Celebrity Deathmatch
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| Celebrity Deathmatch | |
|---|---|
| File:Celebrity deathmatch logo.jpg | |
| Created by | Eric Fogel |
| Starring | Maurice Schlafer (1998-2002) Len Maxwell (1998-2002) Mills Lane (1998-2002) Stone Cold Steve Austin (1998-2002) Mz. L (1998-1999) Debbie Matenopoulos (2000-2002) Eric Fogel (1998-2000) Jim Thornton (2006-) Chris Edgerly (2006-) Masasa Moyo (2006-) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 99 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV (1998-2002) MTV2 (2006-present) |
| Release | January 25, 1998 |
Celebrity Deathmatch is a claymation parody television show that pits celebrities against each other in a wrestling ring, almost always ending in a gruesome death of the celebrity who lost the match. It is known for its excessive amount of blood used in every match and exaggerated physical injuries (e.g., one person pulls off a participant's foot, living through decapitations, etc.).
The series was created by Eric Fogel. It aired on MTV from May 14, 1998 to October 20, 2002, and lasted for a 75 episode run. There was one special that didn't contribute to the final episode total, entitled Celebrity Deathmatch Hits Germany, which aired on June 21, 2001. Professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin gave voice to his animated form as the guest commentator. Early in 2003, a movie was announced by MTV to be in the making, but the project was canceled by the end of that very same year.
In 2005, MTV2 announced the revival of the show as part of their Sic 'Em Friday programming block. Originally set to return in November 2005, the premiere was pushed back to June 10, 2006 as part of a new Sic'emation block with two other animated shows. The show's fifth season premiere drew over 2.5 million viewers becoming MTV2's highest rated season premiere ever.
Characters (Voice Actors)
- Johnny Gomez (Maurice Schlafer (1998-2002), Jim Thornton (2006-present)): Co-commentator on Celebrity Deathmatch, Johnny is the more professional one, and a loyal friend of Nick's despite his constant blunders and once was heard to say, "Be patient Johnny. Only 35 Years till retirement." Johnny's hair has noticeably changed from black to brown in the new season. Judging by a comment made by Tally Wong during one episode, he may have gone bald during the show's cancellation, and is now wearing a toupee.
- Nick Diamond (Len Maxwell (1998-2002), Chris Edgerly (2006-present)): Co-commentator on Celebrity Deathmatch and a divorced father of one, he is always screwing up. He dislikes interviewer Debbie Matenopoulos intensely, and has also won several matches of Celebrity Deathmatch himself (most notably against an alien in a Monsters special episode). The first episode of the new season seemingly shows Nick as having received a sex-change operation, though he retains his mustache (this may simply be breast implants though). In later episodes, however, his breasts vanished as if it never happened.
- Mills Lane (Mills Lane (1998-2002), Chris Edgerly (2006-present)): The referee on Celebrity Deathmatch; he always starts matches by saying "Let's get it on!" and shows that this is one ref you can't knock down with one hit. Another catch phrase is when there is a disputable move by either fighter, like using foreign objects, and he says "I'll allow it!", implying that just about anything is legal in the ring. Due to his suffering a stroke in 2002 that affected his voice, Mills no longer voices his own character.
- Debbie Matenopoulos (herself): Interviewer on Celebrity Deathmatch. She dislikes Nick, and doesn’t prepare for any interviews, usually just asking whatever she feels like. She often believes herself to be smarter than she really is. A lot of the other characters don't like her.
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (himself): World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Wrestler and regular guest commentator on Celebrity Deathmatch. Also the scientist, doctor and weapons expert on the show, he is a fan favorite. He also fought and won a grudge match against Vince McMahon (voiced by McMahon himself). Apparently, Austin will not show up in the newer seasons, for Nick has once stated that he was too expensive to bring back.
- Marilyn Manson (himself): The controversial rockstar is the undisputed champion of Celebrity Deathmatch. He was featured on the original Celebrity Deathmatch short where he fought and defeated Charles Manson. He has also defeated The Spice Girls, Hanson, Garth Brooks, and Ricky Martin. Although he did not provide his voice for all of these matches, he was onboard for most.
- The Popcorn Vendor: The name pretty much sums up his job. Basically, he's something of a running gag, as he is usually among the first victims in the audience when a deathmatch gets too brutal to stay in the ring. The vendor has been burned, chopped up, and even possessed by a demon at various points, only to come back again healthy in his next appearance.
- Nicky Diamond Jr., (Brendan Muller): Nick's son, who appeared in several episodes. In one episode he was possessed by a demon called "Captain Doody," but was delivered when The Undertaker executed a Tombstone Piledriver on the possessed Nicky during their bout, causing the demon to leave Nicky and enter the hapless popcorn salesman.
- Marv Albert (himself): CDM's first interviewer. He only appeared in three episodes before being replaced with Stacey Cornbred. Best recognized for wasting one show watching the slow-motion replay of Pamela Anderson's implant-laden breasts jiggle repeatedly (Let's see that again...Let's see that again...Let's see that again...).
- Stacey Cornbred, (Mz. L): A former interviewer on Celebrity Deathmatch, Stacey was much more professional than Debbie, and more liked. She spontaneously combusted. Later, she briefly returned from the dead as an animated corpse to challenge Debbie in the ring only to be soundly (and messily) defeated. Tally Wong made a small reference to Stacey in the Season 5 finale when she lost her temper while on camera. Tally Wong has mentioned bringing her back again in the new season.
- Tally Wong, (Masasa Moyo): The new interviewer from Season 5 onward. She's a competent interviewer, but she's yet to get a decent interview out of any of the celebrities. In the Season 5 finale, Tally replaced Nick for the duration of one match, and managed to earn Johnny's dislike for her. Tally later put up a fit afterwards and stormed off.
- The Masked Man, (Chris Edgerly): Appearing in the first two episodes of the 2006 season, the true identity of the Masked Man is shrouded in mystery. In both his appearances, the Masked Man has appeared in a seemingly one-sided match and attacked the winning celebrity. Even though in both matches he has appeared in, he has managed to render his opponent completely helpless, he always runs away after suffering a single blow. He is quite obviously supposed to be Michael Jackson, as his pale skin, high-pitched voice, eccentric dance moves, and habit of seductively leering towards small boys are all dead giveaways. Despite this, Nick and Johnny cannot seem to identify who he really is.
History
Celebrity Deathmatch premiered in 1998 during the Super Bowl XXXII Halftime and turned out to be the highest rated special in the history of MTV. The show was popular enough for Eric Fogel to be named one of the most creative people in the TV industry by Entertainment Weekly. During the next seasons Celebrity Deathmatch became more popular in other countries and won fans all over the world. After four seasons and nearly a hundred episodes later MTV decided to cancel the show due to lack of ratings.
The Return
New episodes of the show, which began production in 2005, are being produced by Cuppa Coffee Studios as opposed to MTV's now-defunct animation department. The show now features an all-new voice cast and a new look. Johnny, Nick and Mills Lane have all returned, though all with new voices. Mills Lane, who used to be played by himself, is now played by someone else due to the real Mills Lane's 2002 stroke. Stone Cold Steve Austin will not return on the new version of the show. Debbie Matenopoulos has been replaced by Tally Wong. Eric Fogel didn't get very involved with this season due to his involvement on his new show Starveillance.
Clips of the new Celebrity Deathmatch are available at Cuppa Coffee Animation's official web site at Cuppacoffee.com, as well as at MTV2.com. For this version of the show, the animators are bringing back various celebrities that were originally killed off years ago (though in the original, celebrities would often return from the dead with absolutely no explanation given, such as John Tesh appearing as a guest co-host who desperately wanted to be part of the show, despite the fact that he fought and lost to David Hasselhoff earlier in the series or David Letterman, who married Nick's ex-wife despite the fact that he was crushed by the Loch Ness Monster earlier in the series).
In the later shows, a masked man known as "The Masked Man", believed to be Michael Jackson, occasionally jumps into the ring during matches that seem to be one sided and fights the winning side. Before he can beat his foe, he is somehow distracted (often by a boy) and runs off.
It can be seen that some of the audience members are celebrities used in the older seasons of Celebrity Deathmatch. In one fight, you can see in the audience Macaulay Culkin from his fight against Haley Joel Osment. Other noticeable celebrities are Ozzy Osbourne, Whitney Houston, Farrah Fawcett, 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick, Eriq La Salle, Mr T, Ricky Martin, Nick Nolte, Dana Carvey as Garth and The Church Lady and one of the Olsen twins.
Johnny Gomez seems to have developed a hatred for Tally Wong over the course of the season.
During the 2006 season, fans were able to vote for matches they want to see for the next season on MTV2.com, choosing between a selection of three celebrity battles, or even by sending a request that they would like to see. The winning matches will be animated as part of the new upcoming season. The following are the winners of the new CDM polls:[citation needed]
- Week 1 Winners - Poll: Daddy Yankee vs. Sean Paul
- #1 Write-In - The Game vs. 50 Cent
- Week 2 Winners - Poll: Nas vs. Jay-Z
- #1 Write-In - Anthony Kiedis vs. Tom Petty
- Week 3 Winners - Poll: Hilary Duff vs. Lindsay Lohan
- #1 Write-In - Hugh Jackman vs. Tobey Maguire
- Week 4 Winners - Poll: Nelly Furtado vs. Christina Aguilera
- #1 Write-In - Dave Chappelle vs. Carlos Mencia
Show within the show
Within the show Celebrity Deathmatch is a media sensation and pop culture phenomenom that sparks several controversies.
History
Every episode of CDM features fights between Hollywood's greatest stars, the one who kills its opponent wins, the one who dies loses. The show has faced a lot of controversies with the years, particularly for its violence and sexual content. Creators Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond have both been arrested for showing illegal content in the show. They have also gone to Congress to defend the show's violence. In 2002 the show was canceled and both Diamond and Gomez went through some tough times during the show's absence. In 2006 over popular demand the show was revived in MTV2.
Crew
Template:List to prose (section) Johnny Gomez creator, announcer
Nick Diamond creator, announcer
Mills Lane referee
Correspondents
Guest commentators
Guest referees
Traditions
This is a list of the most common traditions on the show. Most of these traditions have been banned with the years.
Deathbowl
Deathbowl was a tradition that opened the first three seasons of the show. The first two Deathbowls featured fights between two celebrities that were very successful at the time but the third Deathbowl featured fights between sports stars. It's being assumed that the tradition has been banned after season 4, and 5 didn't use it.
Fandemonium
Fandemonium is a tradition where the fans can vote for who they want to see on the show via the internet. The tradition was shown every season until the show's cancellation in 2002. On the show's return in 2006 the tradition wasn't shown. Now you can vote on the MTV2 website to decide which celebrities you want to see on the show.
Salute to Laughter
Salute to Laughter is a tradition that has been shown a few times. The tradition features an episode that includes three fights between two comedians. The tradition was shown in seasons two and four. In 2006 the tradition was revived but it was called The Comedy Comeback.
Slaughterday Night Live
Slaughterday Night Live is a tradition that features one fight beetween two former Saturday Night Live cast members. The tradition was shown in seasons three and four. The tradition was revived in 2006 in fights between Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, and Chris Farley and Horatio Sanz, even though these two fights weren't called Slaughterday Night Live they featured the same premise: two former SNL cast members fighting and several references to SNL. Chris Rock and Adam Sandler also fought without the title.
The time machine
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. |
During Season 2, guest commentator and Deathmatch science and weapons expert Stone Cold Steve Austin developed a time machine to make possible a match between Mahatma Gandhi and Genghis Khan. Since then, the Celebrity Deathmatch time machine has been a fixture of the show, having been used to revive long-deceased celebrities to participate in Deathmatch, such as:
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Genghis Khan
- A cave woman
- William Shakespeare
- Abraham Lincoln
- George Washington
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Richard Nixon
- The Three Stooges
- Benito Mussolini
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Ernest Hemingway
- Colonel Sanders
- Albert Einstein (twice)
- Robert E. Lee
- Ulysses S. Grant
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Chris Farley (six times)
- Rodney Dangerfield
- Ray Charles
- Lil' Bow Wow
- Lil' Romeo
- 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys were the only people brought back by something other than the time machine (both of them dying from previous Deathmatches), in this case a deal with the devil by Nick Diamond in a bathroom stall.
Frequent fighters
| Fighter | Number of Deathmatches | Won | Lost | Other Notes |
| Marilyn Manson | 4 | 4 | 0 | He has defeated Charles Manson, Hanson and the Spice Girls (in a match he wasn't even a combatant in), Garth Brooks and Ricky Martin, making him the unofficial Deathmatch champion and mascot. |
| Nick Diamond | 3 | 3 | 0 | He defeated Zatar the Alien, the Satyr, and Sam Donaldson. Despite not being an actual celebrity, Nick's Deathmatch record puts him second only to Marilyn Manson. |
| Pamela Anderson | 3 | 2 | 1 | She defeated RuPaul and Tommy Lee, but lost against Heather Locklear. |
| Justin Timberlake | 3 | 1 | 2 | He defeated the Backstreet Boys with 'N Sync, but lost against Kiss and Kevin Federline. |
| Tommy Lee | 3 | 1 | 2 | He defeated Ron Jeremy, but lost against Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson. |
| Stone Cold Steve Austin | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Bruce Willis and Tom Cruise (in a match he wasn't even a combatant in) and Vince McMahon. |
| Chris Rock | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Adam Sandler (although both combatants died in that fight) and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. |
| Robert De Niro | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Al Pacino and James Gandolfini. |
| Lucy Lawless | 2 | 2 | 0 | She defeated Calista Flockhart and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (in a match she wasn't even a combatant in). |
| Rodney Dangerfield | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Don Rickles and Rob Schneider. |
| Betty-Sue Olsen | 2 | 2 | 0 | She defeated The Olsen Twins and Jennifer Love Hewitt (both times, she wasn't a combatant in the match). |
| Potato Khan | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Beni Trauma and Cousin Grimm. |
| Johnny Knoxville | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Ben Stein and Verne Troyer. |
| Bam Margera | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Tony Hawk and Don Vito. |
| Charlie Sheen | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Emilio Estevez and Colin Farrell. |
| Harrison Ford | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated the Pharaoh (in a match he wasn't even a combatant in) and Samuel L. Jackson. |
| Mills Lane | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Jesse Camp and Judge Judy (both times, he wasn't a combatant in the match). |
| Ozzy Osbourne | 2 | 2 | 0 | He defeated Elton John and Rob Zombie. |
| Don Vito | 2 | 1 | 1 | He defeated Tony Hawk, but lost against Bam Margera. |
| Kobe Bryant | 2 | 1 | 1 | He defeated Shaquille O'Neal, but lost against him in a Season 5 rematch. |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | 1 | 1 | He lost against Kobe Bryant, but defeated him in a Season 5 rematch. |
| Bono | 2 | 1 | 1 | He lost against Yoko Ono, but defeated Chris Martin. |
| Adam Sandler | 2 | 1 | 1 | He lost against Chris Rock (although both combatants died in that fight) but defeated Ben Stiller. |
| Sarah Michelle Gellar | 2 | 1 | 1 | She defeated the mystery killer, but lost against a vampire. |
| 'N Sync | 2 | 1 | 1 | They lost against Kiss, but defeated Backstreet Boys. |
| Cousin Grimm | 2 | 1 | 1 | He defeated Pierce McCrack, but lost against Potato Khan. |
| 98 Degrees | 2 | 1 | 1 | They defeated Blink-182, but lost to Jessica Simpson. |
| Zatar the Alien | 2 | 1 | 1 | He defeated Celine Dion and Keith Flint (in a match he wasn't even a combatant in) and Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew (even though that wasn't a fight), but lost against Nick Diamond. |
| Missy Elliott | 2 | 1 | 1 | Lost against Beyoncé Knowles but defeated Gwen Stefani. |
| Carson Daly | 2 | 1 | 1 | Lost against Joe C but defeated Jimmy Kimmel |
| Lil' Bow Wow | 2 | 1 | 1 | He defeated Lil' Romeo but lost to Lil' Jon |
| Lil' Flip | 2 | 1 | 1 | He defeated Lil' Wayne but lost to Lil' Jon |
| Ben Stiller | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Bob Dylan and Adam Sandler. |
| Bruce Willis | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Stone Cold Steve Austin and Demi Moore. |
| James Gandolfini | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Bruce Springsteen and Robert De Niro. |
| Mary-Kate Olsen | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Betty-Sue Olsen and Kelly Osbourne, but defeated Jack Osbourne in the same match. |
| Ashley Olsen | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Betty-Sue Olsen and Kelly Osbourne. |
| Courtney Love | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Brandy Norwood and Dave Grohl. |
| Backstreet Boys | 2 | 0 | 2 | Lost against Beastie Boys and 'N Sync. |
| Joey Fatone | 2 | 0 | 2 | He Lost against Kiss and Backstreet Boys. |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | 2 | 0 | 2 | He Lost against Jack Nicholson and Woody Harrelson. |
| Ricky Martin | 2 | 0 | 2 | He Lost against Marilyn Manson and William Hung. |
Celebrities Mysteriously Revived
Template:List to prose (section) Sometimes in the show, a celebrity who lost a previous match would appear again in the show without any explanation. They include;
Patterns
Several patterns have emerged in Celebrity Deathmatch that can sometimes show who will win a match:
- For example, in a fight between a living and dead (in real life) celebrity, the dead celebrity almost always wins. Exceptions include Benito Mussolini, Ernest Hemingway, Colonel Sanders and Albert Einstein.
- All four active WWE wrestlers (i.e., active at the airing of the relevant episode) who have appeared in deathmatches have won — Stone Cold Steve Austin over WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, The Undertaker over "Captain Doody", Mick Foley as Mankind over Ernest Hemingway and Chyna over Albert Einstein.
- By contrast, the two inactive WWE wrestlers (at the time of their deathmatches) were killed — Jesse Ventura by Kevin Bacon and The Rock by Chris Rock.
- When a deathmatch is between a country singer and someone else, the country singer often is the loser. Exceptions have been Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, and Faith Hill.
- Any time a politician appeared on the show, they inevitably died or were dismembered before the show was over. Al Gore, Ronald Reagan, and Hillary Clinton were the only ones to have escaped this fate so far.
- When a New Zealander is faced on the show, they always win. No exceptions have been noted yet.
- Whenever a member of the cast of Jackass is in a fight they usually win - Johnny Knoxville vs. Ben Stein, Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña vs. Verne Troyer and Bam Margera vs. Tony Hawk. The only exceptions are Don Vito was only on jackass once and it was less than a minute who lost to fellow Jackass castmate Bam Margera, and Steve-O, who lost to Andy Milonakis.
- Everytime a CDM member fights in the show(Debbie Matenopoulos, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mills Lane, Johnny Gomez, Nick Diamond),the CDM member always wins. The only exception is Stacey Cornbred who lost to Debbie Matenopoulos.
Trivia
- There have been two fights on the show between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, each one with a different winner. Kobe won the original match (Shaq having his internal organs and an ear being cut off and used for basketball practice), but Shaq won the second one (Kobe's head and limbs being ripped off and used for basketball practice). Shaq and Kobe's fights are the only ever Celebrity Deathmatch "rematches" so far.
- It was revealed in the 2006 season finale, during the fight between Verne Troyer and Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña, that the bodies of the dead celebrities are not buried or cremated, but rather dumped underneath the ring. The bodies of Don Vito, Ashley Olsen, Gwen Stefani, Sacha Baron Cohen, Paris Hilton, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Bruce Willis, and Chris Martin.
- A Celebrity Deathmatch video game came out in October 2003 for PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game received poor reviews. It was also planned to be released on Game Cube, but was canceled.
- Ironically, a number of celebrities have won on Deathmatch but died in real life, including Gene Siskel, Joe C, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Dale Earnhardt, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Irwin, Jennifer Paterson of Two Fat Ladies, Ronald Reagan, and Anna Nicole Smith.
- By comparison, the only two people to die in a Deathmatch and in real life (after the deathmatch aired) so far are James Brown and Saddam Hussein.