Ken Ober, MTV's 'Remote Control' host, dies

At first blush it looked like the latest fake death rumor on the Internet: According to sketchily sourced reports, Ken Ober, the comedian best-known for hosting MTV's late-'80s game show "Remote Control," had died.

Sadly, though, this rumor turns out to be true. Ober's reps confirm 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 also 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-X'ers, though -- people like me -- 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 (so did Denis Leary) and played the recurring on-screen characters Trivia Delinquent and Stud Boy.

Take a look at Ober in his "Remote Control" element from 1988 (footnote: Contestant Zachary is, at least according to the person who uploaded the YouTube video, future "X2" and "Incredible Hulk" screenwriter Zak Penn).



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