Did Anyone Ever Die On Fear Factor?
For the handful of you who don't know, Fear Factor was a reality show in which contestants' worst fears and phobias were used against them, with the promise of $50,000 if they made it through all of the horrifying and/or stomach-turning challenges and were the last ones standing. But with some of the death-defying stunts people had to pull off, it's hard to imagine everyone who went on the show made it out alive. The show's host, Joe Rogan, grinned, cringed, and apparently utilized jazz cigarettes through week after week of witnessing people doing harrowing stuff.
Before he shot into fame as the host of Fear Factor, Rogan first appeared on NBC as handyman Joe Garrelli on the much-beloved sitcom, News Radio from 1995 to 1999. The show's writing and ensemble cast were so outstanding (including comedy royalty Phil Hartman, Stephen Root, and Dave Foley) that the show made even Andy Dick appear funny. But it was his six-season tenure on NBC's Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006 (and once more in a short-lived 2011 revival) that made Rogan a household name.
Death by Fear Factor?
As reported on The Richest, there were many, many close calls on the American version of Fear Factor, including allergic reactions to shellfish, someone flying off the roof of a car when it slammed into a parked one, and an ankle-breaking fall from six stories up. One can only imagine the psychological and emotional trauma, treatable only by years of therapy, that something like being put in a casket filled with rats would cause a person, but thankfully, there were no deaths.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for a participant of an stunt in Thailand that, while not a version of the show itself, was still inspired by Fear Factor. Per IOL, Thai pop singer Vaikoon Boonthanom, only 22 years old, died from brain injuries in 2005 after getting hit on the head by a barrel at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center. May he rest in peace.
And for everyone's safety, let's hope Fear Factor does, too.