Richard Dean (model)
Richard Dean (1956 - December 27, 2006) was an athlete, model and photographer, most known for co-hosting Cover Shot, a television makeover show on the American cable TV network TLC.
Biography
Born as Richard Cowen in Bethesda, Maryland, USA,[1] Dean attended Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland and the Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey. He attended the University of Delaware on a football scholarship. On December 27, 2006, Richard Dean was found dead in his room at the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumvit Road, in central Bangkok, Thailand.He was in Bangkok to shoot his latest art project, entitled Stretch. A police official said that Dean was found hanging by a rope naked in the room's closet causing immediate speculation that his death was suicide. However, reported evidence suggested that his death was the result of autoerotic asphyxiation. Two autopsies were conducted and concluded that the death was not a suicide. The cause of death became widely accepted as "accidental asphyxiation".
Career
He began working as a fashion model in the mid-1980s and later became a fashion and advertising photographer after teaching himself to take high-profile photos. His clients included Gianni Versace, Yves St. Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Reebok, Nike, Fujifilm, Beck's, Michelob, Fila, Playboy and TV Guide.[2]
Dean's first appearance on a TV reality show was on UPN's America's Next Top Model. In 2006, he joined model Frederique van der Wal on TLC's Cover Shot, in which "supermoms" were transformed into "supermodels".