Bam Margera (born Brandon Cole Margera on September 28, 1979, name legally changed to "Bam") is a professional skateboarder and
television personality. He released a series of videos under the CKY banner and came
to prominence after being drafted into MTV's Jackass crew. He has since appeared in MTV's Viva La
Bam and Bam's Unholy Union, both Jackass movies, and Haggard, which he
co-wrote and directed.
Personal life
Margera was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania to Phil and April
Margera. He is also the younger brother of Jess Margera and nephew of
Vincent Margera. His grandfather nicknamed him "Bam" at the age of three after his habit
of running into walls.[1]
He attended East High School and cites friend
Chris Raab as his only reason for attending high school, and dropped out after Raab got
expelled for smearing feces on a locker. He later received his GED at the insistence of his parents.
Margera was previously engaged to Jenn Rivell, a divorced single mother six years his
senior. Rivell played a prominent part in several of his projects and the couple appeared to be co-habiting in various episodes
of Viva La Bam. However, the relationship ended in 2005 and Margera would later become engaged to Melissa "Missy"
Rothstein, a childhood friend. In November 2006 Margera filed for "Protection From
Abuse" from Rivell after she allegedly broke into his house. He further alleged that Rivell had exhibited irrational and
aggressive behavior towards him on several previous occasions including destroying several computers and vandalizing his house
immediately after their initial breakup. The judge dismissed the allegations as "speculative" and "hearsay."[2] Their break-up was attributed to rumors Margera had
slept with pop star Jessica Simpson, which Margera initially denied before admitting
they had been "intimate".[2] Margera reasserted
that nothing untoward had happened after he and Simpson met at an MTV Video Music
Awards after-party in 2006.[3]
Margera currently resides in "Castle Bam," a large house near West Chester, PA. The house has a gothic decorative theme, a
skatepark in the driveway and is situated on 14 acres of land. Back in January of
2007, Margera built a ramp in his backyard, near the old casino seen in Viva La Bam, the
ramp itself, caused trouble with the township[4] .
Margera's parents, uncle and friends lived in the house while shooting Viva La Bam.
Bam married Melissa Rothstein on February 3,
2007, in downtown Philadelphia, with about
350 friends and family in attendance. The couple's honeymoon was in Dubai.
Career
Skateboarding career
Margera is a member of Team Element, the demonstration team for Element Skateboards. He is also sponsored by Adio Footwear, Destructo
Trucks, Speed Metal Bearings, Electric Visual, and Fairman's Skateshop. Although Margera does
not compete at the higher levels of skateboarding anymore, his large sponsorship packages assure him of "pro" status.
TV, film and radio
The CKY videos
-
Margera began filming himself and his friends skateboarding and doing stunts and released a compliation of his work as
CKY:Landspeed in 1999. CKY2K, CKY3 and CKY4 have also been released. CKY stands for "Camp Kill Yourself," a reference to the film
Sleepaway Camp. These early videos feature many of Margera's friends, including
Ryan Dunn, Brandon DiCamillo, Rake Yohn, Chris Raab, Brandon
Novak and others who form a loose collective known as the CKY Crew. CKY is also the name
of a rock band featuring his brother Jess (see CKY
(band)), and the history and relationship between the video and band projects is heavily interlinked.
Jackass
- Main articles: Jackass (TV series), Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two,
Jackass 3
Former Big Brother editor Jeff Tremaine
noticed Bam's videos and drafted him into the team which would eventually become MTV's Jackass. Margera and Ryan Dunn became
mainstays of the cast while other CKY crew members played supporting roles to various degrees. Margera went on to appear in both
Jackass: The Movie and Jackass Number Two. Several skits in the first Jackass movie were CKY style pieces filmed in and around
West Chester, but similar scenes in the second movie were removed after the arrest of Margera's uncle Vincent Margera.
Viva La Bam
-
After Jackass, Margera was given his own MTV series entitled "Viva La Bam." The show ran for 5 seasons between 2003-2005 and
followed Margera and his crew as they performed various stunts and missions. The show was primarily filmed in West Chester,
Pennsylvania but also visited New Orleans, LA, Brazil, Finland,
Mexico, Amsterdam and Transylvania. In addition to the regular series, special episodes have included "Viva La Spring Break" and
a "lost" episode included on the Viva La Bands CD.
Haggard
-
Margera co-wrote, directed and starred in Haggard (2003), an independent film based on real events in the life of his friend
Ryan Dunn. Dunn played himself as the main character while Margera played "Valo," a character based on himself and elements of
HIM singer and friend Ville Valo.[5] Tony Hawk made a guest appearance as a
police officer.
Radio Bam
-
Margera began a weekly Sirius Satellite Radio show on Sirius channel 28
Faction on November 24, 2004 called Radio Bam. The show features Margera along with friends from
the CKY and Jackass crews.
Bam's Unholy Union
-
MTV commissioned Bam's Unholy Union as a follow up of sorts to Viva la Bam. The show follows Margera, his fiancée Melissa
Rothstein and their friends in the lead-up to their wedding.[6]
Other projects
Margera owns a music label, Filthy Note Records, and has directed videos for
Clutch, Turbonegro, Viking
Skull, Vains of Jenna and several for CKY. He
also directed four music videos for the Finnish band HIM, namely Buried Alive By Love, The
Sacrament, And Love Said No, and Solitary Man. Margera also plays the keyboard in a
novelty band called Gnarkill along with Brandon
DiCamillo, Jess Margera, Rich Vose and Matt Cole.
Margera has been animated as a character in pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk's video games
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Tony Hawk's
Underground, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Tony
Hawk's Project 8, and Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. He also voiced a
character in Scarface: The World Is Yours. He made cameo appearances in the
movies Grind and Destroying America.
Margera is currently in post production of Ming Hags, formally titled Kiss a Good Man's Ass.[7] The film is a loose sequel to Haggard and will feature the "garbage juicer" invention from that film.[8].This film was confirmed on Radio Bam and the
front page of FilthyNote Records by Tim
Glomb. Filming started April 5, 2007.[9] On an episode of Radio Bam, Margera said that they are trying to make
the movie PG-13 rated.[10], but with the amount of swearing and a shot of nudity, an 'R' Rating could
not be avoided.[11]They had its first viewing of the rough
version of the film on August 7, 2007 at Sikes Hall.[12] Margera is currently editing the film. It is unknown if the
movie will be a straight-to-dvd release, or a theatrical release. He has also announced he would be working on a film called
The Dream Seller. The title is a nickname for long-time friend and fellow skater Brandon
Novak.[13]
References
- ^ Nieratko, Chris. Big Bro Interview. Retrieved on
2006-08-20.
- ^ a b Margera files for protection, Daily Local News, 4 November 2006.
- ^ Margera and Simpson Make-Up, Yahoo! News, 2 September 2006.
- ^ Radio Bam, August 6, 2007
- ^ www.hs.fi/english/article/HIM+the+metamorphoses+of+Ville+Valo/1101979292024.
- ^ "MTV makes room for Margera," Hollywood Reporter, December 14 2006.
- ^ Radio Bam episode, February 26, 2007
- ^ Epstein, Daniel Robert. Bam Margera Interview.
UnderGroundOnline. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
- ^ April 2, 2007 episode of Radio Bam on Sirius
28 Faction
- ^ Radio Bam episode, April 4, 2007
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022877/board/thread/86843487?d=87221233&p=1#87221233
- ^ Radio Bam episode, July 31, 2007
- ^ Dream Seller at the Internet Movie Database
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