[citation needed] His career had modest beginnings—starting as a production assistant at MTV, he later became a producer in the On-Air Promotions Department and created the cable network's hip-hop show Yo!
MTV Raps (with Peter Dougherty), and directed other projects for them, including the black-and-white rants starring then-unknown chain-smoking comedian Denis Leary.
[1] Scheer later opened several popular Los Angeles bars, including Teddy's at the Roosevelt Hotel, named in honor of her late husband.
[citation needed] On January 14, 2002, while playing a celebrity basketball game, Demme collapsed and died of a heart attack which may have been related to cocaine later found in his system during an autopsy.
[11] Much of one edition of the IFC program Dinner for Five was given over to a description of Demme's last night and fond reminiscences about his life, mostly by Denis Leary and the show's host Jon Favreau.