'Storage Wars' Star Gunter Nezhoda Dead at 67
Storage Wars star Gunter Nezhoda has died following a battle with cancer. Nezhoda passed away in his sleep Tuesday night in Salt Lake City, Utah with his youngest son Ricky by his side after being diagnosed with lung cancer just six months ago, his eldest son Rene confirmed to TMZ. Nezhoda was 67.
According to Rene, Nezhoda was initially diagnosed with lung cancer in September after being a smoker for over 30 years. Although Nezhoda underwent chemotherapy, the treatments left holes in his lungs, and the reality TV personality recently flew to Utah for emergency surgery. Doctors, however, said there was nothing more that could be done.
"Today is a very sad day, and this is a very hard video for me to make, I've made this video many times already. I'm just going to say it the way I say it. I'm telling you guys this because I know that you guys connected with my dad," Rene said in a video shared with TMZ. "My dad was one of the guys on Storage Wars that never really got any hate, people just loved him and being around him, including the crew. Everybody loved working with my dad, so I appreciate the support."
Rene added that he was asked about his father's health "a lot" in recent days, but hasn't "really talked about anything because we kept it private and we thought he was going to fully recover but unfortunately he didn't." He added, "He was 67 years old and all the love that you guys have shown him and support he really appreciated that. And so hopefully he's up there in heaven with my mom, dancing again with no more pain."
Nezhoda, who was born in Vienna and then lived in Frankfurt, Germany for ten years before moving to Las Vegas in 1990, is perhaps best known for his appearances on Storage Wars, A&E's reality series that follows groups of bidders as they buy and sort through repossessed storage units. Nezhoda appeared on seven episodes of the series between 2015 and 2019. TMZ reported that he also filmed an episode with Rene for the show's upcoming Season 14. Nezhoda also starred in several movies and played bass with musicians including Kevin Dubrow, George Lynch, Michael Schenker, Pat Travers, and Leslie West. He was also an avid photographer who worked with companies like Ford, Microsoft, and Big-O Tires.