David Rainey

David "Puck" Rainey is a reality television personality who first gained fame as a cast member on The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. A bicycle messenger during the show's shooting, he became notorious as the second Real World cast member ever to be evicted from the house, due to his increasingly antagonistic relationship with his housemates, most notably AIDS educator Pedro Zamora.

Early life

Rainey was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area.^[1] He and his sister are of partial Swedish descent through their grandfather.^[2]

On The Real World: San Francisco

On The Real World, Rainey was an eccentric center of attention. In the season premiere he arrived at the house last because he was detained by police for a traffic incident. He incurred many minor injuries while bike riding, and kept photos of them, which he showed to his housemates. In addition to his messenger duties, he enjoyed other bike-related activities, such as Critical Mass. Rainey clashed with his roommates over his hygiene,^[3] as when Pedro Zamora complained that he used his finger to scoop peanut butter from a jar after he had used that finger to pick his nose. His roommate Mohammed Bilal complained Rainey tended to not change his socks, but merely cover his feet with more socks to mask the smell, which Bilal contended did not work. His housemates also complained of his lack of consideration for others, and his need to monopolize conversation.^[4][5] Rainey's housemate, Judd Winick, who is Jewish, was also offended at Rainey's wearing of a T-shirt that depicted four guns arranged in the shape of a swastika, and his refusal to accede to Winick's request not to wear the shirt (though this confrontation was only revealed in The Real World Diaries, a book published by MTV, and depicted in the 2009 film Pedro, not the series itself).^[6]

One of Rainey's closest relationships in the house was with Rachel Campos. Although their relationship became romantic when they kissed on three occasions, it eventually dissolved when, during a heated argument, he revealed this to the other housemates despite having promised her he would not. Although the others were not surprised at this revelation, Campos saw this as a betrayal of trust.^[7][8]

Rainey's most contentious relationship was with Zamora. Rainey denigrated Zamora's career as an AIDS educator and mocked his Cuban accent. Winick described Rainey as "obnoxious and homophobic". Zamora, who had AIDS himself, distanced himself from Rainey, and thereby from the other housemates, fearing the stress of his relationship with Rainey was affecting his health.^[9][2]</ref> When Zamora threatened to move out, the other housemates voted to evict Rainey instead.^[10] Rainey later appeared in subsequent episodes in which he encountered former housemates Cory Murphy, Campos, and Winick, but their liaisons typically ended in conflict.^[11] In the season finale, he phoned Campos just before she left the house and accused her of harboring ill feelings towards him out of jealousy over his subsequent relationships with other women.^[12]

After The Real World

Rainey has appeared in numerous TV commercials, on the show MTV Cribs, and two seasons of Real World/Road Rules Challenge, including Road Rules: All Stars and Battle of the Sexes. He also had a small appearance in Eminem's video for "Without Me".

Personal life

Rainey met his future wife, Betty, at a farmer's market in 1998. They had a son, Bogart, and later married on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes. They later had a second son, Rocco, and the family now lives in Alabama, where Rainey makes a living through public appearances and miscellaneous jobs. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening and photography, though he prefers to model, whereas his partner works behind the camera.^[13]

In popular culture

The creators of Drawn Together have compared the character Spanky Ham, a fictional character in the series, to Rainey.^[14]

In Pedro, Nick Oceano's 2008 film dramatizing Pedro Zamora's life, Rainey is portrayed by Matt Barr.^[15][16]

Puck can also be seen in animated form in "Andy vs. the Real World", a 2002 episode of the animated television series Mission Hill, in which he gets coffee for an MTV studio executive, who then orders him to move some porta-potties.

Notes