Eric "the Actor" Lynch Remembered by Howard Stern, Jimmy Kimmel: "He Was Fascinating"

Shock jock recalls late 39-year-old guest who "would just give me s--t every single day and stand up to me"

By Rebecca Macatee Sep 22, 2014 6:09 PMTags
Eric Lynch, Howard Stern, TwitterStern Show/Twitter

Eric "the Actor" Lynch, a member of Howard Stern's famed "Wack Pack" and frequent caller on his Sirius XM radio show, died Saturday. He was 39.

And while Eric and the shock jock butted heads on the air, Howard said Monday he was "really affected" by the news of his passing. Jimmy Kimmel called in to Howard's Sirius XM show, too, saying, "I really did love Eric.  Everything about him fascinated me."

"I think the fact that Eric had no respect for you whatsoever, is what I liked best about him," Jimmy told Howard. "You'd sit here and talk to this tiny little guy in a wheelchair who lived with his parents and really didn't have a whole lot going on outside of watching wrestling and American Idol, and he would argue with you as if you were equals, and you would argue with him as if you were equals, and I guess you really were because you both took that position. I just loved that."

Howard loved that defiance, too, saying, "You'd think that a guy that had absolutely so little going on and really needed me for trips to the Bunny Ranch or needed me for his fame fix, it didn't matter...what was so fascinating was he would just give me s--t every single day and stand up to me."

"Thirty-nine is still way too long, but for what he was dealing with, it was pretty amazing that he lasted that long," said Howard. "Because I knew Eric's situation with his health, I knew that we'd lose him at any time. But I never really thought the day would come, you know what i mean? He just seemed to be beating the odds..."

Eric, who battled multiple ailments since childhood, wasn't expected to live to be a teenager, his caregiver confirmed. He proved his doctors wrong by living as long as he did, and he proved his haters wrong with his many moments in the limelight. As Howard recalled laughingly,  "Eric loved air time!"

"So many celebrities are tweeting about Eric," Howard said. "I think Eric would have been pleased."

Sidekick Robin Quivers agreed, saying, "Eric would have just loved this...I hope there's some place where he is now that he can see this."

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.