. Those eliminated were ridiculed, then pitched backward in their chairs through the wall of the set.

Ober, who grew up transfixed by television, clearly had fun playing the host, even if it wasn't his ultimate goal.

"I remember the first time it hit me," Ober said in a 1989 interview with the San Diego Union Tribune. "I was in a supermarket line reading 'TV Guide,' and it said 'Ken Ober, comma, TV game show host.' And I said, 'Oh, no, I'm a game show host.' "

Born July 3, 1957, in Boston, Ober studied communications and education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He worked as a substitute teacher in Boston before performing in comedy clubs in New York.

Ober left "Remote Control" in 1989 to audition for acting jobs, but reruns of the show featuring Ober and other series regulars Colin Quinn and Denis Leary continued to air.

After acting in TV series such as "Parenthood," "Who's the Boss?" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," Ober shifted his focus to writing and producing for the series "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Ober, who was single, is survived by his mother, Claire Freeman of West Hartford, Conn.; his father, Burton, and stepmother, Iris, of Palm Beach, Fla., and a brother, Andrew, of Old Greenwich, Conn.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-ken-ober17-2009nov17,0,6123710.story