Karin Begin, a former Philadelphia disc jokey and pathological liar of epic proportions, has reportedly died.
Again.
She reportedly perished on September 11th, after her New York radio career flamed out, which was revealed to be an Internet hoax after she surfaced on San Francisco radio.
Begin, now working under the name Darian O'Toole, died the day after April Fools after being hospitalized for a broken leg.
Yes, a broken leg.
Here's the San Francisco Chronicle obituary.
Many former colleagues and friends remain suspicious, and chatter has fired up the internet.
Begin, originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was hired at WXPN in the fall of 1991 and fired six months later after lying prodigously to colleagues and media outlets. Full disclosure: My husband, David Dye, was involved in her hiring. He steadfastly stood by her, as did then station manager Mark Fuerst, after Philadelphia magazine revealed that much of what she said had little relationship to the truth.
She claimed to have been a child star on Canadian television, and went so far as to have friends pretend to be CBC officials when the Inquirer's Joe Logan investigated her claims. She even had a TV guide listing doctored, saying she had appeared along with band leader Paul Schaffer. She constantly professed to having an affair with Kiefer Sutherland, who was engaged to Julia Roberts at the time.
After she was fired, Begin appeared on a CBS 48 Hours episode on lying, hosted by Dan Rather. "Show me an actress who hasn't lied on her resumé," she said, "and I'll show you a waitress."
But she was never an actress.
Begin went on to be hired and fired by a long succession stations, a remarkable list even in a profession known for revolving doors. In this 1997 interview, she was back to lying about acting and Sutherland.
She wrote on her MySpace page: "By the time I was in my 20's, I was already a popular star of a radio call-in program in Pennsylvania called "Who's Sitting in My Lap." Howard [Stern] later stole this idea for his show, only he uses naked whores."
She wrote on her blog that she had cancer at one time. Now, she has apparently died of complications from a broken leg.
And this is relevant because....?— tightlines- She worked here for six months before flaming out spectacularly in a web of lies, and became the subject of many stories and much chatter. Her death still seems suspicious to many.— Karen Heller
- Waste of paper and time.— S.J.
- Good ridance. Now stop giving her the attention that she craves Karen Heller.— Bob
- What's the point?— fixed
- You may want to check your facts. Karen/Darian died on Monday, March 31, which was the day *before* April Fool's Day, not the day after. The San Francisco Chronicle reporter confirmed her death with the Alameda County coroner's office in Oakland. You can, too, by calling (510) 268-7300.— BossRadioDJ
- Really?!? Somebody needs a life..last name Heller. 1. I have a family member who was healthy and DIED of a broken leg. 2. This is sad if she did die. 3. This is sad if she didn't die and lied about it, again. 4. We need to find you something to blog about...— Sometimes
- Darian is 100% dead. I'm a friend and when I heard the news, from her agent, I spoke to a nurse at Highland Hospital in Oakland, Calif., where she spent the last couple weeks of her life.— phillygirlatheart
- Dear Darian, I lived in San Francisco during the mid/late 1990s and listened to you all the time. I *loved* how you spoke what you thought and smiled whenever I saw your picture on a passing bus. Last Monday, March 31st, I began thinking of you from Minnesota, my home of the past decade. I couldn’t explain why this DJ of my past was strongly in my consciousness after all these years. You were in my dreams and I kept thinking of you during moments of the day. Finally I looked online April 7th to see where you are. I hoped to catch a broadcast online and hear your wit once again. What a sad surprise to learn that you’ve left us. Thank you for touching an important part of my life. Your long-ago fan, CJ PS to Karen Heller: May you be missed as much as Darian is when your time comes. Funny that Philly.com Populist hasn't been printing my tribute response to your article for the past two days. I wonder what that says about you.— C_J
- Karen, Why haven't you been posting my responses? If you make blatant statements like you have, you should fact check. Not only has Darian been on TV and in film (I have her reels), you are obviously jaded by your long ago experience with her. Time to move on and end the grudge match. Despite your bad "whatever", we loved her here in SF. she was not that different from any other celeb doing crazy things and pulling publicity stunts. Howard Stern is worshiped for this behavior among others. Why should she be any different?— radio girl
- Oddly, none of my comments are being posted so I resorted to sending an email to Karen Heller directly. I am disappointed at Karen's inability to fact check and get even the basic information correct. What were you saying about Karen Begin's accuracy on the facts?!? Your facts are quite loosey goosey, aren't they.— PKP
- I’m surprised that you didn’t take it upon yourself to confirm the rumor. One simple step on your part could have gotten to the bottom of the entire situation. I called the Alameda County Coroner’s Office and asked if a death certificated was issued for Karen Begin. I was shocked to hear that yes, it was true and I was also given the name of the funeral home where her body was sent. If you continue to suspect a hoax, I suggest you call and verify for yourself. Your article was so negative, I have to wonder, in what way did she hurt you? A woman has died, leaving behind a grieved father and your article exposes only the worst of her. Imagine an article about you that only focuses on the worst parts of who you were. No matter what your experience was with Karen, please try to remember and respect, she was someone’s daughter. "Good Ridance"? Bob, you should be ashamed of your comment.— PKP
- Are your comments not posting like mine? Contact Karen Heller at 215-854-3586 or kheller@phillynews.com.— PKP
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