James Harness, one of the original group of Oregon men who appeared in the Discovery Channel show, "Gold Rush," has died, according to a post on The Hollywood Reporter website. In the post, THR says a spokesperson from the Discovery Channel has confirmed that Harness had died, at age 57.
TMZ, which had earlier posted a report of Harness' death, has updated the original post. The update: "Harness' kids say James died a week ago, after suffering a stroke a week before. They say the funeral will be held in Oregon Saturday."
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Harness, who was a mechanic on the first two seasons of "Gold Rush," suffered from severe back pain, related to a car accident. Harness left the show, one of Discovery's top-rated series, after the second season.
"Gold Rush" debuted as "Gold Rush: Alaska" in 2010, chronicling the adventures of a crew of men led by Todd Hoffman, of Sandy, Oregon, and his father, Jack Hoffman, as they left the recession behind to go to Alaska to look for gold.
On his Twitter account, Todd Hoffman posted about Harness' passing:
RIP James Harness.
1:25 PM · Jul 3, 2014
"Gold Rush" has been one of the most popular shows on the Discovery Channel, and it will return for Season 5.
-- Kristi Turnquist
∼Reality TV Star. Appeared for two seasons as the mechanic for the Hoffman Crew on the TV show "Gold Rush". He was known as an excellent mechanic and a man that could fix or fabricate anything. Harness was fired at the end of Season 2 due to his long absences due to a back injury.
James Harness, one of the original group of Oregon men who appeared in the Discovery Channel show, "Gold Rush," has died, according to a post on The Hollywood Reporter website. In the post, THR says a spokesperson from the Discovery Channel has confirmed that Harness had died, at age 57.
TMZ, which had earlier posted a report of Harness' death, has updated the original post. The update: "Harness' kids say James died a week ago, after suffering a stroke a week before. They say the funeral will be held in Oregon Saturday."
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Harness, who was a mechanic on the first two seasons of "Gold Rush," suffered from severe back pain, related to a car accident. Harness left the show, one of Discovery's top-rated series, after the second season.
"Gold Rush" debuted as "Gold Rush: Alaska" in 2010, chronicling the adventures of a crew of men led by Todd Hoffman, of Sandy, Oregon, and his father, Jack Hoffman, as they left the recession behind to go to Alaska to look for gold.
On his Twitter account, Todd Hoffman posted about Harness' passing:
RIP James Harness.
1:25 PM · Jul 3, 2014
"Gold Rush" has been one of the most popular shows on the Discovery Channel, and it will return for Season 5.
-- Kristi Turnquist
∼Reality TV Star. Appeared for two seasons as the mechanic for the Hoffman Crew on the TV show "Gold Rush". He was known as an excellent mechanic and a man that could fix or fabricate anything. Harness was fired at the end of Season 2 due to his long absences due to a back injury.
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