Not a Hoax: Ken Ober, MTV's 'Remote Control' Host, Dies at 52

Sadly, though, this rumor turns out to be true. Ober's reps confirm to Zap2it that he passed away over the weekend at the age of 52. No other details were available late Monday morning.

Ober had worked as writer and producer on Comedy Central's "Mind of Mencia" in recent years, and he did a stint as a consulting producer on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" in 2006. He also worked behind the camera (and occasionally in front of it) on his friend and "Remote Control" announcer Colin Quinn's show "Tough Crowd" earlier in the decade.

To legions of Gen-Xers, though, he'll be remembered as the host of "Remote Control," the TV-obsessed game show that aired on MTV from 1987-'89 and featured such categories as "Brady Physics" and "Dead or Canadian." It also helped introduce Adam Sandler to the world; he worked as a writer on the show (as did Denis Leary), and he played the recurring on-screen characters Trivia Delinquent and Stud Boy.

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.

That show, which was the network’s first original series to focus on non-musical content, tested participants on their knowledge of television, music-video and pop-culture trivia. The show, which also provided a launching pad for the careers of comedians like Adam Sandler and Colin Quinn, drew much of its sarcastic, self-mocking spirit from the culturally obsessive Mr. Ober, who ran the program like a late-night talk show (or frat party) and gleefully teased players who gave wrong answers.

Van Toffler, the president of MTV Networks, said on Monday, “Ken was a great guy. His personality really brought ‘Remote Control’ to life, as well as a new style of programming for MTV. We were really flying by the seat of of our pants then, and Ken was the reason it worked.”

In recent years Mr. Ober also worked as a producer on comedy series like “Mind of Mencia” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

Mr. Kernis said, “He was a terrific friend. I’m still shocked.”

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