Johnny Knoxville attends the memorial service for Ryan Dunn last Wednesday. (BY AMY DRAGOO/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ringleader Johnny Knoxville wrote on the Dickhouse Productions blog that he couldn’t fully express himself at Dunn’s memorial service Wednesday. “What came out were the mumblings of a man trying his best not to cry, and I wasn't even successful at that,” Knoxville wrote. He described the late prankster as “a great listener” with “an enormous capacity to love.”
“I felt 34-percent funnier when I was with Ryan, but I guess everyone did,” he wrote. “He lived his life wanting to laugh and wanting you to laugh with him.”
Spike Jonze, who co-created “Jackass,” wrote of Dunn’s love for his longtime girlfriend, Angie. “When he spoke about her, he was so in awe that she was with him,” the Oscar-nominated director wrote.
“The other thing I think of when I think of Ryan is how big his heart is and how thoughtful he is,” he continued. “I think he helped give our group and everything we made a lot of its heart, too.”
Zachary Hartwell, who was a passenger in Dunn’s Porsche at the time of the fatal crash, was memorialized by “Jackass” director Jeff Tremaine, who admitted that he didn’t know the war veteran as well as Dunn. He remembered the NSFW pranks Hartwell took part in while working as a production assistant on the film “Jackass 2.”
“Zach took his job for us seriously and worked really hard,” he wrote. “I appreciated him very much and will always consider him my friend.”
The two men were killed last Monday when Dunn’s Porsche, which may have been traveling at 130 mph, went off Route 322 in Pennsylvania and caught fire. A toxicology report showed Dunn’s blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash.
“Jackass” producer Knate Gwaltney also paid tribute to Dunn on the blog.
More Ryan Dunn coverage from Celebritology:
Brad Pitt texts condolences to Bam Margera
Memorial service for Ryan Dunn
Ryan Dunn, MTV prankster and stuntman, has died
