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'Contender' contestant shoots and kills himself

By wire services
Published February 16, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - A promising young boxer who got the break of a lifetime when he was selected by NBC's upcoming reality TV program, The Contender , committed suicide.

Police said 23-year-old Najai Turpin shot himself in the head at 4 a.m. Monday while sitting with his girlfriend in a parked car outside the west Philadelphia gym where he trained. Investigators were unsure why he took his life.

An NBC spokeswoman said the program, scheduled to debut March 7, will go on as planned.

Produced by reality TV mogul Mark Burnett , The Contender will follow the lives of 16 boxers competing against each other for a chance at a million-dollar purse.

The episodes involving Turpin had already been taped.

Percy "Buster" Custus , a trainer who had worked with him since Turpin was 12, said the boxer had enjoyed his experiences with the show but seemed troubled in recent weeks.

NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks declined to say how Turpin had fared in the show, which is to conclude with a live championship bout between two finalists in May. She said, however, that the show will not need to be overhauled because of Turpin's death.

Everybody better really, really love Raymond, because CBS is going ahead with a virtual "all Raymond, all the time" theme until May.

The popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond ends its eight-year run with its 210th episode, scheduled to air May 16. But the network launched a marketing blitz this week to promote the episode that's three months away.

Viewers are invited to vote for their favorite episodes at www.cbs.com CBS celebrities will bid farewell in periodic network advertising spots; and promotional tie-ins are aimed at the more than 200 CBS affiliates and parent company Viacom outlets VH1, Comedy Central, Nick at Night, TV Land, country music channel CMT and Infinity radio stations.

Raymond will even take to the skies in American Airlines' in-flight videos.

Leading up to the finale, no time slot will escape. Raymond will make appearances on the Early Show and Live With Regis & Kelly in the morning; Ellen in the afternoon; and the Late Show With David Letterman at night.

Finally, on the big day, CBS chairman Leslie Moonves and the cast of Raymond are scheduled to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, followed by a one-hour prefinale retrospective.

Wheel Watchers will have to turn to a new channel for their nightly fix of Wheel of Fortune , but not for a while.

WTSP-Ch. 10 will let Wheel and Jeopardy! move to WFTS-Ch. 28 beginning in the fall of 2008, WTSP station manager Sam Rosenwasser said.

Rosenwasser said he has been contacted by people pitching replacement programming, but he said it's too early to decide what will go in the valuable 7 to 8 p.m. time slot. He said the decision was financial and does not signal a change in philosophy or format.

[Last modified February 16, 2005, 01:27:16]