The Crazy, True Story of the Guy Who Plays Mayhem
If you're one of the cool people, you know him as The Vulture from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But you at least have to know him as Mayhem from Allstate Insurance ads. His real name is Dean Winters and he has quite the life story.
He's also had roles in Oz, Rescue Me, and 30 Rock, and he technically died once. Almost 11 years ago he collapsed with a bacterial infection on his way to the hospital and his heart stopped beating for two and a half minutes. The day before he wasn't feeling well and had a fever but didn't think much of it. Rather than getting help, he went back to sleep. The next day when he woke up he said he was the color gray. He added:
I was afraid to go to St. Vincent’s, so I went to my doctor’s office on Central Park West, where I collapsed. I was turning black, and my whole head was swelling up.
He continued on, saying that as he was in the ambulance heading through the park:
I died on Fifth Avenue.
The story doesn't end there. He spent a month recuperating in his apartment and he ended up developing gangrene, which led to two toes and half a thumb being amputated. He ended up spending 95 days in the hospital, had a total of 10 procedures, that included skin grafts and having part of his forearm muscle used to rebuild his right hand.
He ended up doing his role for 30 Rock with casts on both arms and one leg, but they kept that off camera. He says that they basically propped him up on a stool to film his scenes.
Now, enjoy some of his best moments as The Vulture.