George Harvey, Known As ‘Crackhead Bob’ On ‘The Howard Stern Show,’ Dead At Age 56

George Harvey, better known as “Crackhead Bob”, died at the age of 56 at his Texas home. Harvey first gained fame for being a popular member of the “Wack Pack” on Howard Stern‘s radio show.

Crackhead Bob was coined his nickname by Stern when he admitted on air that he had suffered multiple strokes after smoking crack. The strokes left part of his body paralyzed and his speech impaired.

Harvey appeared on the show in the late 1990s and early 2000s and took part in different show bits that included covers of songs and prank phone calls. Stern discovered Harvey in 1995 after seeing him in public appearances in the mid-90s. “He was always first on line at any of the signings,” Howard told listeners during a 2007 appearance Harvey made on the show.

“He was a huge champion of our show,” Howard said Monday on HowardStern.com.

In 2001, Harvey took a  break from the show to focus on his spending time with his family and taking care of his health issues. He also admitted that during his paid visits, he was constantly surrounded by drugs and alcohol and wasn’t comfortable. “I had to do what I had to do for me, for a while,” Bob said. After an absence of only a few months, Harvey returned to the show again, this time to showcase his improved speech on Stern’s last day at K-ROCK.

Harvey visited again in 2006 when the show moved to Sirius Satellite Radio and talked about what life was like before his stroke. Stern played his old prank phone calls.

Finally in October 2007, Harvey announced he was moving to Texas and leaving the show. Stern played back some of the now famous moments from Harvey. The two joined together and sang “Happy Trails” before saying their goodbyes.

Harvey was hospitalized two days before his death and was “feeling weak” according to TMZ. He was also having problems with his blood pressure. His father found him dead after he missed a doctor’s appointment. Authorities have said that he died of natural causes.