Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011)^[1] was an American reality television personality, actor and stunt man best known for being a member of the Jackass and Viva La Bam crew.

Dunn came to prominence as a member of the CKY Crew along with long-time friend Bam Margera for their extreme stunts and pranks recorded on camera which led to the rise of MTV's Jackass and its three later feature films, which have all been commercial successes.

Aside from Jackass, Dunn also hosted Homewrecker and Proving Ground and appeared in feature films such as Street Dreams and Blonde Ambition, as well as in Margera's films Haggard: The Movie and Minghags.

Dunn died in an alcohol-related car crash in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania on the morning of June 20, 2011, alongside his friend Zachary Hartwell, a production assistant on Jackass Number Two.

Career[link]

Dunn took part in the characteristic stunts that made Jackass famous, and featured in all three released films, Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two and Jackass 3D.

In 2006, Dunn and Bam Margera participated in the Gumball 3000 road rally in Margera's Lamborghini Gallardo.^[2] He later went on a tour with Don Vito called "The Dunn and Vito Rock Tour" for which the DVD was released on March 20, 2007.^[3] Dunn and Margera again participated in the rally in 2008.

Bam Margera stated during a December 2, 2008, radio interview with Big O and Dukes of 106.7 WJFK-FM, that he and Dunn would be going to Italy to film Where the F*%# Are My Ancestors.^[4] That same month, Dunn appeared on the episode "Smut" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in December 2008. He is also featured in a movie called Street Dreams which was released in spring 2009. He co-starred along with Rob Dyrdek and Paul Rodriguez Jr. Dunn was also featured on a show with fellow Jackass star Bam Margera about them traveling through Europe in a Viva la Bam-like show called Bam's World Domination for Spike. He appeared in Jackass 3D, which was released on October 15, 2010.^[5]

Dunn co-hosted G4's Proving Ground along with Jessica Chobot, which made its premiere on June 14, 2011, six days before his death.^[6] However, according to a G4 spokesperson, the channel decided to postpone the airing of further episodes. The spokesperson added, "The show is off the schedule as of today until we discuss next steps."^[7] On June 27, G4 announced they would air the remaining episodes starting on July 19, 2011.^[8][9] At the time of his death, Dunn was working on the film, Welcome to the Bates Motel. The film is slated for release in 2012.

Personal life[link]

From 2002 until his death, Dunn was in a long-term relationship with girlfriend Angie Cuturic, who co-starred with him in Margera's directorial debut Haggard: The Movie and later Minghags. Dunn had several tattoos of Cuturic, including in his inner arm and left ring finger. ^[10]

2006 injury[link]

During shooting of the closing scenes for Jackass Number Two, Dunn injured his shoulder during one of his final bits, where he and co-star Bam Margera are pulled out of shot by a running horse by a rope tied around their feet. Dunn dropped straight onto his shoulder, causing damage to the muscles and leading to a blood clot that was at one point life-threatening, due to its proximity to his heart and brain. While seeking treatment for it, Dunn became depressed, eventually cutting off all contact with his friends, co-workers, and others for nearly two years. Dunn did not appear in Jackass 2.5, the 24-hour Jackassworld.com MTV special, or any subsequent events related to the films and series.^[11] Although reluctant to return to the Jackass world, he soon joined the rest of the crew in the production of Jackass 3D and Jackass 3.5 later saying that he was happy to rejoin the cast and had more enjoyment working on Jackass 3 than any previous film endeavors.^[12]

Death[link]

Flowers and notes left at the crash scene

On June 20, 2011, at around 2:30 a.m. EDT, Dunn and Zachary Hartwell, a production assistant on Jackass Number Two,^[13] were killed when Dunn's Porsche 911 GT3 veered off the road and hit a tree in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.^[14][15] Hours before the accident, Dunn had posted a photo to his Twitter account of himself and Hartwell drinking at a West Chester bar.^[16] Dunn was identified in the police report as the vehicle's driver,^[17] and a subsequent toxicology report showed Dunn had a blood alcohol level of 0.196% — more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08%.^[18] The police report stated "...that speed may have been a contributing factor in the accident..."^[17] and preliminary investigations suggested that the car had been traveling between 132 and 140 miles per hour (212 and 230 km/h) in a 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) zone.^[19][20] The accident happened in the same location that Dunn had previously rolled another vehicle in 1996.^[21]

The Wednesday after the accident, Ryan's closest friends and family attended a private memorial service held in West Chester, Pennsylvania.^[22] Dunn's remains were brought back to his home state of Ohio for burial.

Legacy[link]

Dunn is remembered by friends and fans alike as the "go-to guy for outrageous stunts that even such stalwarts as Steve-O weren't willing to try" and "the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend," gaining the nickname "Random Hero."^[23]

Following the news of his death, Dickhouse Productions and the producers of the show released the following statement:

"I don't really know what to say right now everybody, because the sadness is overwhelming, but today we lost one of our own. Our brother Ryan Dunn has passed. He died in a car wreck in West Goshen, Pennsylvania this morning at 3 a.m. Goddamn, that's tough to write. Our hearts go out to his family and his beloved Angie. Ryan will be missed and remembered by us all. Thanks for the kind words of support everybody."

Many celebrities expressed their grief and condolences on Twitter including Sofia Coppola, Tom Green, Carey Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Tony Hawk and his Jackass cast members.^[24] Film critic Roger Ebert sparked an argument over Twitter after posting "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive" just hours after Dunn died. Bam Margera retaliated by putting "I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterical for a full day and piece of s**t roger ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents about a jackass drunk driving and [he is] one, f*** you!" he added. "Millions of people are crying right now, shut your fat f*****g mouth!" Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton responded 'We certainly agree that driving after drinking is wrong, we think there's no reason - especially RIGHT NOW - that anyone should be pointing fingers or poking fun at a truly tragic situation. Everyone makes mistake, and this is somebody's son. Too soon, Roger.' Ebert replied to Hilton's post saying, 'Perez Hilton's readers agree with me and not with Perez about my tweet on Ryan Dunn. He drank, he drove, 2 people died.' Kings of Leon also paid homage to Dunn at their London Hyde Park concert by dedicating their song "McFearless" to him. Skrillex dedicated his song "Cinema" to Dunn after a moment of silence. ^[25] Alkaline Trio also dedicated their song "Goodbye Forever" to Dunn on their 15 Year Anniversary tour.

Singer/song writer Roger Alan Wade wrote and composed the song dedicated to Dunn titled, "The Light Outlives the Star." Occasional Jackass member Loomis Fall also wrote the song "Bid Farewell" in memory of Dunn. Both songs were used in a music video tribute by Dickhouse Productions for its official website.^[26]

Dunn also came in at number three in the most popular search terms of 2011 on Google's Zeitgeist report following his death.^[27]

On November 28, 2011, MTV aired an hour-long tribute to Dunn, where several details of his life previously unknown to the public were revealed as well as never-before seen stunts he performed. Dunn's parents, sister, friends and both Jackass and Viva La Bam cast mates recalled his early beginnings to final months.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

• The Alter Boys - The Exotic Sounds of the Alter Boys (2005)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ryan Dunn

• Official website
• Ryan Dunn at the Internet Movie Database

Bam Margera
Bam Margera, September 2006
Born	Brandon Cole Margera (1979-09-28) September 28, 1979 (age 32) West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Residence	Castle Bam in Pocopson Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania[1]
Occupation	Stuntman Director Actor Skateboarder
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Melissa "Missy" Rothstein (2007–present)
Website
www.bamargera.com

Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera^[2] (pronounced /mɑrˈdʒɛərə/ mar-JAIR-ə; born September 28, 1979) is an American professional skateboarder, television and radio personality, actor and daredevil. He released a series of videos under the CKY banner and came to prominence after being drafted into MTV's Jackass crew. He has since appeared in MTV's Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union, all three Jackass movies, and Haggard and Minghags, both of which he co-wrote and directed.

Early life[link]

Margera was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to Phil and April Margera. He is the younger brother of Jess Margera and nephew of Vincent Margera. His grandfather nicknamed him "Bam" at the age of three after his habit of running into walls.^[3] He attended East High School and cites friend Chris Raab as his only reason for attending high school.

Career[link]

Television and film[link]

Margera began shooting videos of himself and his friends skateboarding and doing stunts, which eventually turned into the CKY video series.^[4] He independently released CKY. CKY2K, CKY3 and CKY4 have also been released. CKY stands for "Camp Kill Yourself", a reference to the film Sleepaway Camp. These early videos feature many of Margera's friends, including Ryan Dunn, Brandon DiCamillo, Rake Yohn, Chris Raab, Brandon Novak and others who form a loose collective known as the CKY Crew. CKY is also the name of a rock band featuring his brother Jess, and the history and relationship between the video and band projects is heavily interlinked.

Following the CKY success, former Big Brother editor Jeff Tremaine noticed Margera's videos and drafted him into the team which would eventually become MTV's Jackass. Margera and Ryan Dunn became mainstays of the cast while other CKY crew members played supporting roles to various degrees. Margera went on to appear in Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two, and Jackass 3D. Several skits in the first Jackass movie were CKY style pieces filmed in and around West Chester, but similar scenes in the second movie were removed after the arrest of Margera's uncle Vincent Margera.

After Jackass, Margera was given his own MTV series entitled Viva La Bam, which ran for five seasons between 2003–2005. The show followed Margera and his crew as they performed various stunts and missions. The show was primarily filmed in West Chester, Pennsylvania but also visited New Orleans, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Brazil, Finland, Mexico, Amsterdam and Transylvania. In addition to the regular series, special episodes have included "Viva La Spring Break" and a "lost" episode included on the Viva La Bands CD.

Following the show, in 2007, Margera was engaged and the wedding was filmed for Bam's Unholy Union as a follow-up to Viva la Bam. The show follows Margera, his then fiancée Melissa Rothstein and their friends in the lead-up to their wedding.^[5] Also in 2008, Margera had a "prominent, non-sex role in" a pornographic film by Gina Lynn called The Fantasstic Whores 4 with Brandon Novak.^[6]

In 2009, Margera appeared on Nitro Circus.^[7]

In October 2010, Margera appeared in Jackass 3D and the movie broke box office records.^[8] He visited Europe doing press for the movie in late October.^[9]

Margera appears with Dunn and pro-skateboarder Tim O'Connor on Bam's World Domination, a half-hour Spike TV program that debuted on October 13, 2010. The first episode showcased Margera and his friends' attempt to conquer an obstacle course race, in the Tough Guy Competition, held outside London, England.^[10][11]

Skateboarding career[link]

Since 2003, Margera has been a member of Team Element, the demonstration team for Element Skateboards.^[12] He is also sponsored by Speed Metal Bearings, Adio Footwear, and Fairman's Skateshop.

Independent films[link]

Margera has written, produced and starred in three independent films. Margera co-wrote, directed and starred in Haggard (2003), an independent film based on real events in the life of his friend Ryan Dunn. Dunn played himself as the main character while Margera played "Valo", a character based on himself and elements of HIM singer and friend Ville Valo.^[13]

Margera also directed Minghags, formerly titled Kiss a Good Man's Ass.^[14] The film is a loose sequel to Haggard and will feature the "garbage juicer" invention from that film.^[15] This film was confirmed on Radio Bam and the front page of FilthyNote Records by Tim Glomb. Filming started April 5, 2007.^[16] On an episode of Radio Bam, Margera said that they are trying to make the movie PG-13 rated,^[17] but with the amount of swearing and a shot of nudity, an 'R' Rating could not be avoided.^[18] They had its first viewing of the rough version of the film on August 7, 2007, at Sikes Hall.^[19] The movie was released in December 2008. The film was a straight-to-DVD release.

Subsequently, Margera released a Christmas-themed movie entitled Bam Margera Presents: Where the#$&% Is Santa? in December 2008.^[20] The movie is about Bam and his friends going to the Arctic Circle in Finland on a quest to find Santa Claus. The film features Ville Valo from HIM, The Dudesons, Hanoi Rocks, Mark the Bagger, and more.^[20]

Radio Bam and music[link]

Margera began a weekly Sirius Satellite Radio show on Sirius channel 28 Faction on November 24, 2004 called Radio Bam. The show features Margera along with friends from the CKY and Jackass crews.

In 2005, Margera started a music label, Filthy Note Records, and has directed music videos for Clutch, Turbonegro, Viking Skull, Vains of Jenna and several for CKY. He also directed seven music videos, "Buried Alive By Love", "The Sacrament", "And Love Said No", and "Solitary Man",for the Finnish band HIM, and three for The 69 Eyes, "Lost Boys", "Dead Girls are Easy" and "Dead N Gone". He also plays the keyboard in a novelty band called Gnarkill along with Brandon DiCamillo, Jess Margera, Rich Vose and Matt Cole.

Other projects[link]

Margera has been animated as a character in pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk's video games Pro Skaters 3 and 4, Underground and Underground 2, American Wasteland, Project 8 and Proving Ground. He also voiced a character in the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. He made cameo appearances in the movies Grind and Destroying America.

In late September 2008, Margera opened a bar/theater called "The Note", in his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania.^[21]

In late 2009, Margera released a book containing private writings and pictures titled Serious as Dog Dirt.^[22]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Margera was previously engaged to Jenn Rivell, a divorced single mother. Rivell played a prominent part in several of his projects and the couple appeared to be co-habiting in various episodes of Viva La Bam. However, the relationship ended in 2005.^[23] In November 2006, Margera filed for "Protection From Abuse" from Rivell after she allegedly broke into his house.^[23] He further alleged that Rivell had exhibited irrational and aggressive behavior towards him on several previous occasions including stealing several computers and vandalizing his house immediately after their initial breakup. The judge dismissed the allegations as "speculative" and "hearsay".^{[24][dead link]}

In 2006, Margera became engaged to childhood friend Melissa "Missy" Rothstein.^[25] The events leading up to their wedding (with about 350 friends and family in attendance) on February 3, 2007, in downtown Philadelphia, were chronicled on the MTV series Bam's Unholy Union. The couple's honeymoon was in Dubai. In 2008, during an appearance LA Ink, Bam told Kat Von D about $13,000 in damages done to the hotel for his marriage, saying " I was kind of ready for it though. I was like: 'I’m inviting the Jackass crew. If something doesn’t get broken then that’s not right'."^[26][27]

In July 2009, Margera was taken to the hospital by paramedics and state troopers from his West Chester home after his wife Missy called 911 after a four day alcohol binge.^[28][29] On the drinking binge, Margera said "I may get a divorce . . . booze helps."^[28] In October 2010, Margera told Howard Stern he and Missy were living in separate cities, they meet once a week and Missy knows about his girlfriend in San Francisco and another in West Chester.^[30][31]

Name, residence and assault[link]

In an October 24, 2007 interview with the Cleveland Free Times, Margera stated that although he had completed paperwork that would legally change his first name to Bam, he was "still debating" filing it after a conversation with his father.^[2]

Margera currently resides in "Castle Bam", a large house in Wawaset, Pennsylvania. The house has a gothic theme, a skatepark in the driveway and is situated on 14 acres (57,000 m²) of land. In January 2007, Margera built a ramp in his backyard, near the old casino seen in Viva La Bam. The ramp itself caused trouble with the township.^[32] Margera's parents and select members of the CKY Crew lived in the house while shooting Viva La Bam, with Margera's uncle residing in a house on the property.

On Saturday, June 12, 2010, Margera was allegedly attacked with a baseball bat outside of his bar, The Note, in West Chester, Pennsylvania.^[33] Margera spent the night at Crozer-Chester Medical Center where he was treated for head injuries. According to Elizabeth Ray, the alleged assailant, Margera used "the n-word, with black in front of it".^[33] Ray denies attacking Margera.^[33] Margera, on the other hand, denies having said the words, claiming "I called her a crazy bitch and an idiot, but I definitely didn't use the n-word".^[34]

TV, film, and releases[link]

TV[link]

Movies[link]

Video games[link]

DVDs/Videos[link]

• CKY video series: CKY, CKY2K, CKY3 and CKY4. (1999–2003)
• Hook-Ups Presents: Destroying America (2001)

Book[link]

• Bam Margera, Serious as Dog Dirt (MTV; November 17, 2009) ISBN 1-4391-4773-6

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bam Margera

• Official website
• Bam Margera at the Internet Movie Database
• Bam Margera's skate video filmography.
• Filthy Note Records Official website
• Bam Margera on Myspace