‘Taxi’ and ‘Grease’ Star Conaway in Coma
You might remember him as Bobby Wheeler in the hit late 70s/early 80s sitcom "Taxi." You might remember him as Kenickie in the 1978 blockbuster "Grease." Sadly, most will likely remember him only as the pitiful, wheelchair-bound former star who occupied time and a patient room on VH1's voyeuristic and unpleasant reality series "Celebrity Rehab." And, now, Jeff Conaway has lapsed into a coma due to a drug overdose.
Ironically, Chad and I were just discussing, the other day on our sister station WOMI during The Screening Room, that we won't be surprised if one of these days someone dies on a reality series. Now, that hasn't happened ON "Celebrity Rehab," but Mike Starr of the rock band Alice in Chains has passed away since he appeared on the show in 2009. The cause of death has not been determined, but Starr had been busted a month before his death on drug-related charges. So it doesn't appear that whatever happened with him on "Rehab" really stuck. And Conaway looked like he was in a lot worse shape than Starr. Hey, I don't believe the VH1 series is helping anyone. It just allows those who are game to watch once-famous people struggle to get back to normal, if they even want to. I just don't find that one bit entertaining. Pretty sad story.