Ryan Dunn, the stuntman who played a resurrected dead man who came back to life to haunt his friends, passed away sometime in 2011. He played the role of Belcher in the movie Living Will which was released after his death.
Ryan was fondly remembered by his close friends and colleagues as the ‘Random Hero’ because he was wont to perform stunts other people feared to do.
He is ultimately remembered as an American stuntman, TV personality, comedian, and actor whose life was cut short due to an unfortunate event.
Here Are 10 Facts about the Life and Death of Ryan Dunn
1. Early Life of the Stunt Man
Ryan Dunn was born on June 11, 1977, in Medina, Ohio, United States of America. His parents moved often and so he made different memories in different states. At a point, the young man spent a while in Williamsville, New York.
From New York, Dunn made his way to West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he spent most of his time. It was also here that his story to success and fame began.
The names of Ryan Dunns’ parents according to his IMDB page are given as Ronald Dunn and Piscitello Linda Sue (nee Reese). Similarly, the page listed the following names to belong to his siblings; Dunn Eric, Piscitello Thomas, Filippelli Nicole, Piscitello Joseph, and Berman Brandi.
While Ryan Dunn was at West Chester, he attended West Chester East High School. It was at this school in 1992 that he met Bam Margera with whom he went on to create a story about his life and career.
2. He Was in a Long-term Relationship
From 2002 until his death, Ryan was in a long-term relationship with a woman. The name of the woman is Angie Cuturic and he had several tattoos of her on his body. Angie was said to have been part of Haggard: The Movie and also Minghags.
3. Ryan Dunn’s Career
Before his rise to fame, the late stunt man used to work as a welder. Shortly after he graduated from high school, Ryan bagged a role in the sci-fi movie Lifeform (1996). Three years later, he joined the group known as CKY (Camp Kill Yourself) with his best friend, Bam. The show was the base for the growth of Jackass.
From 2000 when Jackass began to air on MTV, Ryan was part of it from its first episode. In the Jackass Movies, Dunn participated as a stunt man. He eventually went on to act in a couple of other movies as a stunt man.
He was part of Where the Fuck Are My Ancestors and Smut in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode in 2008. Additionally, Dunn was part of Street Dreams and A Halfway House Christmas.
Moving on, Ryan Dunn cohosted the TV series Homewrecker and Proving Ground. He was a cohost on Proving Ground with Jessica Chobot and it was his first major work outside Jackass. He also produced a TV series before his unfortunate passing.
4. A Stunt Accident Drove him into Depression
While shooting the closing stunt of Jackass Number Two, Ryan fell on his shoulders while a horse pulled him and Bam Margera. The stunt went fine if not for the way the stuntman fell.
A resulting factor of this stunt was that as his muscle area took full impact, it caused a blood clot. This consequence was fatal and life-threatening as explained by the director and a friend Cameron Taylor.
Luckily, the stunt man got the treatment that saved his life from the fall. However, the illness took a different route. While recuperating from the blood clotting, Ryan Dunn was diagnosed with Lyme disease. He then began treatment for that as well and everything took a long time to recover from.
The struggle with the aforementioned challenges took a toll on the actor and then he fell into depression. He was cut off from everyone else and stayed away from the outside world for a period of two years.
In an interview after his recovery, the comedian downplayed the severity of his recovery. He insinuated it was just a brief break from 10 years of working actively. In other news, when he made his comeback to the scene, he resurfaced bigger and better and even happier.
He even went on to get three acting jobs that very year and produced his first film Living Will.
5. Ryan Dunn Died at the Age of 34
A couple of years after recovering from the aforementioned injury and disease, Ryan met his unfortunate end. He, literally, drove himself to his death in the early hours of June 20, 2011. The accident involved the actor and comedian along with a friend and production assistant on ‘Jackass Number Two’.
Zachary Hartwell, the then 30-year-old passenger in Dunn’s car was out celebrating with him in West Chester. It was reported that they were at Barnaby’s Bar in West Chester and had a couple of drinks before heading home.
The Medina-born stunt man was behind the wheels of his Porsche 911 GT3 when the accident happened. He reportedly swerved off the road and jumped the guard rail, flew into a ravine, hit a tree, and the car burst into flames.
Both Ryan and Zachary were assumed to have died on the spot, however, the exact cause of death has been argued to either be the impact of the crash or the fire. Reports reveal that the car was going at a speed level of 130/140 miles per hour.
He was buried in Highland Drive Cemetary, Brecksville, Ohio.
6. His Best friend Had a Premonition of His Death
Bam Margera, Ryan’s best friend, revealed that he had a premonition about his friend’s death. It would be recalled that the two became best of friends since Dunn moved to West Chester at the age of 15.
Bam’s mother, April, was even a big part of Dunn’s life as she welcomed him to her house and heart like her own son. She also reportedly tried to warn him of certain habits he had, that was detrimental.
However, at about 12:30 am in Arizona where Margera was, he purportedly became restless. The fellow stuntman stated that he started hitting on the windows of the van he was in and tearing down speakers.
He further emphasized that he wasn’t upset with anyone at the time and couldn’t really explain what was going on with him. Upon hearing the news of the passing of his friend turned brother, he deduced that it was the reason.
When Bam visited the site of the crash, he couldn’t help but break down in tears. He confessed that he hadn’t lost anyone dear to him prior to the death of Ryan Dunn.
7. Ryan Dunn had a History of DUI
The cause of Ryan Dunn’s death was reported to have been related to excess alcohol in his system. The night before the accident, he shared several photos on social media of him and the production assistant in the bar.
Following a test and police report, the blood alcohol level in Dunn’s body was 0.196% as opposed to the state’s legal limit of 0.08%.
This was not the first time the actor drove under the influence anyway. In 2005, he was charged with a DUI which was his first. A court order suspended his license and given a first-offender program. The charges against him were dropped upon completion of his probation period.
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8. The Family of Zachery Hartwell Filed a Suit against Ryan’s Estate
The family of the passenger in Ryan’s car, Zachary Hartwell sued both Ryan’s estate and the bar. According to the family, the Barnaby bar continued to serve them drinks even when they knew they were already intoxicated.
Mr. and Mrs. Hartwell claims Dunn was reckless and negligent for driving under the influence. As a result, they sued for unspecified damages after claiming that they lost the guidance, comfort, and services of their late son.
Zachary’s parents are demanding that the estate and the bar should pay for the expenses of their son’s death.
9. His Death was Met With a lot of Reactions
While fans and followers of Dunn and Jackass took to social media and several platforms to mourn his death, there were others who had not-so-nice things to say. One of such is Mark Rushin who claimed that Ryan’s death wasn’t surprising.
According to Mark, the stunt man had always been reckless and so his misfortune was soon on its way. Of course, Ryan was known to perform tasks and stunts others shied away from. This included somersaulting several times in traffic and shoving a toy car into his rectum.
Another such comment came from Robert Ebert who tweeted his opinion. His tweet read that friends do not let jackasses drink and drive. This comment caused an uproar among a lot of people who claimed the statement was ill-timed.
Bam fired at Robert for his statement because, at the time, it hadn’t been proven that Ryan was under the influence.
Two days after making the tweet, the film critic followed up on it with an apology. He however insisted that Dunn’s behavior was wrong but admitted that his timing for making such a statement was wrong.
Steve O who was also close to the stunt man stated that he saw him a few days before the tragic incident. He was also disheartened by the news and had a few things to say.
10. Ryan Dunn’s Net Worth
Before his death, Ryan Dunn was said to have had a net worth of $6 million. He worked as a stunt man, a comedian, an actor, and a TV show host. These are from whence his money and net worth come.
Despite being over a decade dead, the ‘Random Guy’ Ryan has left quite a legacy. From the time of his death, a lot of tributes rolled in for him. He had Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Jackass Forever, and Jackass 4.5 films all dedicated to him.
He is one of the few stunt people who found their foot in movies and proved to do quite well in his roles. Another person is bodybuilder Kris Murrell who also had a couple of acting stints.
He may have died but he would forever be remembered by fans and the crew of Jackass as a daredevil. Some stunts which many are still scared to do would have easily been taken up by Ryan Dunn. For the sake of that, he would be fondly missed.
