Earlier this week, comedian Ken Ober, most famous as the host of the MTV game show Remote Control, died at the age of 52. Ober helped to launch the careers of other comedians, like Adam Sandler and Colin Quinn, and anyone who grew up during the show’s 1987-1991 run (or who was in their mid-50s but maintained a powerful interest in “the youthful culture”) will always remember the show as something irreverent and new. The New York Times, in memorializing Ober called the show “sarcastic” and “self-mocking,” and pointed out that Ober “ran the program like a late-night talk show (or frat party) and gleefully teased players who gave wrong answers.” It’s true! The show was like a late-night talk show, or a frat party, or somewhere in between. After hosting Remote Control, Ober went on to host some other game shows, but I do not think I am alone in having lost track of his career. And so his death stands as a painful reminder of both the fragility of life on this Earth that someone could be taken so young (and I don’t know if you know this, but some people die at even younger ages sometimes! Without ever having been on TV at all! This world is really kind of a nightmare) and also of the fickle nature of fame, as a man who brought so much joy to so many people could so easily recede into the shadows. R.I.P. Ken Ober. You are in heaven now, gleefully teasing the angels who give wrong answers.

But if there is one bright moment* to take from Ken Ober’s unfortunate passing, it is my strengthened resolve to continue doing the important work of What’s Up with Topher Grace?, to ensure that we don’t lose another of our beloved celebrities to disease-filled (or drug-overdose filled, do we really still not know what happened to Ken Ober?) obscurity.

So, what is up with him?

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