Right after I finished posting yesterday I started hearing about Ken Ober passing and I thought about rushing together something quickly, but he deserved more than that. Was he a big star? No, not really, but for a few years there he had one of the best shows on television. In the late 1980's he hosted a show called Remote Control. It was the first place the world got to see Adam Sandler and Kari Wuhrer. Colin Quinn perfected his act there and Ken Ober presided over the whole thing while at the same time hosting a game show that seemed almost incidental to everything else that came along.
I don't even remember the last time I thought about the show. I usually think about it when I see Colin Quinn on something, but I have never stopped to Google Ken to see what he was doing or what he was working on. Remote Control was also the show that turned MTV from music 24 hours a day into what it is now. He was their experiment into alternative programming. Real World followed shortly thereafter along with Spring Breaks and Jerry Springer.
Below is an entire episode of the show seen from the perspective of one of the contestants. It is in two parts. There is also a commercial for the special MTV gave him.
Thanks Enty! It was one of the last things on MTV worth watching.
ReplyDeleteRIP Ken.
BTW do we know what he died from yet?
so far...the flu.
ReplyDeletewe never got this show in Canada that i knew of. RIP.
Agree with Jax - never heard of it. RIP.
ReplyDeleteRIP Ken.....how sad. :(
ReplyDeleteI love this show...
RIP Ken. I watched this show when my daughter was a baby. Sad.
ReplyDeleteBut you have to love the fact that one of the prizes was a Milli Vanilli cd. Hmmmmmm. Is this a hint, Enty?
Thanks so much for this post, Enty. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. I loved this show and had a huge geek-crush on Ken! I loved it when his mom would call from upstairs and he'd have to go do a chore for the commercial break! RIP Ken...thanks for the great memories!
ReplyDeleteOh, how sad! We watched Remote Control all the time when MTV first came out. I know it took away from the music, but it was really funny.
ReplyDeleteRIP Ken.
Remote Control was a wonderfully fun show. I never missed it. Ken was so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI think it not being shown in Canada might have had something to do with one of the category of questions -- "Dead or Canadian". Don't worry, they picked on us all the time, too. But it was all in good fun.
Aw, I loved this show as a kid. I wanted to be on it. RIP Ken, only 53, ouch.
ReplyDeleteHe was also on a few videos of Blues Travelers. Loved the show, esp. when you had to name the videos at the end. RIP, Mr. Ober. Yet another part of my youth has been laid to rest. :(
ReplyDeleteI miss Remote Control, R.I.P Ken.
ReplyDeleteNow we know what the answer will be for "Dead or Canadian?"...:)
so sad...rip ken. :(
ReplyDeleteRIP Ken.
ReplyDeleteAhhh, Ken. You made my undergrad years even better than they would've been.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best theme songs ever.
My husband and I were just talking about Remote Control a few days ago. I didn't even remember Adam Sandler on it.
ReplyDeleteRIP Ken Ober.