DAMON ZEX HAS LEFT THE BUILDING AT 62 July 11th, 1963 – June 21st, 2026

Alex Zander and Damon Zex Chicago New Years Eve 1997/1998

I just got word that my old friend Damon Zex of Columbus OH passed away.

from AI (updated 7/8/2026)

Damon Zex was an avant-garde performance artist and the creator of a highly provocative late-night cable access television show based in Columbus, Ohio. His unconventional and boundary-pushing on-screen antics made him a cult figure whose legacy is frequently celebrated in countercultural and underground publications like M.K. Ultra Magazine.

Connection to M.K. Ultra Magazine

M.K. Ultra Magazine is an underground publication dedicated to avant-garde music, electronic sounds, and dark alternative culture. Because of Zex’s status as a legend of underground and transgressive art, the magazine covered his work and marked his passing.Following his death, M.K. Ultra Magazine served as a central hub for the underground community to remember his artistic contributions

Wed Afternoon 6/24/2026: Hey Alex, this is Gary Handler, Damon Zex’s friend. I’m having a rough time dealing with his death. Best friends for 60 years. Anyhoo, I just wanted to say that he had the greatest things to say about you; he saw so many artists as competitors and enemies, not you, he saw you as an equal and respected the hell out of you. I hope you are well.

The Killer Z’s 1998

MK ULTRA’s Gothic Ball Night #1 at the Patio Indianapolis May 1, 1997

In the grand tapestry of life, some threads shine brighter than others, weaving a tale of exuberance and charisma, dedication and loyalty, talent and love. Such was the tale of Damon Zex, a vibrant thread born on a summer day – the 11th of July, 1963, in the heart of Columbus, Ohio. From this humble beginning unfurled a journey that illuminated the lives of many, a journey that, although coming to an end on the 21st of June, 2026, continues to glow in the hearts of those he touched.

Damon’s life was a canvas, enriched with the hues of his many passions. As an artist, his brush danced across the canvas, creating symphonies of color and emotion. He was a graduate of the Ohio State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Masters of Fine Arts. His love for philosophy was evident in his book, “The Compromise Of Form,” a testament to his brilliance and reflective mind. Beyond the canvas and the written word, Damon danced in the world of music and the Columbus Nightclub Scene, leaving an indelible impression as a local celebrity on Columbus Public Access TV. As Picasso once said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls,” and Damon, through his diverse talents, provided this soul-cleansing experience for many.

Damon was a beacon of light in the lives of his beloved wife, Isabelle Cavalier, his sister Tammy Zaner and her significant other David Kroll, his uncle Binyamin Efreom, aunt Marlene Abelon, and half-brother Eric Brandt. His light continues to shine, even as it follows the path set by his parents, Arnold and Rhoda Zaner, who preceded him in death. Damon’s life was not just about personal achievements; he yearned for a world filled with laughter, love, and happiness. He believed in the power of human connection, in the joy of being loved, and the peace attained from being true to oneself.

Damon’s life will be celebrated at a graveside service on Monday, 29th of June, 2026, at 11:30am EDT, at the New Agudas Achim Cemetery, 2565 Performance Way, Columbus, Ohio, 43207. As we come together to honor his journey, we encourage you to share your memories of Damon and upload photos to the memorial page. Like the art he loved, let these personal moments paint a vibrant picture of his life, reminding us that although the thread may have reached its end, the tale it wove continues to inspire.

Dear Readers of M.K. ULTRA,

Not so long ago I had the opportunity to accompany your publisher on a weekend road trip to Columbus Ohio. I was sure it wasn’t going to be what you might call an average weekend. For me it would be my virgin – voyage into the realm called Gothic. Dark steamy goth bars, Black masses of sweaty people, unrecognizable music and an occasional human sacrifice were some of the first things that popped into my mind. A three-hour crash course from the Master himself, gave me a small taste of the Techno Industrial and Gothic music scene which I was soon to be thrown into. Upon arriving in Columbus, I was introduced to a man who from outward appearance seemed to be a workout – alcoholic jock. He was friendly and happy to see us and always had something to say….Anyway right before my eyes, he transformed himself from your average Joe on the street into Damon Zex. My cherry was popped. Now that I was with the “right people” it was time to go to the right place, OUTLAND!

The night’s performing artists were a group called THE AZOIC. Their music pierced through the humidity like the lasers that accompanied the show. And the only human things I saw sacrificed was sweat on the dancefloor and a few random brain cells to alcohol. Unlike theater where the actors assume their roles and play their parts. here the audience completed the cast. With everyone dressed in the Egos Personified, including the really cool staff at OUTLAND, the stage was set, the lights dimmed, people crowded closer as the music began its funeral dirge for the eyes gone blind. A haunting voice swelled up out of the steam and heat and  grabbed me. I had arrived.

with Greg Hunt at Summit Station aka Jacks in Columbus OH 1997

After The AZOIC finished their farewell set I was treated to something few people have had the privilege of doing, so I was told. I was invited “Downstairs” I was also sworn to secrecy about anything that was about to be said or done. But this secret must not be kept, the mystery must be revealed. We were all turned on and we all   loved it. Yes, readers we were all turned onto air conditioning, beautifully cool relaxing no more sweating. Air conditioning. Truthfully, I wasn’t sworn to anything and most of the swearing I heard was directed toward the heat.

If you ever accidentally wander into a Goth Bar like OUTLAND asking for directions to the interstate expect anybody there, patron or employee to be exceptionally courteous and helpful getting you in the right direction. The only problem you might encounter would be a lack of understanding M.K. Phraseology. These might be some helpful hints for you. If the first thing you hear is “Get High or Die” don’t worry, this is just a commonly known Damon Zex phrase that really means “Hi, come on it.” If the first thing you hear is “Satan Rules”, no problem this really means – the boss is busy right now, but he should be back in a few. If you hear “It’s the shits” don’t worry about the food, it just means “Groovy”.. If the first thing you hear is “Eat the Devil’s Pussy”, no problem it really means “This is a great place to party. Are your parents coming too? “Eat the Devil’s Pussy” really means “Party till you puke” or “Have a nice day”. If the first thing you hear is “Fuck You!” it really means “Fuck You!” You’re probably not at OUTLAND and should leave immediately.

All the people I encountered at OUTLAND were there to have fun and that’s’ exactly what they did. No guns, no knives, no fights and no jealous boy/girl arguments. If these are our future leaders, I can’t wait!

Unvirginally yours,

Peter Bishop
Indianapolis IN

The Trained Artist Who Chose Public Access

A newly created Damon Zex tribute site: www.damonzex.net/

Damon Zex held an MFA in performance art and used it to turn a late-night Columbus cable channel into a laboratory for the strange, the beautiful, and the deliberately unbearable.

Frederick Steven Zaner was born in Columbus, Ohio, on July 11, 1963, and the city never really let him go — Columbus was his home and his stage for his entire career. The man it would come to know as Damon Zex was, first, a student of art: a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1985, and then, in 1991, a Master of Fine Arts in Multi-Media Performance Art from the same university.

That credential matters more than any single sketch he ever taped. Zex was not an accidental weirdo with a camcorder; he was a formally trained fine artist who chose public access as his medium. The tension between “trash TV the suburbs couldn’t stomach” and “rigorous conceptual artist” is the most interesting thread in his whole story — and the MFA was not a footnote. It was, quite literally, how he would later out-argue the Columbus City Council.

Before the persona hardened into something the whole city debated, he worked the ordinary jobs of a young artist in a mid-sized capital: a sales rep for an art-products company, a gallery director, a designer for a glass studio and a local arts magazine. By 1992 he had found the room that suited him — videographer and technical director at Community 21, the public-access operation that would carry Zextalk. He would later co-own Damon Zex Ltd., serve as an expert art witness in U.S. Federal Court in 1999, and earn a listing as a notable artist in Marquis Who’s Who. The résumé reads, deliberately, like that of a working professional. That is exactly the point.

The Persona & the Aesthetic
Onscreen, Zex was a goth, decadent figure — one writer reached for “a Robert Downey Jr. lookalike” as shorthand. But the costume was stretched over a genuinely catholic set of influences. He claimed, and critics assigned him, a lineage that ran from Georges Méliès and the silent comedians — Chaplin, and the deadpan television surrealism of Ernie Kovacs — through Kenneth Anger and Andy Kaufman, German Expressionism, and the harder surrealism of Beckett and Breton.

What kept the provocation from curdling into mere shock was a yogic perspective he held on his own art and life. It is the reason that, when he was attacked, he never returned personal fire — he defended the art form on principle instead of defending himself.

His enthusiasms were real and wide. He is reported to have taken up chess at the age of five and to have won a state championship before renouncing competitive play — the seed of his late film Checkmate — and he kept up yoga, dance, astrology, weight training, and philosophy besides. He posted aphoristic, system-building ideas online, and he meant every one of them.

“The axioms establishing any universe can be reduced to the six categories of judgment.”
— Damon Zex

He thought of himself, without irony, as a Renaissance polymath — “Thinker, Writer, Artist, Actor,” a self-described “true Renaissance Man.” The most useful thing a viewer can do is take that self-understanding seriously.

ZEX TALK

Zextalk arrived on Columbus public access in 1992 and, by every account, crashed like a bolt of lightning — turning up on the same low channels as gentle local fare like Bee B The Clown and detonating there. It was produced at Community 21, where Zex himself worked the cameras and the switcher.

The show was an anthology: sketches, monologues, recurring characters, and surreal set-pieces, assembled with an obvious and abiding love of silent film and German Expressionism. The high-contrast black and white, the pantomime, the title-card grammar of the silent era — these were not affectations but the actual language Zex was working in. For twelve years, until the channel itself went dark in 2004, Zextalk was where that language lived.

Zextalk did not stay a cult secret for long. It drew the attention — and the ire — of the Columbus City Council, and, as reported, of national television beyond it: his work is said to have been attacked across three consecutive days on CNN’s Headline News feed, and he was covered by the tabloid talk circuit of the era, from Geraldo to Jerry Springer to Howard Stern. After Columbus public access ended, his tapes reportedly traveled further still, airing internationally on the UK’s Channel 4 and the BBC — which is said to have run Breakfast with Damon Zex — and on UK ShockVideo.

What makes the episode historically interesting, rather than merely lurid, is what the city did next. Because Zex held an MFA and could defend his work fluently in the language of art theory, the City Council convened a cable advisory commission specifically to deal with him. He kept showing up to its meetings — not to defend himself, but to defend public access as a medium. To his surprise, supporters began showing up to defend him.

The critic Alfred Eaker later framed the whole affair as a small-scale “Degenerate Art Show” — a status-quo institution straining to suppress avant-garde work it could not categorize. Zex, for his part, called the council “New Age Nazis.” Underneath the tampon gags and the chessboards built from drugs, it was a genuine free-expression fight: one artist against an institution that wanted him gone.

Columbus public access was shut down in 2004. The official targets were obscenity complaints aimed at other shows, not at him — but the effect was the same, and the era was over. Zex, crucially, got out with his master U-Matic tapes intact. That single act of preservation is the only reason any of the work survives to be archived at all.

The work’s most serious critical champion was Alfred Eaker, who in 2009 devoted two essays in 366 Weird Movies to the case for Zex as an artist of real rigor. Eaker placed him in a line of descent from Méliès, Kenneth Anger, and Ernie Kovacs, and heard a Mahlerian sensibility beneath the provocation. Eaker died in 2023; his advocacy is now part of the record it helped create.

Recognition widened beyond Columbus. Brooklyn’s Spectacle Theater programmed Zex in its 2019 series “Public Access, Private Desires” — setting him among a national canon of access auteurs that included David Liebe Hart, Concrete TV, Harvey “Job” Matusow, and Splendid Recipes — and brought the work back for an encore in January 2025. Marquis Who’s Who had already listed him among notable artists.

But the truest measure of him is smaller, and more durable, than any retrospective.

“If you ask just about anyone who lived in Columbus at the time, they have at least one Damon Zex story.”
— what Columbus still says about him

Everyone, it turns out, has one. This is where they can be kept — add yours.

Just another AZ/Damon Zex adventure and these are from the weee early morning hours of Sept 9, 1996 alter seeing Type O Negative at the Al Rosa Villa in Columbus OH the previous night we stopped into Duane Hoy‘s apartment on Hudson and saw a fully gassed lawn mower in his living room. So what did we do? We fired that bad boy up and the whole place smelled like gasoline and grass after a minute. Then I drove home to Indianapolis. Just another typical moment of momentary madness I shared with the King of Public Excess Damon Zex!