Christopher Boykin
{{Short description|American entertainer and musician (1972–2017)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Big Black
| image = Big Black - E3 Expo 2010 - June 17, 2010 - Los Angeles (cropped).jpg
| caption = Big Black in June 2010 in Los Angeles
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1972|1|13}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{Date of death and age|2017|5|9|1972|1|31}}
| death_place = Plano, Texas, U.S.
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Television personality
- musician
}}
| years_active = 2002–2017
| spouse = {{marriage|Shannon Turley|2008|2009|end=div}}
| children = 1
| alias = "Big Black" Boykin, Chris, Big B, BB
}}
Christopher "Big Black" Boykin (January 13, 1972 – May 9, 2017) was an American television personality and musician best known for his role on the MTV reality television series Rob & Big, in which he co-starred with professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek from 2006 to 2008.
Early life
Boykin was born on January 13, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois{{cite web |url=https://www.stonecountyenterprise.com/news/local/former-wiggins-resident-reality-tv-star-remembered-on-death-anniversary/image_350a1ff0-ee87-11ed-ba57-4b5c1b9984da.html |title=Former Wiggins resident, reality TV Star remembered on death anniversary |last=Hodge |first=Dylan |date=May 12, 2023 |publisher=Stone County Enterprise |location=Wiggins, MS |access-date=September 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513005940/https://www.stonecountyenterprise.com/news/local/former-wiggins-resident-reality-tv-star-remembered-on-death-anniversary/image_350a1ff0-ee87-11ed-ba57-4b5c1b9984da.html |archive-date=May 13, 2023}} and grew up in Raleigh, Mississippi.{{cite news|last1=Salam|first1=Maya|title=Christopher Boykin, Half of the MTV Odd Couple 'Rob & Big,' Dies at 45|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/arts/christopher-boykin-big-black-dead-rob-dyrdek.html|access-date=12 May 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 May 2017}} He graduated from Stone High School in Wiggins, Mississippi in 1990, and served in the United States Navy.{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/christopher-big-black-boykin-dead-rob-and-big-1202421726/ |title=Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin, 'Rob & Big' Star, Dies at 45 |last=Stedman |first=Alex |date=May 9, 2017|work=Variety|access-date=May 10, 2017}}
Television career
In a skit for DC Shoes, professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek hired Boykin to be his bodyguard and to protect him from security guards.{{Cite web|url=http://action.ign.com/rob.html|title=T Mobile Guide to Action|website=T Mobile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061216062435/http://action.ign.com/rob.html |archive-date=December 16, 2006 |url-status=dead|access-date=May 10, 2017}} From November 2006 to April 2008, he and Dyrdek starred in the reality television series Rob & Big on MTV.
In a 2006 episode of Rob & Big, Dyrdek and Boykin visit the studios of game developer EA Black Box in Vancouver to do motion capture for a video game in which they were to become characters. The game, Skate, was published in 2007. Boykin and Dyrdek also appeared in the 2009 sequel, Skate 2. In 2007, Boykin launched a clothing brand, Big Black, to market T-shirts and hats that bore his catchphrase, "Let's Do Work". In the show's 2008 season, Boykin set two Guinness world records: one for peeling and eating three bananas in one minute, and another for eating five powdered doughnuts in two minutes, 45 seconds.{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/christopher-big-black-boykin-star-of-mtvs-rob-big-dies-at-45 |title=Christopher 'Big Fried Chicken Black' Boykin, star of MTV's Rob & Big, dies at 45 |date=May 10, 2017 |work=Fox News |access-date=May 10, 2017|language=en-US}} Boykin left Rob & Big after the third season, since he was starting a family. MTV premiered Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory in February 2009, less than a year after the final episode of Rob & Big. Boykin joined the cast in 2011, and remained until the show's final episode in 2015. He also appeared on three episodes of Dyrdek's show Ridiculousness, which premiered in 2011. Guest appearances on the MTV series Guy Code and Snack Off (2014) are among his other TV appearances.{{cite web|last1=Aiello|first1=McKenna|title=Rob & Big Star Christopher Big Black Boykin Dead at 45 |date=10 May 2017 |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/849715/rob-big-star-christopher-big-black-boykin-dead-at-45 |publisher=E! |access-date=11 May 2017}}
Final years
Boykin married Shannon Turley in 2008;{{Cite news|url=https://www.bet.com/article/438hxd/big-black-s-ex-wife-daughter-break-their-silence|title=Big Black's Ex-Wife, Daughter Break Their Silence on His Death|last=Meara|first=Paul|date=May 10, 2017|work=BET|access-date=May 10, 2017}} although the couple divorced in 2009, they were living together shortly before Boykin's death, due to his worsening health. Their daughter, Isis, was nine years old when Boykin died in May 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2017/05/10/christopher-big-black-boykin-died-heart-attack|title=Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin Hospitalized for Days Before Death According to Ex-Wife|date=May 10, 2017|website=TMZ|access-date=May 10, 2017}}
Boykin had a defibrillator implant for his heart. In early May 2017, he was hospitalized in Plano, Texas, and was placed on a heart monitor. On May 9, his heart stopped; staff spent 30 minutes trying to revive him. He was pronounced dead at 4:00 pm CDT.{{Cite news|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/christopher-big-black-boykin-died-of-heart-failure-report-w481685|title=Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin Died of Heart Failure: Report|last=Marquina|first=Sierra|date=May 10, 2017|work=Us Weekly|access-date=May 10, 2017}} Although initial reports did not mention an official cause,{{Cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2017/05/09/rob-big-christopher-big-black-boykin-dead|title='Rob & Big' Star Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin Dead at 45|date=May 9, 2017|website=TMZ|access-date=May 10, 2017}} Boykin's heart failure was the result of a heart attack.{{Cite news|url=http://people.com/tv/rob-big-star-christopher-big-black-boykin-dead|title=Rob and Big Star Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin Dies at 45|last=Stone|first=Natalie|date=May 9, 2017|work=People|access-date=May 10, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/3011464/christopher-big-black-boykin-died-dead/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512052545/http://www.mtv.com/news/3011464/christopher-big-black-boykin-died-dead/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 12, 2017|title=Rob And Big Star Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin Dead At 45|last=Ossad|first=Jordana|date=May 9, 2017|work=MTV News|access-date=May 10, 2017}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- {{IMDb name}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Christopher}}
Category:People from Raleigh, Mississippi
Category:United States Navy sailors
Category:Participants in American reality television series
Category:African-American television personalities
Category:Place of death missing
Category:20th-century African-American people