Robert Harris (December 17, 1966 – December 14, 1995) was an American skysurfing champion. He was the

skysurfing Sky surfing is a type of skydiving and extreme sport in which the skydiver wears a custom skysurf board attached to the feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall. The boards used are generally smaller than actual surfboards, ...

world champion of 1994 and 1995. In December 1995, while shooting the

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...

"007" commercial, based on the titular fictional character, directed by David Kellogg and lensed by

Janusz Kamiński Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He won the Academy Awa ...

, Harris was flying in the sky when his parachute failed to open, causing him to fall to his death.

Memorialization

The song "Fall Free" from

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

's 1996 release '' On Air'' is dedicated to the vision of Harris, as is Bobby-B's " 99 Rips and Beyond"; the latter album includes a picture of him in the booklet. After his death, the Rob Harris Foundation was set up in his memory. Rob Harris was a roommate of Hip Hop artist

Daddy X Thomas Bradford "Brad" Xavier (born February 21, 1965), known by his stage name Daddy X, is an American hip hop producer and rapper.Gonzales, Ron. (March 30, 2007) Albuquerque Journal. ''Kottonmouth Kings kick career into hyper-drive.'' Section ...

, producer of the

Kottonmouth Kings The Kottonmouth Kings is an American hip hop group formed in Placentia, California in 1996 by D-Loc and Saint Dog. The group advocates for legalizing cannabis, and their lyrics frequently refer to smoking marijuana. The group plays hip hop, p ...

, and they frequently refer to his memory in many of their songs. For example, in the song "Misunderstood", rapper Saint Dog is heard saying "we miss Rob Harris" more than once. Saint Dog also raps, "Like DJ Rob Harris, kid I'm soaring," in the song "Life Ain't What It Seems" off the Kottonmouth Kings debut album, ''Royal Highness.''

References

External links

Rebuttal of the urban legend on snopes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Rob 1966 births 1995 deaths American skydivers Accidental deaths from falls Filmed deaths from falls