Dave Kendall, MTV VJ And 120 Minutes Creator, Has Died

Dave Kendall, the journalist and former MTV VJ who created and hosted the iconic alternative rock video show 120 Minutes , has died. Matt Pinfield, who served as a 120 Minutes host years after Kendall, shared the news of his passing on Instagram last night. Right now, the circumstances of Kendall's passing are unknown. He was 63.

The British-born Dave Kendall started off as a music journalist, writing for magazines like Melody Maker and SPIN . In the mid-'80s, he moved to New York and went to work as a producer for MTV. There, he created 120 Minutes , which ran from 1986 to 2003. Kendall also served as the show's host from 1986 to 1992. During the years before the grunge boom, 120 Minutes served as a rare mainstream portal into subcultures that might have been hidden from them otherwise, a video version of college radio. Lots of people had their lives changed by catching something relatively obscure on 120 Minutes , and they have Kendall to thank for that.

Kendall went on to co-produce the short-lived syndicated music-themed show Music Scoupe in 1994. He served as co-host of that show alongside a very young Kelly Ripa. Kendall also anchored the Woodstock '94 pay-per-view, and he hosted a number of radio shows, including Hot 97's Planet Traxx , an early US showcase for rave music. In recent years, Kendall hosted shows on SiriusXM, and he lived in Thailand, where he worked for the Bangkok Post until last year.

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