MTV star Vincent Margera, 59, dies of liver, kidney failure

VINCENT MARGERA, of Chester County, the often-incomprehensible Uncle Don Vito from the MTV series "Viva La Bam" and "Jackass," died yesterday of liver and kidney failure, his sister-in-law said. He was 59.

Margera, who was born in Chester and had been living in West Chester, had been in and out of Chester County Hospital since falling into a coma last month, April Margera told the Daily News. She is the mother of the series' star, Bam Margera.

"He had emergency dialysis and he came out of it and was actually able to go home. He was OK for a short while, [but then] he got very sick again," she said in a phone interview. Vincent Margera had been at the hospital for a week and a half until he died at 6:45 a.m. yesterday.

He was the oldest of seven children born to Phillip Margera Sr., who sold car parts at Philadelphia-area dealerships, and Darlene Margera, who died in 2007, April Margera said.

Vincent Margera is survived by his father, Phillip Margera Sr., 80, three sisters and three brothers, including Phil Margera, father of Bam Margera.

He was born in Chester, raised in Linwood, Delaware County, and graduated from Chichester High School in 1974, his sister-in-law said. He worked in a number of jobs, including car-paint specialist.

He was nicknamed Don Vito because "he was kind of head of the family," April Margera said. He was also a mumbler, she said: "He would say a whole bunch of stuff but you couldn't understand him."

That didn't matter to a "Jackass" producer and director who noticed him on the set commenting on the production, she said.

"They thought it was actually pretty funny. The producer and director was like, 'Who is this guy?' [And Bam said,] 'Well, that's my Uncle Vito,' and they're like, 'He needs to be on the show,' " April Margera said.

The Hollywood trade publication Variety wrote that Vincent Margera "earned the 'Don Vito' nickname through his nearly unintelligible speech . . . much like 'The Godfather's' Don Vito Corleone."

The producers placed subtitles on the screen every time he spoke, she said: "That was the funniest thing they ever did. You could never make out the subtitles at all."

Along the way, he became an MTV celebrity. "He loved doing the TV show. He loved traveling. He loved doing signings, especially with my youngest son, Bam," she said. "He was very popular."

His TV career came to an abrupt halt in 2007 when a Golden, Colo., court found him guilty of sexual assault of a child at one of his autograph signings. The judge in the case ordered that he register as a sex offender and that he not appear as the Don Vito character for a decade. The television career and autograph signings stopped.

"It hurt him so badly," April Margera said. "He's a lot of things, but never, never that." Vincent Margera stepped out of the limelight.

If he had lived, "he would have cleared his name and proven that he was innocent of those charges. That was one regret. He just hated that," his sister-in-law said.

He will be cremated, she said.

He made it clear to his family, she said, that he wanted "no funeral. Nobody is putting suits on and being sad." Instead, a celebration of his life will take place at a later date.

"Something fun and happy," she said.

On Twitter: @ReginaMedina