Ryan Dunn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dunn at theJackass 3D London premiere in November 2010 | |
| Born | Ryan Matthew Dunn (1977-06-11)June 11, 1977 Medina, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 2011(2011-06-20) (aged 34) |
| Cause of death | Car accident |
| Resting place | Highland Drive Cemetery,Brecksville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Other names |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–2011 |
| Known for | Co-star ofJackass |
| Partner | Angie Cuturic (2002–2011; his death) |
Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011)[1] was an American stunt performer, television personality, and actor. He was one of the stars of theMTV reality stunt showJackass and its film franchise.
Born inMedina, Ohio, Dunn rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of theCKY crew with his long-time friendBam Margera, with whom he performed extreme stunts and pranks and recorded them on video, which led to the rise ofJackass in the early 2000s. He also hosted the TV seriesHomewrecker andProving Ground, and appeared in the feature filmsBlonde Ambition andStreet Dreams, as well as in Margera's filmsHaggard andMinghags. Dunn died in a car crash in 2011 at the age of 34.[2][3][4]
Dunn was born inMedina, Ohio.[1] He grew up inWilliamsville, New York, before moving toWest Chester, Pennsylvania, where he went toWest Chester East High School[5] and where he met fellow Jackass starBam Margera on the first day of school.[6]
Dunn took part in the characteristic stunts that madeJackass famous, and featured in five released films,Jackass: The Movie,Jackass Number Two,Jackass 2.5,Jackass 3D, andJackass 3.5. In 2006, Dunn and Bam Margera participated in theGumball 3000 road rally in Margera'sLamborghini Gallardo.[7] He later went on a tour withDon Vito called "The Dunn and Vito Rock Tour" for which the DVD was released on March 20, 2007.[8] Dunn and Margera again participated in the rally in 2008.
Bam Margera stated during a December 2, 2008, radio interview withBig O and Dukes of 106.7WJFK-FM, that he and Dunn would be going to Italy to filmWhere the F*%# Are My Ancestors.[9] That same month, Dunn appeared on the episode "Smut" ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit in December 2008. He is also featured in a movie calledStreet Dreams which was released in spring 2009. He co-starred along withRob Dyrdek andPaul Rodriguez Jr. Dunn was also featured on a show with fellowJackass star Bam Margera about them traveling through Europe in aViva la Bam-like show calledBam's World Domination forSpike. He appeared inJackass 3D, which was released on October 15, 2010.
Dunn co-hostedG4'sProving Ground along withJessica Chobot, which made its premiere on June 14, 2011, six days before his death.[10] 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."[11] On June 27, G4 announced they would air the remaining episodes starting on July 19, 2011.[12][13] At the time of his death, Dunn was working on the filmWelcome to the Bates Motel. The film was later renamedThe Bates Haunting and was released in 2013.
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From 2002 to his death, he was in a long-term relationship with Angie Cuturic, who had a part in Margera's directorial debutHaggard: The Movie and laterMinghags. Dunn had several tattoos of Cuturic, including in his inner arm and left ring finger.[14]
During shooting of the closing scenes forJackass Number Two in 2006, Dunn injured his shoulder during one of his final scenes, in which he and co-starBam 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 ablood clot that was at one point life-threatening, due to its proximity to his heart and brain. While seeking treatment for it andLyme disease, Dunn became depressed, eventually cutting off all contact with his friends, co-workers, and others for nearly two years, and did not participate inJackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover, or any subsequent events related to the films and series.[15] He eventually returned to the Jackass cast in the production ofJackass 3D andJackass 3.5 later saying that he was happy to rejoin the cast and had more enjoyment working onJackass 3D than any previous film endeavors.[15]
On June 20, 2011, at around 3:30 a.m.EDT, Dunn and Zachary Hartwell, a production assistant onJackass Number Two,[16] were returning from Barnaby's West Chester, a West Chester bar, in Dunn'sPorsche 911 GT3 when Dunn veered off the road and struck a tree, after which the Porsche burst into flames in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Both Dunn, who had turned 34 nine days prior, and 30-year-old Hartwell were killed in the crash.[17][18]
Hours before the crash, Dunn had posted a photo to hisTwitter account of himself and Hartwell drinking at the bar.[19] He was identified in the police report as the vehicle's driver,[20] and a subsequenttoxicology report showed ablood alcohol content of 0.196%—more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08%.[21][22] The police report stated "speed may have been a contributing factor in the crash"[20] and preliminary investigations suggested the car had been traveling between 132 and 140 miles per hour (212 and 225 km/h) in a 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) zone.[23]
Prior to the drunk-driving crash that resulted in his death, Dunn had been convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol, resulting in him completing a treatment program as part of his sentence. "In 2005, Dunn was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and entered a first-offender program that allowed him to clear his record after a certain period of good behavior," according to Patrick Carmody, Chester County Assistant District Attorney.[24]
In August 2012, the parents of Zachary Hartwell filed acivil suit in theCourt of Common Pleas ofPhiladelphia County, naming the co-administrators of Dunn's estate as defendants, along with Barnaby's West Chester.[25] The suit claims negligence and recklessness, as well as wrongful death in the incident that killed Hartwell.
The plaintiffs claim that Dunn displayed negligence and recklessness in failing to have his vehicle under adequate and proper control, operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol, operating his vehicle at an excessive speed and violently veering off a road and into a tree, among other alleged transgressions. They are seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, as well as interest, court costs and "delay damages as the law may allow."[26]
Hartwell's parents sought to recover from Dunn's estate the following: the costs of their son's funeral, wages due for his behind-the-scenes and stunt work on variousJackass projects, the projected loss of income from his premature death, pain and suffering, and other damages, but they did not specify an amount.[27]
Dunn is remembered by friends and fans alike as the "go-to guy for outrageous stunts that even such stalwarts asSteve-O weren't willing to try" and "the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend," gaining the nickname "Random Hero".[28]
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. 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, includingSofia Coppola,Tom Green,Carey Hart,Dwayne Johnson,Tony Hawk, and hisJackass cast members.[29]
Kings of Leon also paid homage to Dunn at their London Hyde Park concert by dedicating their song "McFearless" to him.Skrillex dedicated his remix of the song "Cinema" to Dunn after a moment of silence.[30]Alkaline Trio also dedicated their song "Goodbye Forever" to Dunn on their fifteen-year anniversary tour. Singer/songwriterRoger Alan Wade wrote and composed the song "The Light Outlives the Star", while also dedicating it to Dunn. OccasionalJackass 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.[31]
Dunn also came in at number three in top trending searches of 2011 on Google's Zeitgeist report following his death.[32]
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 bothJackass andViva La Bam cast mates recalled his early beginnings to final months.
The 2013 filmJackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is dedicated to him, and the 2022 filmJackass Forever included a mid-credits tribute to Dunn. The 2022 filmJackass 4.5 is also dedicated to him.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Invader | Army Private | |
| 1999 | Landspeed Presents: CKY | Himself | Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | CKY2K | Himself | Direct-to-video |
| 2001 | CKY3 | Himself | Direct-to-video |
| CKY Documentary | Himself | Direct-to-video | |
| Don't Try This at Home – The Steve-O Video Vol. 1 | Himself | Guest appearances Direct-to-video | |
| 2002 | Criminal Mischief | David Smith | |
| Jackass: The Movie | Himself | Writer | |
| Don't Try This at Home – The Steve-O Video Vol. 2: The Tour | Himself | Guest appearances Direct-to-video | |
| CKY4: The Latest & Greatest | Himself | Direct-to-video | |
| 2003 | Haggard: The Movie | Ry | |
| Steve-O: Out on Bail | Himself | Guest appearances Direct-to-video | |
| 2004 | Client 3815 | Jackson | Short film |
| 2005 | The Dudesons Movie | Himself | Guest appearances |
| A Halfway House Christmas | Buzz | ||
| 2006 | Dunn & Vito's Rock Tour | Himself | Direct-to-video Executive producer |
| Jackass Number Two | Himself | Writer | |
| 2007 | Blonde Ambition | Griswold | |
| 3000 Miles | Himself | Direct-to-video documentary | |
| Jackass 2.5 | Himself | Writer | |
| 2009 | Street Dreams | Cash | |
| Minghags: The Movie | Tucker | ||
| 2010 | Jackass 3D | Himself | Writer |
| 2011 | Close-Up | The Drug Dealer | |
| Jackass 3.5 | Himself | Writer | |
| Living Will | Belcher | Producer Posthumous release | |
| 2012 | Booted | The Health Inspector | Posthumous release |
| The Bates Haunting | Angry Customer | Posthumous release | |
| 2013 | Earth Rocker | Himself | Clips Posthumous release |
| 2020 | Steve-O: Gnarly | Himself | Archive footage Direct-to-video |
| 2022 | Jackass Forever | Himself | Archive footage |
| Jackass 4.5 | Himself | Archive footage |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–2001 | Jackass | Himself | 21 episodes |
| 2002 | Jackass Backyard BBQ | Himself | TV special |
| MTV Cribs | Himself | October 23, 2002, episode | |
| MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002 | Himself | Presenter | |
| 2003 | Jackass Winterjam | Himself | TV special |
| 2003–2006 | Viva La Bam | Himself | 41 episodes |
| 2005 | Homewrecker | Himself | Host 8 episodes |
| Commando VIP | Himself | 6 episodes | |
| 2006 | The Dudesons | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Bam's Unholy Union | Himself | 3 episodes |
| Crank Yankers | Himself (voice) | Episode 4.6 | |
| 2008 | Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover | Himself (archived footage) | Television special |
| Bamimation | Himself (voice) | TV short | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Riley Slade | Episode: "Smut" | |
| 2010 | The Dudesons in America | Himself | Episode: "Winter Games" |
| Bam's World Domination | Himself | Television special | |
| 2010 MTV Video Music Awards | Himself | Presenter | |
| 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards | Himself | Presenter | |
| 2011 | Proving Ground | Himself | Host 9 episodes |
| Minute to Win It | Himself | 1 episode | |
| Ridiculousness | Himself | 1 episode | |
| A Tribute to Ryan Dunn | Himself | Archive footage | |
| 2014 | CKY: The Greatest Hits | Himself | Archive footage |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Jackass: The Game | Himself | Voice |
| Year | Artist | Track | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | CKY | "Flesh into Gear" | Himself | |
| 2004 | Clutch | "Mob Goes Wild" | Himself | |
| 2006 | Chris Pontius | "Karazy" | Himself | |
| 2010 | Weezer | "Memories" | Himself |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
