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Ryan Dunn’s ‘Jackass’ TV Stunts: A Retrospective

From sewage-diving to corn-sledding, the late star’s antics were sure to make viewers laugh and gasp. By Gil Kaufman Ryan Dunn in “Fisherman’s Wharf” on “Jackass” Photo: MTV He was one of the less outspoken members of the “Jackass” crew, but late, bearded prankster Ryan Dunn made up in destruction and indelible stunts what he lacked in loudmouth bravado. The 34-year-old skateboarder, who died in an early morning car crash on Monday in Pennsylvania, stood his ground alongside such fellow daredevils as Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera and Steve-O in the “Jackass” TV show and movies, as well as on his 2005 MTV anti-home-improvement show “Homewreckers,” the Margera-led spin-offs “Viva La Bam” and “Bam’s Unholy Union,” and his recently launched G4 show, “Proving Ground.” While some of the “Jackass” crew were known for placing themselves in front of paintball firing squads, walking on giant stilts off diving platforms or staging elaborate pranks on passersby, Dunn’s “specialty” was riding BMX bikes into muddy creeks, getting slathered with nasty fish and human excrement and being dragged behind four-wheelers on all the wrong sleds. In memory of Dunn, we decided to take a look back at some of his most memorable TV moments. (Head over to the Movies Blog for highlights from Dunn’s “Jackass” movie career .) “Poo Dive” When MTV News sat down with the crew last fall, the “Jackass” stars agreed that one of their all-time favorite stunts was Dunn’s first one for the original TV show, in which he dove into a tank of sewage. “I loved when [Bam Margera] made Ryan jump into the poo factory, the ‘Poo Dive’ I think we called it,” creator Jeff Tremaine said. ” ‘Cause that was horrible, but the best part was … revealing his tattoos that we didn’t know about. That was the first time we ever met Ryan.” Dunn made his infamous dive while wearing just tighty whities that were duct taped onto his body and a snorkel. Though pal Bam Margera was grossed out by the floaters, Dunn called the dive, “exhilarating … my skin is silky smooth!” See photos of Ryan Dunn throughout his career. “Why do I always do the jobs that make me smell real bad?” Dunn lamented as he agreed to dive into 32-degree water in San Francisco. After being tossed into a giant vat of sardines while wearing a black peacoat and fisherman’s cap, Dunn emerged covered in slime, only to sit in an empty tank and get covered in sardine juice and a torrent of tiny fish. “Snake River BMX” Among Ryan’s best bike gags on “Jackass” was the one when he tried to ride a crappy banana-seat bike up a ramshackle ramp and over a freezing, boggy creek. He never got close to hitting the landing ramp on the other side and eventually the cops arrived to break up the party. “Corn Sledding” Ryan looked supremely confident as he was pulled by a four-wheeler on a plastic sled through a cornfield at high speeds on “Jackass.” He was impressively able to hang on for long periods and even got a bit patriotic when he was handed an American flag to wave on his ride. He finally bailed after being pulled over a hill and smashing his tailbone. Remember Ryan Dunn with us on our Facebook page. “Ice Barrel Jumping” Dunn donned a blue unitard and matching crash helmet for a “Jackass”-staged barrel jumping competition against Big Brother magazine editor in chief Dave Carnie. He made it pretty easily over two barrels but got racked hard when the tally was upped to five. While Carnie easily cleared the hurdles, Dunn repeatedly landed on the cold, hard ice, eventually getting smashed over the head with a metal pail by Carnie. “Office Chairs” Wearing his best regular-guy drag (a lame suit and tie and nerdy eyeglasses), Dunn rode an office chair down a skate ramp in a joust with fellow “Jackass” and CKY regular Brandon DiCamillo. The pals smashed into each other in spectacular fashion over and over. Dunn later tried the trick while sitting behind a desk complete with computer and monitor. “Hot Dog BMX” Again taking his chances on a skate ramp, Dunn donned a hot dog suit and rode his BMX bike down into a spectacular crash. In true “Jackass” fashion, as he lays prone, a crew member runs up and squirts mustard in his mouth and all over his face. Do you have a favorite Ryan Dunn stunt? Let us know or share your thoughts in comments below. Related Videos Remembering Ryan Dunn Related Photos Ryan Dunn: A Career In Photos

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Ryan Dunn’s ‘Jackass’ TV Stunts: A Retrospective

Eff The Recession: Study Shows That 38% Of African-Americans Lost Their Jobs Over The Last Three Years

If you don’t think the recession is affecting Blacks more than anyone else, check again. According to a survey conducted by Your Black World, 38 percent of African-Americans lost their jobs in the last three years. Of those people, more than 88 percent were unable to find jobs of equal or better pay, which means they have to downgrade to get back on their feet. More than 67 percent of the 839 respondents were college educated, too. To make matters more striking, the problems have affected African Americans at every socio-economic level. You know what they say: if America has a cold, Black America has a flu, and this is just another example. Time to get Barack Obama on this and help out, don’t you think?

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Eff The Recession: Study Shows That 38% Of African-Americans Lost Their Jobs Over The Last Three Years

AIDS Anniversary Recognized, Still No Cure

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The 30-year battle against AIDS is an unbelievable chapter in the history of medicine and 30 years later more than 60-million people around the world have been diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. And of those, 25-million people have died as there is no cure. On June 5, 1981, a bombshell quietly exploded in America. On that day, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report on a rare and deadly illness affecting five young, gay men in Los Angeles. It would be more than a year before the condition got its official name, but that was the day that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, was officially recognized in the U.S. Get Tested On June 27th, National HIV Testing Day Thirty years later, it can be hard to remember the fear and the desperation of those early days. It took more than three years to identify the virus that caused AIDS and to develop a test to detect HIV, the virus that causes it. There were no treatments, and most people died very quickly. The average survival time after diagnosis was less than a year. People lost their jobs, their families and friends, and their homes when they got sick. Out of fear and ignorance, some schools refused to admit HIV-positive students and some doctors wouldn’t treat HIV-positive patients. Churches and funeral homes refused to bury those who died. READ THE REST HERE AIDS Is Still In Our Lives

AIDS Anniversary Recognized, Still No Cure

‘American Idol’ Report Card: Who Starred On Movie Night?

Watch ‘Idol Party Live’ for more on why we’re giving Lauren Alaina high marks this week. By Eric Ditzian Lauren Alaina Photo: FOX The question heading into Wednesday’s “American Idol” was no longer why Pia Toscano was booted off so prematurely, but whether the judges would learn a much-needed lesson from her departure. Would Randy, Jennifer and Steven realize their jobs are to dole out expert critiques and sagacious notes, shaping public opinion and letting contestants know what’s working and what needs overhauling? Any hope the judges had recalibrated their critical approach was pretty much lost when J.Lo announced, after a competent but hardly revelatory tune from Scotty McCreery, “Everybody wants us to be tough with you guys, but the truth is y’all are so damn good. All I really want to say is wow.” And our last bit of optimism was flushed away as Lopez, during her review of Haley Reinhart, essentially exposed herself as a judge who will place sentiment (in this case, mealy-mouthed girl-power favoritism) ahead of objective reality. In past seasons, even when Simon Cowell would confess to personally liking an “Idol” hopeful, he’d still have no problem laying down some hard truths. No wonder, as Ryan Seacrest put it last night, this season is clouded by an “insane level of uncertainty.” But there’s nothing ambiguous about our “Idol” report card. The fact is, Wednesday’s night show — theme: songs of the cinema — wasn’t much to behold. No one bombed, but no one blew us away either. If the judges won’t lay down some truth, we will. Excellent Lauren Alaina : We’re not sure what Miley Cyrus did to earn Jimmy Iovine’s enmity, but the guy seemed almost as concerned with ripping the Disney starlet as he was with anointing Lauren as a superstar. In any event, saying Lauren is better than Miley is kind of a backhanded compliment, no? During “The Climb,” she struggled with some pitch problems but showed off an emotive voice and been-doing-this-all-my-life comfort level on stage. One question though: What happened to the country-infused Lauren we’ve come to know? We dig the ballads, but we want that light Southern twang back in the mix. In the end, Lauren lands a top grade, not because her performance was astonishing but because a) she was a pleasure to listen to, and b) there’s no way James Durbin gets an “excellent” just because he shared the stage with shred-master Zakk Wylde. Good Scotty McCreery : Let’s put aside the laughable thesis that Scotty was returning to his country roots on Wednesday, because he’s showed next to no genre growth all season. That’s not meant as a knock. In fact, he presents quite an interesting “Idol” model: the fully formed artist who does one thing so well, there’s little reason to test uncharted artistic waters. And hey, during his George Strait tune, Scotty let his vocals stretch further than they have on the show, even holding one note long enough for us to think, “Geez, he’s actually holding a note.” James Durbin : We knew this was coming . James couldn’t be expected to go all sensitive-rocker for a second consecutive week, even though we continue to argue that’s when he’s at his best. Alas, his heavy metal take on Sammy Hager left us feeling much as we did during his cover of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” a few weeks ago: tons of fun to watch, but useless as an example of vocal expertise — something he has hardly established he possesses. Haley getting beat up for not giving her vocals an opportunity to sparkle while James didn’t is a deep injustice, a sign that some singers continue to get free passes while others can’t catch a break. Satisfactory Paul McDonald : We knew we should worry as soon as Paul showed up onstage without a guitar and was free to wobble around like that spinning top from “Inception.” It never works out well, does it? Paul’s energy was high and his ability to pump up a crowd remained intact, but we just didn’t get a very good chance to assess Paul the singer, rather than Paul the showman. We fear he’ll end up in the bottom three this week; we hope he doesn’t get sent home. Haley Reinhart : Haley! Haley! Why? Why Blondie’s “Call Me” and why that arrangement? Listen, we actually enjoyed it. Or maybe we just enjoy her. But the judges were correct that the song didn’t allow Haley to showcase her vocals — those great soulful growls. Any momentum she had accrued over the last few weeks likely fizzled away, perhaps not because her performance was worse than anyone else’s (it wasn’t, not by a long shot), but because she doesn’t seem to have worked her way into a permanent, do-no-wrong place in the judges’ hearts. How can she possibly be the only contestant to get slammed, when no one else gets so much as had an unkind word tossed his or her way? We can only hope voters see through the judges’ transparent cheerleading for everyone and bullying of Haley and give her enough support to rediscover her artistic sweet spot. Stefano Langone : This one’s tricky. Was Stefano’s take on Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” his finest performance on the season — a notch above his surprising showstopper last month of Simply Red’s “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”? That’s up for debate. What is clear is Stefano showed more vocal and emotional abandon on Wednesday night than he has since coming on the show. Yet it’s also clear he generally doesn’t possess a particularly powerful instrument. The judges did their best to make Haley into this week’s fall gal, but there’s no doubting who is the more compelling artist between the two. Hint: It ain’t Stefano. Casey Abrams : Did we fall asleep and miss five weeks of this competition? Since when did Casey remake his artistic identity into some pop-jazz fusion of Adele and Michael Bubl

‘American Idol’ Report Card: Who Starred On Movie Night?

Watch ‘Idol Party Live’ for more on why we’re giving Lauren Alaina high marks this week. By Eric Ditzian Lauren Alaina Photo: FOX The question heading into Wednesday’s “American Idol” was no longer why Pia Toscano was booted off so prematurely, but whether the judges would learn a much-needed lesson from her departure. Would Randy, Jennifer and Steven realize their jobs are to dole out expert critiques and sagacious notes, shaping public opinion and letting contestants know what’s working and what needs overhauling? Any hope the judges had recalibrated their critical approach was pretty much lost when J.Lo announced, after a competent but hardly revelatory tune from Scotty McCreery, “Everybody wants us to be tough with you guys, but the truth is y’all are so damn good. All I really want to say is wow.” And our last bit of optimism was flushed away as Lopez, during her review of Haley Reinhart, essentially exposed herself as a judge who will place sentiment (in this case, mealy-mouthed girl-power favoritism) ahead of objective reality. In past seasons, even when Simon Cowell would confess to personally liking an “Idol” hopeful, he’d still have no problem laying down some hard truths. No wonder, as Ryan Seacrest put it last night, this season is clouded by an “insane level of uncertainty.” But there’s nothing ambiguous about our “Idol” report card. The fact is, Wednesday’s night show — theme: songs of the cinema — wasn’t much to behold. No one bombed, but no one blew us away either. If the judges won’t lay down some truth, we will. Excellent Lauren Alaina : We’re not sure what Miley Cyrus did to earn Jimmy Iovine’s enmity, but the guy seemed almost as concerned with ripping the Disney starlet as he was with anointing Lauren as a superstar. In any event, saying Lauren is better than Miley is kind of a backhanded compliment, no? During “The Climb,” she struggled with some pitch problems but showed off an emotive voice and been-doing-this-all-my-life comfort level on stage. One question though: What happened to the country-infused Lauren we’ve come to know? We dig the ballads, but we want that light Southern twang back in the mix. In the end, Lauren lands a top grade, not because her performance was astonishing but because a) she was a pleasure to listen to, and b) there’s no way James Durbin gets an “excellent” just because he shared the stage with shred-master Zakk Wylde. Good Scotty McCreery : Let’s put aside the laughable thesis that Scotty was returning to his country roots on Wednesday, because he’s showed next to no genre growth all season. That’s not meant as a knock. In fact, he presents quite an interesting “Idol” model: the fully formed artist who does one thing so well, there’s little reason to test uncharted artistic waters. And hey, during his George Strait tune, Scotty let his vocals stretch further than they have on the show, even holding one note long enough for us to think, “Geez, he’s actually holding a note.” James Durbin : We knew this was coming . James couldn’t be expected to go all sensitive-rocker for a second consecutive week, even though we continue to argue that’s when he’s at his best. Alas, his heavy metal take on Sammy Hager left us feeling much as we did during his cover of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” a few weeks ago: tons of fun to watch, but useless as an example of vocal expertise — something he has hardly established he possesses. Haley getting beat up for not giving her vocals an opportunity to sparkle while James didn’t is a deep injustice, a sign that some singers continue to get free passes while others can’t catch a break. Satisfactory Paul McDonald : We knew we should worry as soon as Paul showed up onstage without a guitar and was free to wobble around like that spinning top from “Inception.” It never works out well, does it? Paul’s energy was high and his ability to pump up a crowd remained intact, but we just didn’t get a very good chance to assess Paul the singer, rather than Paul the showman. We fear he’ll end up in the bottom three this week; we hope he doesn’t get sent home. Haley Reinhart : Haley! Haley! Why? Why Blondie’s “Call Me” and why that arrangement? Listen, we actually enjoyed it. Or maybe we just enjoy her. But the judges were correct that the song didn’t allow Haley to showcase her vocals — those great soulful growls. Any momentum she had accrued over the last few weeks likely fizzled away, perhaps not because her performance was worse than anyone else’s (it wasn’t, not by a long shot), but because she doesn’t seem to have worked her way into a permanent, do-no-wrong place in the judges’ hearts. How can she possibly be the only contestant to get slammed, when no one else gets so much as had an unkind word tossed his or her way? We can only hope voters see through the judges’ transparent cheerleading for everyone and bullying of Haley and give her enough support to rediscover her artistic sweet spot. Stefano Langone : This one’s tricky. Was Stefano’s take on Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” his finest performance on the season — a notch above his surprising showstopper last month of Simply Red’s “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”? That’s up for debate. What is clear is Stefano showed more vocal and emotional abandon on Wednesday night than he has since coming on the show. Yet it’s also clear he generally doesn’t possess a particularly powerful instrument. The judges did their best to make Haley into this week’s fall gal, but there’s no doubting who is the more compelling artist between the two. Hint: It ain’t Stefano. Casey Abrams : Did we fall asleep and miss five weeks of this competition? Since when did Casey remake his artistic identity into some pop-jazz fusion of Adele and Michael Bubl

Brooklyn Decker Recalls Telling Off A Teacher On ‘When I Was 17’

Supermodel remembers heated argument over yearbook in latest episode. By Mawuse Ziegbe Brooklyn Decker on “When I Was 17” Photo: MTV Brooklyn Decker is a catwalk-strutting supermodel who can induce whiplash with her swimsuit-clad curves, but in high school the siren had more of a passion for politics than fashion. On the latest episode of “When I Was 17” — which premieres Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on MTV — Decker recalls getting into a heated argument with her teacher over a yearbook layout that would have left her beloved student council out of the tome. “My friend Ashley and I were in this class. I was the senior class president and Ashley was student body president, and the yearbook teacher did not want to give student council a page in the yearbook,” she says, explaining, “We funded all these clubs and we support all these clubs through spirit week and so we thought we deserve a page in the yearbook.” However, their teacher, Ms. Smith, explains that since the student council was full of go-getting teens active in several clubs that would’ve gotten some shine elsewhere in the annual volume, perhaps preserving space for those other organizations would help spread the yearbook love. “We had one page left in the book,” the teacher recalls. “We were trying to decide what group would get that one last page, and I said, ‘Listen guys, the same people who are in student council are in lots of other things and so I think we should give the page to this less visible group in the school.’ ” But Decker wasn’t having it. Her friend Ashley says, “Brooke just like, lost it,” a reaction the model doesn’t deny. “We started yelling things at one another and by the end of the class Ashley took a trash can and just chucked it at a wall. And I walked out of the class and I went like this [makes a provocative gesture] and I yelled, ‘Suck it!’ to my teacher,” she says. Decker jokingly chalks up the outburst to an overload of heart-racing energy drinks. “I don’t know what came over me, I was crazy in high school,” she says. “I was like, all hopped up on Red Bull or something, I don’t know.” “When I Was 17” — this week featuring Kobe Bryant, Brooklyn Decker and Candice Accola — premieres Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on MTV. Related Videos Sneak Preview Of This Week’s ‘When I Was 17’ Related Photos In The Spotlight: Brooklyn Decker

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Brooklyn Decker Recalls Telling Off A Teacher On ‘When I Was 17’

Will Eminem Or Justin Bieber Rule The Grammys? Oddsmakers Weigh In

Ladbrokes and Bodog both like Em and Bieber’s chances on Sunday night. By James Montgomery Eminem Photo: Getty Images The 53rd annual Grammy Awards air Sunday from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and while most will be tuning in to see if Eminem can capitalize on his industry-leading 10 nominations or catch Lady Gaga performing “Born This Way” for the first time, we’ll be watching to see how all our bets panned out. See, we love gambling nearly as much as we love the Grammys (and that’s a lot ), and, with the big show just a few days away, we figured it was time to place our bets in the Big Four categories: Album, Record and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist. And to help insure our wagering success, we’ve once again gone to two of the best oddsmakers in the universe — Ladbrokes and Bodog — to get their take on music’s biggest night. And, strangely, their picks sort of mirrored our own opinions : They both see a big night for Eminem. But unlike us , they also see Justin Bieber hoisting the hardware. And, really, who are we to disagree? After all, they’re professionals. So here, for your last-minute wagering, are Ladbrokes’ and Bodog’s odds for the 2011 Grammy Awards. Ladbrokes “The odds reflect the sensational musical year we’ve had, which makes our jobs considerably harder. When it comes to arriving at our conclusions, personal tastes do come into play, but our main job is predicting public sentiment and where we think the money will go,” Ladbrokes’ Alex Donohue said. “Some of the categories look like they have nailed-on winners — namely Eminem and Jay Z and Alicia Keys — whereas others are much closer. The quality of the short list means we can’t rule anyone out, and we’d expect one or two surprises along the way.” Album of the Year

Mass Police, Firefighter Layoffs Begin In Camden, NJ

These seemingly unnecessary lay offs may make more damage and empty more pockets than this state is predicting, as we’re sure they expect to save a few bucks here; while removing patrol from their violence ridden streets. With the crime rate in Camden being five times the national average according to the FBI, we have to take a second to ask ourselves, what the hell is going on? Some police officers are turning in their badges as part of deep municipal layoffs that began today and that could be a blow to the quality of life in this city, one of the nation’s most impoverished and crime-ridden. As many as 383 workers, representing one-fourth of the local government’s work force, are expected to lose their jobs, including about half the police force and one-third of the city’s firefighters. Firefighters are planning to march to City Hall today, and Mayor Dana Redd is planning a noon news conference to talk about the layoffs in a city facing a huge budget deficit and declining state aid.

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Mass Police, Firefighter Layoffs Begin In Camden, NJ

‘Baywatch’ Star Sues Agent — I Want My $100K Back!

Filed under: David Charvet , Celebrity Justice Ex ” Baywatch ” star David Charvet — who played buff lifeguard-man Matt Brody — claims he got screwed over by the one guy who’s supposed to have his back … his agent … and now the actor’s out $100,000. Charvet filed the lawsuit Monday in L.A.… Read more

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‘Baywatch’ Star Sues Agent — I Want My $100K Back!

Favre Accusers: Jets Shut Us Out Before Lawsuit

Filed under: Brett Favre , Celebrity Justice , TMZ Sports Before two masseuses sued Brett Favre for sexual harassment they made a last ditch appeal to the NY Jets to get their jobs back, but were denied … according to an attorney for the women. Christina Scavo and Shannon O’Toole ‘s lawyer David Jaroslawicz… Read more

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Favre Accusers: Jets Shut Us Out Before Lawsuit