Ken Ober
{{Short description|American game show host, comedian, and actor (1957–2009)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ken Ober
| image = Remote-control-ken-ober.jpg
| imagesize = 290px
| caption = Ken Ober hosting Remote Control
| birthname = Kenneth Oberding
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1957|7|3|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|11|15|1957|7|3|mf=y}}
| death_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S.
| othername =
| occupation = Game show host, comedian, actor
| years_active =
| alma_mater = University of Massachusetts Amherst (B.A., 1980)
| known_for = Host of Remote Control
}}
Ken Ober (July 3, 1957 – November 15, 2009) was an American game show host, comedian, and actor.
Early life and education
Born Kenneth Oberding{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i45e1bcc0b65a294faf46317a905b64c7 |title=Ken Ober, host of 'Remote Control,' dies |work=The Hollywood Reporter |agency=Associated Press |date=2009-11-17 |accessdate=2009-11-17 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204141940/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i45e1bcc0b65a294faf46317a905b64c7 |archivedate=December 4, 2009 }} in Brookline, Massachusetts, he was raised in a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, where his first job was as a bagger at a local Jewish supermarket.{{cite news|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/ken-ober-remote-control-host-is-dead/ |title=Ken Ober, 'Remote Control' Host, Is Dead at 52|first=Dave |last=Itzkoff|date= November 16, 2009|access-date=April 10, 2024|work=ArtsBeat: New York Times Blog|publisher=The New York Times}}
Ober was substitute teacher in Boston while studying communications and education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.{{cite web |title=Ken Ober Passes at 52 - Hosted MTV’s Remote Control |url=https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/news/ken-ober-passes-52 |website=Television Academy |access-date=28 April 2025}}
He was a founding member of the Theta Mu chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025|reason=Un-referenced statement/assertion}}
He graduated in 1980.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025|reason=Un-referenced statement/assertion}}
Career
Ober performed stand-up comedy at New York City clubs before hosting Remote Control.
;Game and talk shows
Ober hosted four game shows over the course of his career. He received his break after appearing as a contestant on Star Search in 1984.{{cite news| url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/afterword/2009/11/comedian-game-show-host-ken-ober-found-dead.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Afterword | date=November 16, 2009}} He was most widely known for the MTV game show Remote Control,[http://dc-lundberg.net/remotecontrol/cast.html The Basement: A Salute to "Remote Control"] which he hosted for five seasons beginning in 1987. That show also helped launch the careers of Adam Sandler, Denis Leary, Kari Wuhrer, Alicia Coppola and Colin Quinn. Ober was known among 1990s and 2000s audiences for his hosting jobs on Make Me Laugh,[http://www.gameshowfame.com/people/ober_ken.htm Game Shows: Ken Ober]{{Dead link|{{subst:DATE}}|date=April 2025}} Smush, and the ESPN game show Perfect Match.
Ober was the frequent color analyst alongside veteran play by play announcer Steve Albert for the MTV Rock N' Jock{{cite news|url=https://uproxx.com/dimemag/mtv-rock-n-jock-where-are-they-now-1991/ |work=uproxx | title=Looking Back At The '90s Stars Of MTV's Rock N' Jock, 25 Years Later | first=Alia | last=Stearns | date=May 27, 2016}} celebrity sports specials during the 1990s.
In 1995, Ober hosted a Los Angeles talk radio show with former Brady Bunch star Susan Olsen. The show, known as Ober and Olsen, aired on 97.1 KLSX. (Olsen had previously appeared on an episode of Remote Control that featured Brady Bunch cast members competing.)
;Producer
In 2002, Ober served as supervising producer for Colin Quinn's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn.{{cite news| url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117921593.html?cs=1&s=h&p=0 | work=Variety | title=Comedy net revisits 'Tough' times | first=Denise | last=Martin | date=April 24, 2005}}{{Dead link|{{subst:DATE}}|date=April 2025}} Ober was also a guest on one episode.
He is also known for a series of Jenga commercials.{{When|reason=Please provide time-frame context for logical career ordering|date=April 2025}}{{Citation needed|date=April 2025|reason=Un-referenced statement/assertion}}
Ober also wrote and produced comedy series such as The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006) and Mind of Mencia (2006–2007).
;Acting
In 1988, Ober co-starred on the CBS vigilante action series The Equalizer as a DJ who plays the new single on the air at WZAD and answers call-ins from fans for Beverly Heat, played by guest star Vitamin C, in "Eighteen with a Bullet."
In 1989, Ober left Remote Control to pursue acting. He has made appearances in the television series, Parenthood, Who's the Boss? and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.{{cite book |last1=Leszczak |first1=Bob |title=Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s: A Complete Guide |date=14 September 2018 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9781476631981 |page=139 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Single_Season_Sitcoms_of_the_1990s/43FuDwAAQBAJ |access-date=28 April 2025}}{{cite web |title=Former MTV host Ken Ober dead at 52 of suspected H1N1 |url=https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/united-states/seasonal-flu-2009-2014-including-h1n1-pandemic-2009-aj/california-ab/73860-former-mtv-host-ken-ober-dead-at-52-of-suspected-h1n1 |website=FluTrackers.com |publisher=TransWorldNews |access-date=28 April 2025}}
Ober starred in the Blues Traveler video for the song "Hook". He also had a smaller role in the same band's videos for "Run-Around" and "The Mountains Win Again".
Personal life and death
Ober died at his home in Santa Monica on November 15, 2009, at the age of 52. According to friends, Ober had been feeling ill and was complaining of headaches, chronic chest pain, and flu-like symptoms the previous afternoon.[https://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-ken-ober17-2009nov17,0,6123710.story Ken Ober dies at 52; host of MTV's "Remote Control" game show]
It was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner that Ober died of natural causes, chiefly ischemic heart disease.
He was survived by his mother, father, stepmother, and a brother.
Filmography
{{incomplete list|date=April 2025}}
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988
| DJ | Episode: "Eighteen with a Bullet" | |||
| 1990–1991
| Nathan Merrick | 12 episodes | |||
| 1992
| Steve | 1 episode | |||
| 1992
| Howard | 1 episode |
References
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{{Reflist}}
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External links
- {{IMDb name|643209}}
- [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/ken-ober-remote-control-host-is-dead/ Obituary in The New York Times]
- [http://www.allanhavey.com/ Remembrance by friend and fellow comedian Allan Havey on AllanHavey.com]
- [http://thecomicscomic.typepad.com/thecomicscomic/2009/11/breakingdeveloping-rip-ken-ober-dead-at-52.html RIP Ken Ober, dead at 52]
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | title=Host of Make Me Laugh | before=Bobby Van
(1979-1980 version) | after=Mark Cohen| years=1997}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ober, Ken}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American game show hosts
Category:American male television actors
Category:Television producers from Massachusetts
Category:American television writers
Category:American male television writers
Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
Category:Entertainers from Brookline, Massachusetts
Category:Comedians from Massachusetts
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:Screenwriters from Massachusetts
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:20th-century American screenwriters