Begho Ukueberuwa Dies: Development Executive & Former CAA Agent Was 27

UPDATED throughout: This is news that has come as a shock to many. Begho Ukueberuwa, an executive and former agent, died May 7. He was just 27. Ukueberuwa died of complications from heat stroke while running a half-marathon in Providence, RI, according to his family.

Last fall, Ukueberuwa was appointed to head up development across film and television for Fat City, the then-newly launched production company of Sara Murphy and Ryan Zacarias based at Anonymous Content with a first-look deal.

“We are utterly heartbroken by the recent passing of our friend and colleague. He was joyful, insightful, wonderfully disruptive. He was kind,” said Murphy and Zacarias in a joint statement. “And, more than anything, he loved people and brought them together. Everyone who knew him felt special for the simple fact of knowing him. He was Begho. And there was an immediate camaraderie if you met someone else who knew Begho. Our thoughts go out to all of these people whose lives he so specifically touched.”

He began his career in entertainment as an agent in CAA’s Motion Picture Literary department.

Ukueberuwa grew up in West Windsor, New Jersey and graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South. He later attended New York University.

There has been an outpouring of grief since news of Ukueberuwa’s death surfaced Monday; the GoFundMe page launched to help his family with funeral expenses reached its goal within hours.

Ukueberuwa is survived by parents Francis and Jumoke, sisters Toju, Tetse, Dede, and Misan, and brother Mene, along with countless friends.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, May 13 at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan, followed by burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Trenton, NJ. A reception for family and friends will follow at a private residence.