‘Buckwild’: Production company paying for Shain Gandee’s funeral

There was one aspect of the tragic Shain Gandee story from earlier this week that was missing in many reports floating around the internet, and that goes with the notion that being on TV automatically means that you have riches to go along with your fame. In Shain’s case, he did not.

Typically, these sort of MTV reality stars are not paid a significant amount of money at all (at least nothing more than a regular salary out in the real world) to appear on early seasons of a show, though this does increase if their show gets picked up later. A good example of this is the “Jersey Shore” cast, who really did not start to receive significant money until their third season began airing. Considering that “Buckwild” was just in the process of filming season 2, Shain did not have a substantial income from the show.

According to TMZ, though, the good news is that his family is going to have some help with his final expenses. J.P. Williams, who is the CEO of one of the show’s production companies in Parallel Entertainment, tells the website that the company is going to pay for Gandee’s funeral:

“Shain was a great kid with a big heart who had endless love for his mom and dad. I am from West Virginia and this show reminded me of how I grew up.”

A public service for Shain will be held on Sunday, and some of the money raised through other efforts is going to help go towards some other family expenses, and also pay for the memorial services of the two others, including Shain’s uncle, that died during the accident. Even though Shain was not filming a scene for “Buckwild” at the time of the off-road accident that led to his death, it is still nice to see that the masterminds behind the series are stepping up to help the family get through a tough time.

There is still no word on the future of “Buckwild,” but MTV has halted production for the time being.

Photo: MTV